WIT: Women in Topology (13w5145)

Objectives

The purpose of the workshop is to support and expand research efforts by female mathematicians in the
field of homotopy theory.

Our proposal is inspired by the success of the networking group WIN of women in number theory and the
format of their workshops held at BIRS in 2008 and 2011.

The workshop will consist of a number of joint research projects to be started during the meeting that
could lead to future collaborations among the participants. It is our intention to publish proceedings
of the workshop, which will consist of articles written by each of the research groups on the results
they obtain.

We will invite 16 active, established researchers, including the four organizers, who will form teams
to lead 8 problem groups. The remaining 26 participants are intended to be senior graduate students or
PDF's. They will apply for an invitation to participate in a particular problem group.

In preparation for the workshop, the team leaders will send background reading material or lecture notes
to the participants at least six months in advance. The first day of the workshop will be devoted to
presentations of the research projects by the team leaders. The teams will have the next three days
to meet and complete the work, and they will present their results and future directions for their work
on the final day. After the workshop they will collaborate on writing an article based on their joint
research, to appear in the workshop proceedings.

Again, inspired by the success of WIN and following its format, as part of this workshop, we will set up
a network of women in homotopy theory, including the workshop participants. This will include hosting a
web page with information on female topologists, links to the web pages of network members when
possible, and an e-mail mailing list for discussion topics. We will also have a list and links to (male
and female) advisors, collaborators, and co-organizers of conferences to facilitate the connectivity of
the community. We propose to name the network {it Women in Topology }(WIT).