Spectra (mathematical association)
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 | |
| Established | 2015  (10 years ago) |
|---|---|
| Chairpersons | Mike Hill |
| Website | www |
Spectra is a professional association of LGBTQIA+ mathematicians. It arose from a need for recognition and community for mathematicians who belong to gender and sexual minorities.
Spectra has its roots in meetups arranged at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) and a mailing list organized by Ron Buckmire.[1] It arose in reaction to the JMM being scheduled to occur in Denver in 1995 when the state of Colorado voters approved the anti-gay 1992 Colorado Amendment 2. In December 1992 David Pengelley wrote letters to members of the AMS and MAA urging them to move the meeting out of Colorado, feeling that it would be offensive to the many homosexual participants to attend a meeting in an openly hostile and potentially dangerous place. Moreover, he thought that such a decision could help ensure that similar political decisions do not become a national trend. In the same month, James Humphreys also sent a letter with a similar message. Then, in the meeting in San Antonio of January 1993, the AMS and MAA agreed to move the meeting from Denver to San Francisco.
There, at the 1995 JMM meeting, James Humphreys, Robert Bryant, and others organized a reception for LGBT mathematicians, called LGBT Math, which would become Spectra in 2015.[2] The LGBT Math reception became an annual event, with a listserv organized by Ron Buckmire. The most popular topics of conversation involved the gay-friendly quality of one’s home institution and the fear of not being able have career advancements or even to be fired on the ground of "moral turpitude" if they would be openly gay.[1]
The association's name was coined by Robert Bryant and Mike Hill and references the mathematical concept of a spectrum as well as the rainbow flag. After 20 years of recurrent LGBT Math meetings, the newly founded Spectra held its first official activity in 2015, a panel at the JMM of the same year.[2][3]
Board
Many prominent mathematicians have served on the Spectra board, including Robert Bryant, Ron Buckmire, Moon Duchin, Mike Hill, Lily Khadjavi, Doug Lind, and Emily Riehl.[4]
