Speakers and Panellists
Laleh Behjat (Calgary)
Dr. Laleh Behjat is a professor at the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary and the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering - Prairies. Her research focuses on developing mathematical techniques and software tools for automating the design of digital integrated circuits. Dr. Behjat acted as an academic advisor for Google Technical Development Guide and was a member of Google’s Council on Computer Science Education. She is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on CAD, and ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems.
Dr. Behjat is passionate about increasing the status of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and removing systemic barriers. She was the recipient of the 2015 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) Women in Engineering Champion Award, Association of Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group in Design Automation Service Award in 2014 and 2017 and 2017 Killam Graduate Student Supervision and Mentorship Award. Her team, Schulich Engineering Outreach Team, was also the recipient of the ASTech Leadership Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness Award in 2017. Currently, she is leading a change leadership program WISE planet with the mission to envision and build a just, equitable, diverse and inclusive society.
Kristine Bauer (Calgary)
Dr. Kristine Bauer is an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, and an expert in algebraic topology. She earned her PhD from the University of Illinois (Urbana) in 2001, and after postdoctoral positions at Johns Hopkins University and Western University, she joined the faculty in Calgary. She is one of the founding members of the Women in Topology (WIT) network, a grass-roots organization aimed at the retention of women in the field of homotopy theory. Along with the other AWM research networks, WIT has had tremendous success in increasing representation of women in the field. In 2019, Dr. Bauer became a fellow in the prestigious Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) program at Drexel University. In 2020, together with Dr. James Colliander, she founded the PIMS Math to Power Industry Program, a training program for graduate students in the mathematical sciences who wish to transition from academic programs into meaningful industrial jobs. Dr. Bauer was the Calgary Site Director for PIMS during 2019 - 2022. She has been the PIMS Co-Director, Industry since July 1, 2022.
Alia Hamieh (UNBC)
Dr. Hamieh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Northern British Columbia.
She received her PhD in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia in May 2013. She obtained her MSc and BSc in Mathematics from the American University of Beirut. Before joining the Math and Statistics Department at UNBC as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Hamieh was a PIMS Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Lethbridge (2015-2017) and a Coleman Post-doctoral Fellow at Queen's University (2013-2015).
Dr. Hamieh's research interests are in number theory motivated by questions regarding modular forms and special values of L-functions in the number field setting.
Her research is supported by NSERC Discovery Grant “Special Values of L‑functions” (2018–2023). She is also one of the leaders on the PIMS-funded Collaborative Research Group: L‑functions in Analytic Number Theory (2022–2025).
Hermie Monterde (Manitoba)
Hermie Monterde (she/her) is a PhD student at the University of Manitoba. Her research involves applications of techniques from algebraic graph theory and spectral graph theory to problems in continuous-time quantum walks. She is passionate about SOGIESC rights and gender equity in STEM; and is involved in events organized by equity-seeking groups within the mathematics community. She has been invited to give talks as well as serve as a panelist on discussions about the current status of SOGIESC-diverse people in mathematics. Currently, she serves on the CMS Women in Mathematics Committee and sits as the president of the Graduate Mathematics Society (an association of math graduate students at the University of Manitoba). Hermie is also active in organizing seminars and minisymposia, including the Prairie Discrete Mathematics Workshop 2022, the 05C50 Online (an online international seminar on Graphs and Linear Algebra) and the upcoming Queer in Computational Applied Mathematics Conference (the first conference in applied mathematics that celebrates the work of SOGIESC-diverse people). Outside of mathematics, she is active in migrants' and labor rights grassroots movements in Manitoba.
As a transgender woman with native roots from a developing country with a long colonial history, Hermie has experienced the barriers created by capitalism, colonization and patriarchy, which continue to disenfranchise low income, disabled, racialized and SOGIESC-diverse people. Hermie believes that EDI is essential to building a strong academic community, and it is only by recognizing and tearing down these barriers that we can truly create an equitable, diverse and inclusive mathematics community.
(PIMS profile: https://webdev.pims.math.ca/profiles/hermie-monterde)
Shirin Alimirzaei (Lethbridge)
Shirin Alimirzaei is a Ph.D. student at the University of Lethbridge. Her Ph.D. focus is on the color-preserving automorphism of Cayley graphs, under the supervision of Joy and Dave Morris.
Shirin has a wealth of experience tutoring and teaching math courses, as well as robust digital skills in mathematical programming. She also used to work as a teacher in her home country of Iran. Shirin is passionate about helping students become excellent math problem solvers.
She also is very familiar with the student’s struggles and concerns. In particular, she understands the challenges of student life and being away from family. In her role as the International Representative of the Graduate Student Association (2022-2024), Shirin wants to help other international students.
In her free time, she enjoys reading scientific books, going for walks or bike rides with friends, and volunteering in the local community.
Golnoush Farzanfard (Lethbridge)
Golnoush Farzanfard is a graduate student pursuing her studies in Number Theory at Lethbridge University. Her research is currently focussed on {\it Zero density for the Riemann Zeta function} under the supervision of Andrew Fiori.
Prior to her enrolment at Lethbridge University she completed a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Shahid Beheshti University which is one of the most prestigious universities in Iran. During her undergraduate years she had the opportunity to work as a tutor for a high school summer camp, where she shared her knowledge and passion for mathematics.
Here, in Lethbridge, she has also served as a tutor for math courses such as Math 2560 and Math 3461. These experiences have been invaluable to her, as she greatly enjoys helping others and connecting with people. Having faced the challenges of being an international student herself, she empathizes with the difficulties that international students may encounter, and she is eager to provide support and assistance to them.
In addition to her academic pursuits, she has a passion for painting. Since childhood, she has been actively involved in drawing and painting, nurturing her creativity and artistic abilities.