I am the American Mathematical Society Associate Secretary for the Southeastern Section. This means that I help coordinate the semiannual AMS meetings for this region, one each Spring and Fall. I am also responsible for the scientific aspects of the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) once every four years, and for a Joint International Meeting approximately once every four years. There is a FAQ on special sessions on the AMS website. Recent and Upcoming SE Sectional Meetings Spring 2021 (Mar. 13-14), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (virtual; in-person postponed due to COVID-19) Fall 2021 (Nov. 20-21), University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL (virtual; in-person postponed due to COVID-19) Spring 2022 (Mar. 11-13), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (canceled due to COVID-19) Fall 2022 (Oct. 15-16), University of Tennessee–Chattanooga, TN Spring 2023 (Mar. 18-19), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA Fall 2023 (Oct. 13-15), University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL Spring 2024 (Mar. 23-24), Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL Here is a nice Google map that the UFL mathematics department put together showing campus buildings, parking, hotels, and restaurants for the AMS sectional meeting there Nov. 2-3, 2019. AMS Graduate Student Travel Grants The AMS, with support from a private gift, accepts applications for partial support for full-time doctoral students to attend AMS Sectional Meetings. Approximately twenty-five grants of $250 are expected to be awarded for each of the eight sectional meetings every year. Organize A Special Session Organizing a special session at an AMS meeting is an easy way to run a mini-conference without doing much work. The AMS Meetings and Conferences Department handles most of the logistics; the main things you have to do are invite speakers, make a schedule, and show up! Here is a more detailed summary of what's involved, including instructions for submitting a special session proposal. I encourage you to organize a special session at an upcoming Southeastern section meeting! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Host A Meeting Hosting an AMS sectional meeting is a great way to generate goodwill and promote your university and your department. Meeting sites are typically chosen two to three years in advance. The AMS Meetings and Conferences Department handles much of the work, including negotiating special rates for blocks of hotel rooms. The AMS website provides some basic information. Here is a more detailed summary of what's required. I encourage you to consider hosting an AMS Sectional Meeting at your institution. If you want more information, please contact me. Speak At An AMS Meeting There are typically three types of talks at AMS sectional meetings: invited addresses, special session talks, and contributed papers. Three 50-minute invited addresses at each section meeting are by invitation of the Section Program Committee. Invited address speakers are encouraged to organize a special session in their research area. The AMS provides some guidelines for the preparation of a good invited address. Special session talks are mostly by invitation of the special session organizer(s), although individuals who voluntarily submit unsolicited abstracts for consideration in a special session may sometimes be accommodated. Most special session talks are 20 minutes. Nowadays most speakers prepare computer "slides", using Beamer or some similar software, to be displayed via LCD projector. Landscape mode works best, given the aspect ratio of computer screens. Here are some (very outdated) suggestions from the AMS about presenting papers at meetings. Contributed papers are 10 minutes long. Unsolicited abstracts declined by special session organizers will normally be scheduled as contributed papers, unless withdrawn by the author. You may also submit an abstract directly to a contributed paper session. Contributed papers must have genuine nontrivial mathematical content, may not contain racial, political, religious, or slanderous remarks, and may not advertise products produced for profit.
