The BE Program was created in 2007 for the Supercomputing (SC) Conference as a way to engage people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 2015, Leung brought the program to the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (SIAM CSE) 15, SIAM CSE17, SIAM CSE19, and SIAM CSE21. The program was such a success that in 2021, SIAM asked SHI to expand the program to other SIAM conferences, leading to programs at the SIAM Mathematics of Data Science 2022 and 2024 conferences. Since 2015, we have welcomed over 300 participants to the program.
During the week-long conference, participants attend a rich scientific program that includes numerous interdisciplinary technical sessions, plenaries, and discussions that help advance their knowledge and skill sets. The program also helps participants develop a sense of engagement and belonging in the community through psychosocial support, such as a program orientation, mentoring, small learning groups known as “Guided Affinity Groups,” and motivational workshops/activities.
Each morning before a conference, our Guided Affinity Groups meet with a leader to discuss technical topics, and the leader equips them with knowledge and tools to attend conference events. (Find more information and results from the programs at CSE15, CSE17, CSE19, and CSE21.)
We provide travel grants to attend professional society conferences, offer students access to the full technical program, provide opportunities for students to present research, and offer practice and coaching.
If you are interested in bringing this program to your conference, please email us at info@shinstitute.org.
Join the community and give your career path a boost!
If you would like to participate in BE you can:
- Apply as a funded participant to receive a travel grant for an in-person conference experience, including access to the full technical program, mentoring, and opportunities to practice and present research. Note: applications are currently closed, so check back or sign up for our mailing list to get notified when applications open again.
- Serve on our Organizing Committee
- Serve as a guided affinity group leader
- Sponsor to provide funding for student participants
- Donate here
Consider donating to the program. Your gift of even $100 will facilitate a student to attend critical scientific conferences and participate in the program at these conferences.
“The program helped me garner resources not just for myself, but also for my peers at Santa Barbara Community College. I was so inspired and enthused by all of the research, opportunities and the feeling of community, that when I got back, I started a student chapter of SIAM at Santa Barbara City College. Currently, we have over 100 members who are interested in Applied Math.”
Pulkita Jain, Santa Barbara Community College Student
“I consider the program experience to have been absolutely the most valuable and empowering conference experience I have had to date as a student. I learned a great deal about research opportunities and employment opportunities available in CSE broadly. This information has been key in forming my projected career plans after graduate school. It’s an understatement to say that the BE program has vastly broadened my horizons and my potential career paths.”
Kevin Luna, University of Arizona, Doctoral Student
“The program wasn’t just a community and a scientific family I became a part of, it helped me to really understand things I didn’t even know I wanted before. It’s helped to define a lot of my goals going into my fifth and final year of school.”
Minsoo Thigpen, Brown University