Entering the male dominated field of mathematics can be tough for women, who often encounter specific obstacles. The particular situation of women in mathematics is reflected in a series of exhibitions, talks and discussions.
To celebrate the UN’s “Women in Science” Day on February 11, 2026, the Faculty of Science and Mathematics at the University of Potsdam will host its annual Lunch Talks: Female researchers in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science.
Female professors from astrophysics, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and environmental sciences share will give short and accessible talks about their personal paths into science, their everyday research lives (including its highs and lows), as well as the opportunities, doubts, and challenges they encounter along the way.
We welcome everyone to come together for snacks, drinks, and conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. Let your colleagues and fellow students know, too!
We look forward to exchanging ideas with you! Further information can be found here.
To celebrate the UN’s “Women in Science” Day, on February 11 the Faculty of Science and Mathematics at the University of Potsdam will host its annual Lunch Talks: Dialogue of the Generations, Women at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics Then and Now
Students from the Faculty will interview former staff members about their life paths and will have an exchange about the situation for women in the past, what specific challenges had to be met, and what has changed since then.
We welcome everyone to come together for snacks, drinks and conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. Let your colleagues and fellow students know, too!
We look forward to exchanging ideas with you! Please let your colleagues and fellow students know! Further information can be found here.
Scientific results are often the result of a team work which involves more people than those whose names are visible. A favourable environment contributes to successful research efforts, and this includes maintaining data, taking care of laboratory animals, preparing and maintaining laboratory rooms and equipment, as well as performing experiments.
On the occasion of the UN International Day of Women in Science, we want to highlight the work of women who contribute significantly to
scientific achievements with their work in the background.
Technical staff members of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics will tell us about their careers, their work, and their respective fields of research in the form of short presentations or discussions.
We cordially invite you to attend the presentations in a relaxed atmosphere with snacks and drinks and are looking forward to seeing you!
Please also inform colleagues and fellow students!
We look forward to exchanging ideas with you! Please let your colleagues and fellow students know! Further information can be found here.
On the occasion of the international day Women in Science – aiming to make the achievements and specific challenges of female scientists more visible – we invite all those interested to join us in a cozy atmosphere with snacks and drinks.
Students of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences will give short talks about their conversations with female scientists from all over the world. What motivated these women to go into science? How do they go about their daily lives? What specific challenges have they experienced along the way?
We look forward to the exchange of thoughts! Please let your colleagues and fellow students know!
We look forward to exchanging ideas with you! Please let your colleagues and fellow students know! Further information can be found here.
Women Scientists during the time of COVID
This winter marks the second anniversary of the start of the Corona pandemic. Everyone's daily life continues to be strongly influenced by this exceptional situation. In this regard, the pandemic acts as amplifier of social and societal inequalities and threatens movement towards gender equality.
The higher education sector also underwent drastic adjustment processes that continue to this day. The switch to teaching online and working from home are probably the most prominent examples of the radical changes in campus and work life, which also impact private life.
We are taking the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" as an opportunity to illuminate precisely these processes of adaptation and change, including their effects on all involved parties at University (especially, but not limited to the female perspective). This also includes space to describe experiences.
We look forward to exchanging ideas with you! Please let your colleagues and fellow students know! Further information can be found here.
The video ‘Words of women in mathematics in times of Corona’ compiles statements from 86 female mathematicians from 37 countries, who tell us in 25 different languages about their experiences in the time of Corona.
It will be published on 12 May, the date of Maryam Mirzakhani's birthday, the day on which women in mathematics are celebrated worldwide (https://may12.womeninmaths.org/).
This project was started by a group of female mathematicians (Sonia Mahmoudi (U. Tohoku, Japan), Claudia Malvenuto (U. di Roma La Sapienza, Italy), Sylvie Paycha (U. Potsdam, Germany) and Eriko Shinkawa (U. Tohoku, Japan)) after informal conversations about our experiences during the pandemic. This video is a continuation of the film ‘Faces of Women in Mathematics’ (https://vimeo.com/259039018). With its authors, mathematician Eugenie Hunsicker (U. of Loughborough, England) and filmmaker Irina Linke, we have brought this project back to life.
If you would like to plan a screening on 12 May, please fill in the form below and provide the title, time and location (including country) of the event, as well as the necessary information about the organisers.
We will get back to you if further details are required. The video will also be available after this date so that you can watch it at a later date. Please do not hesitate to contact us: wwmtc2021@gmail.com
On behalf of the team:
Sylvie Paycha, Eugenie Hunsicker, Claudia Malvenuto, Eriko Shinkawa, Sonia Mahmoudi and Irene Linke
A journey through the natural sciences with female doctoral students
This interdisciplinary event for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science will take place for the third year in 2021 and aims to make women in the natural sciences more visible. To this end, seven female doctoral students from various institutes of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Digital Engineering will give us an insight into their respective research areas and their careers to date. The researchers from the fields of chemistry, data science, nutritional sciences, mathematics and environmental sciences will each give 10-minute presentations in English or German.
Detailed information about the event
Abstracts of all presentations
Videos of the Talks:
Sany Chea (Chemie): Zucker zur Behandlung von COVID-19
Alyna Lange (Chemie): Ionic Liquid based 3D printable Electrolytes for Energy Applications
Lisa Luna (Umweltwissenschaften): Today's forecast: rainy with a 40% chance of landslides
Elisabeth Schönfeldt (Geowissenschaften): Fließen, Flutschen, Fallen - Warum sich Hänge bewegen
Tanja Mutschler (Physik): Impulsvortrag
On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, this interdisciplinary event aims to help make women in the natural sciences more visible. To this end, students will present various female scientists in the form of 15-minute lectures based on their careers and contributions to the development of the relevant discipline. find out more
Slides on Sophie Germain (Christina Fernandez Koch, Luka Pint und Carina Seidel)
Slides on Marie Curie (Jonas Diekmann, Johannes Müller und Mareike Wübbenhorst)
Slides on Maria Sybilla Merian (Helena Brech)
Slides on Ada Lovelace (Maria Stazherova)
Slides on Emmy Noether (Mitra Pushya)
Slides on Rosalind Elsie Franklin (Stephan Uelpenich)
Slides on "Wie werden Frauen als Wissenschaftlerinnen unsichtbar gemacht?" (Tanja Mutschler)
The travelling exhibition ‘Women of mathematics thoughout Europe. A gallery of portraits’ will be shown worldwide and offers an insight into the world of mathematics with the help of portraits (created by Noel Tavia Matoff) and excerpts from interviews (conducted by Sylvie Paycha and Sara Azzali) of female mathematicians.
