Barrett Leslie, applied mathematics student at IIT, along with students from University of Oxford, Purdue University, Middle Eastern Technical University, and University of Illinois at Chicago, took on a leadership role at this year’s Society for Industry and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Annual Conference in Minneapolis. At the student chapter’s meeting with SIAM leadership, these students decided to create “the SIAM Student Conference White Papers,” a document that describes best practices in organizing a student conference.

They took on this task because each of them had previously organized and hosted a successful local or regional SIAM student conference and wanted to share their experiences and ideas. In fact, Leslie and other IIT SIAM student officers organized the SIAM student chapter conference at IIT last year. The “White Papers” provides a guide for student conference planning for those chapters who have not yet organized a meeting. The main message conveyed in the document is the importance of advanced preparation.

More information on the “White Papers” can be found on the new Student Blog, which was also created at the student chapter’s meeting at this year’s SIAM Annual Conference as a way for SIAM student chapters to stay in touch throughout the year. More information on IIT’s SIAM student chapter can be found on the chapter’s Facebook page.