DU Professor Honored With Service Award From the Association for Women in Mathematics

Professor Mei Yin has spent nearly a decade fostering community and opportunity for women in mathematics at the University of Denver.

As the founder and faculty advisor of DU’s Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) student chapter, Yin helps students succeed through mentoring, support and research development opportunities. 

Her dedication to growing the presence of women in the field has earned her the 2025 AWM Service Award. Yin was formally recognized for her exemplary service at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Seattle last month.

“It is truly an honor and privilege to be a recipient of the AWM service award, and receiving this award motivates me to do even more,” she says.

Yin has also supported the AWM Women in Algebraic Combinatorics (WiAC) Research Network and serves as a mentor in the New Faculty in STEM Mentoring Program as part of DU’s Mobilizing Equity to Raise Inclusivity in STEM (MERISTEM) program. She has also supported the national AWM Women in Algebraic Combinatorics (WiAC) Research Network and will lead a research team at the next installation of this conference series at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in June 2025.

In what she calls an “integral and enlightening part” of her academic journey, Yin was involved in the local AWM chapter (known as the Rose Whelan Society) at Brown University during her postdoc. 

After being hired at DU in 2013, one of Yin’s top priorities was to start an AWM chapter at the University so she could provide students with the same opportunities and support that helped shape her early career. 

One of those students is Jordan Koler, who says she wouldn’t be pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics without Yin. She found her love for the subject when she took a first-year seminar with Yin, who was also her advisor throughout her undergraduate degree at DU and continues to be a close colleague, she says.

“The AWM is particularly great because it brings together women and non-binary students in a male-dominated field, and it allows us to get to know, support, and build up each other,” says Koler, who was on the board of the undergraduate chapter.

PhD student Casey Schlortt says Yin has helped foster a safe and inviting environment for women in mathematics at DU and has served as a mentor to many.

“Mei is very open about talking about the challenges she has faced as a woman in mathematics and the strategies she has used to overcome some of those challenges,” Schlortt says.

The DU chapter aims to host educational and social events each quarter, such as mentoring lunches or teas. Back in October 2024, the organization held an event where they helped the national AWM network update and create new “EvenQuads,” a set of playing cards that honor notable women mathematicians and can be used to play different mathematical games. 

“Women representation in STEM is not very high, and it’s always nice to see someone who is like you,” Yin says. “Having these types of organizations also gives you the confidence that you can not just survive but thrive in the field as well.”