Saturday, March 20th 2021, 10am - 2pm on Zoom

The program brings to the main campus 60 to 75 local middle school girls (5th-8th grades) 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 virtually on Zoom. Zoom links will be made available to all students who register and are accepted into the program. Please see below to register your student!

Registration

Registration for 2021 is now closed.

Students are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Families will be notified of acceptance no later than March 3rd, 2021.

Schedule

The tentative schedule is

Instructions

The day's activities will be held on Zoom.

Once your student has been accepted into the program, you will be instructed on how to join the program's Canvas site. This site will be used to share the Zoom link, announcements, and any materials for the workshops.

Please plan to arrive between 9:50am and 10:00am. During the lunch break from 12:25-1:00pm, students will be allowed to turn their web cameras off to eat lunch and take a break. If students wish to eat lunch on Zoom, we will have breakout rooms in which they can socialize with other students and our volunteers.

Information for Participants

What your students will need:

• We will mail out a packet containing worksheets for the event. Students should have these available during the event.
• Students should have a pencil and possibly a notebook. A calculator is not necessary, but you are free to use one.
• Since this event is virtual this year, we will email a list of materials required for the workshops prior to the event and will limit the required materials to common household items.
• Internet access is required to attend this event.

Please be sure to check emails and the Canvas site for instructions on accessing and using Zoom and Canvas.

Organizers

Brandi Henry is a fourth year graduate student in the Mathematics Department at Temple University. She graduated from Eastern University with a B.A. in mathematics and a minor in astronomy. This is her fourth year helping with the Sonia Kovalevsky Day at Temple, and she has volunteered for several other math outreach programs.

Rose Kaplan-Kelly is a fourth year graduate student in the Mathematics Department at Temple University. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a B.A. in mathematics. This is her third year helping with the Sonia Kovalevsky Day at Temple, and she has instructed for the MathCounts Summer Program at Temple in the past.

Maria Lorenz is co-organizing the Sonia Kovalevsky Day at Temple for the ninth year. She is a Professor of Instruction in the Mathematics Department at Temple University. In addition to being involved in many aspects of Temple's undergraduate mathematics program, she has co-organized several outreach programs including the Temple University Math Circle and the Girls and Mathematics Summer Program.

Irina Mitrea is a Professor of Mathematics at Temple University. In the last 10 years she has created, organized, and run a number of mathematical outreach activities involving more than 3000 students (graduate, undergraduate, middle school and high school), a significant portion of which were specifically designed to benefit women in mathematics.

Instructors

Ramya Ailavajhala graduated with her PhD in Bioengineering from Temple University. This is her fourth year participating in Sonia Kovalevsky day. In the past, she was a STEM instructor for programs such as Math Circle and Girls & Mathematics camp.

Irem Altiner is a second year graduate student in the Mathematics Department at Temple University. She graduated from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey with a B.A. in mathematics. This is her first year helping with the Sonia Kovalevsky Day at Temple, and she has guided a six week long Summer Project on Graph Theory involving Philadelphia High School for Girls at Temple in the past summer.

Vasily Dolgushev is a professor at the Department of Mathematics of Temple University and he has been working at the department since 2010. His research interests are in algebra. He occasionally participates in math activities for students at elementary and middle school levels. Vasily happens to be a namesake of Sonia Kovalevsky's father and Sonia Kovalevsky's grandfather but this is just a lucky coincidence.

Kelli Jones is an Instructor in the Mathematics Department at Temple University. She graduated from Temple University with a B.B.A., as well as an M.S., in Actuarial Science. She worked as an actuary for ten years before realizing her love of teaching. In addition to mathematics, her other passions include being a mother of two amazing children and watching tennis.

Khanh Le is a fifth year graduate student in the Department of Mathematics at Temple University. His research interest is in geometry and topology. He enjoys helping with math activities for students at different levels. Outside of math activities, he enjoys going for a walk, rock climbing and cooking.

Rebekah Palmer is a fifth year graduate student in the Department of Mathematics at Temple University. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University a B.A. in mathematics and Russian. She has participated in Sonia Kovalevsky Day for two years and a variety of other math outreach programs in both Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Acknowledgements

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

Event Contacts

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