People Online In Number Theory

We are a virtual community of number theorists (broadly construed) that focuses on supporting early career number theorists. Our POINT community is based on the Discord platform, which can be joined by filling out this Google form. The Discord platform is used primarily to organize online activities and events for the community, as well as to provide a virtual space for peer-to-peer support. It includes private channels specifically for members of various underrepresented groups to connect with one another. Once an activity or event is organized, we publicize the information on this website! The Discord platform also contains channels where established number theorists can offer concrete constructive feedback to early career members such as sample grant applications or reading research statements. We aim to have a collective organizational structure in which the direction, content, and layout of the server are decided by members, and then implemented by the moderators, who assist with the technical aspects of the server. We expect the composition of the moderator group to change and welcome members who would like to moderate!

POINT was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to create a virtual alternative to some of the networking and speaking opportunities that happen at conferences and are crucial to the success of early career researchers.

POINT is a virtual community that is open to anyone at the graduate student level or beyond who identifies as a number theorist and who wishes to make our discipline open to anyone wishing to study it. Much of the support is aimed at early career researchers, especially those near the end of their Ph.D., postdocs, and those who hold fixed-term positions. However, senior members form a critical part of POINT, as described below, and we hope they will be enriched by the virtual community as well. For the time being, we are not accepting undergraduates as members of the POINT Discord.

POINT was designed with you in mind! Success on the job market is determined not just by how many papers you have and where they are published, but also by who you know and your visibility in the community. POINT provides a virtual community where you can expand your number theory network. It is a great place to meet potential collaborators, find an expert who can point you in a good direction, and get feedback and career advice from members who have been in your position and successfully navigated the job market. You can also meet other number theorists who share your identity and have discussions with them that are not visible to the wider community.

POINT aims to provide a structure for senior number theorists, usually those in tenure-track, tenured or equivalent positions, to offer discrete pieces of support to early career members. Furthermore, you get to meet promising up-and-coming number theorists that you may want to invite to give a talk, collaborate with, or hire in the future! Finally, POINT provides a forum to discuss a wide range of issues affecting number theorists, not just those at the early career level. We hope that the virtual community will enrich all of our members.

Please fill out our registration form. Shortly after this, you will receive an e-mail with an invitation to join the POINT Discord community, together with instructions for how to do so.

Feel free to write to the organizers at point.organizers@gmail.com.