The Department of Mathematics at the Dietrich School hosted its second annual Girls Summer Math Camp last month. The camp, which began last year under the leadership of professors Marta Lewicka and Sabrina Streipert with the help of the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM) Chapter at Pitt, aims to inspire and engage young women in mathematics.
This year, the camp expanded its age range, inviting high school girls aged 15-17 from different local schools in the wider Pittsburgh area. With 18 participating students, the camp attracted twice as many students as last year, where 9 students were hosted. Running from July 28 to August 1, the camp gave students the chance to explore a new mathematics’ topic each day, followed by group problem-solving sessions based on the day's lecture.
The lectures were given by faculty members Chengcheng Huang (Mathematical Neuroscience), Marta Lewicka (Mathematical Analysis), Roxana Popescu (Number Theory), and Evgeni Trofimov (Foundations and Logic). The camp also featured the accompanying research talks by faculty member Carl-Wang Erickson’s "Exploring Prime Numbers" and graduate student Anna Kishida Thomas's "Intro to Math Modeling".
In addition to the lectures, the camp entailed a visit to the Open Lab at Hillman Library and a tour of Jeremy Levy's Lab, which was also open for campers last year. On Friday, students presented their group projects, showcasing the work they'd completed throughout the week. Some students even presented twice, excited to share multiple projects they had worked on.
The camp concluded with a questionnaire, and when asked if they would recommend the experience, the response was a resounding yes.
