Saturday, May 9, 2026, 10am - 2pm

The program brings 60 local middle school girls (5th-8th grades) to Temple University to learn about the field of mathematics and possible career paths. Sonia Kovalevsky Day is about exposure and opportunity, and it epitomizes the principle that equal opportunity to study mathematics yields similar performances of girls and boys. The program focuses on providing middle school women participants with competent and engaging mathematical instruction intertwined with strong mentorship by Temple undergraduate and graduate women students in STEM disciplines who are in a position of scientific leadership at the college level. The long-term goal of the Sonia Kovalevsky Mathematics Day program is to impact the way young women view mathematics as a discipline while strengthening their mathematical skills. Each year the program accomplishes the following:

• Encourages middle school girls to study mathematics and to consider mathematics-related careers.
• Creates a mentoring network involving middle school girls, parents, teachers, women faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students interested in mathematics in the greater Philadelphia area.
• Celebrates the accomplishments of women in mathematics.
• Supports the Temple undergraduate and graduate students involved in the organization of the program to become more marketable and overall to become well rounded professionals.
• Involves middle school students in local, national and international mathematics competitions.
• Creates the larger sense of a national mathematical community through accessible mathematics lectures given by women guests.

This year's event will be held in-person at Temple University Main Campus. Event details will to all students who register and are accepted into the program. Please see below to register your student!

Registration

To register, please refer to this Registration Guide to help you successfully register! In the guide, green boxes indicate where you should click and which questions to answer, and the text boxes provide additional information about how to answer the questions.

Please register here: Sonia Kovalevsky Day Registration

Students are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Families will be notified of acceptance no later than April 25, 2026.

Instructions

The day's activities will be held on Temple Main Campus.

Once your student has been accepted into the program, you will be sent event details and what to expect.

Organizers

Beca Lufi is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Mathematics Department at Temple University. Over the past 10 years, she has been involved in several math enrichment activities in the Philadelphia area including Math Circles, SK Day, and MathCounts.

Instructors

Jackie Lang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Temple University.  Her research is in the area of algebraic number theory, which asks (and occasionally answers) questions about integer solutions to polynomial equations.  She became interested in math in high school while reading about cryptography, and she loves to share what she has learned since then with any audience willing to listen.

Nora Melican is an Undergraduate Student at Temple University.

Acknowledgements

Funding and support for this event is provided by the Temple University Department of Mathematics.

Event Contacts

You may email the organizers any questions or concerns skday@temple.edu.