This past June the Math3ma Institute hosted a two-day symposium for professionals and graduate students in the sciences across academia, industry, and government. The goal was simple — to invite like-minded Christians in similar vocations for a time of fellowship and encouragement at The Master’s University. We are immensely grateful for all those who attended and the precious time we had together. Below are three takeaways from this unique event, shared from a personal perspective.
Academic conferences and symposia surrounding Christianity and the sciences are oftentimes thematic, focusing on apologetics, creation, ethics, and the like. But the Math3ma Symposium was intentionally different. Instead of inviting experts to address a particular issue, we invited experts with the goal of encouraging and recharging them in the midst of issues they may face on a day-to-day basis. Being a Christian in academia and industry can be particularly challenging, especially in today’s climate, and those challenges are intensified if you happen to be the only Christian in your department or workplace. In light of this, our prayer was that the Math3ma Symposium would serve as a tangible reminder to these faithful believers that we are not alone.
And indeed, we are not. From June 9–10 we hosted approximately 50 researchers, professors, industry professionals, and graduate students from a wide range of STEM disciplines — computer science, physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, to name a few. Their affiliations were just as varied, as home institutions included UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, Chapman University, Johns Hopkins University, The City University of New York, Google, and more, along with several nearby universities including Biola, California Baptist, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma Nazarene.
Based on the warm interactions and lively conversations throughout both days, the heart behind the symposium was spot on. There is indeed great joy and encouragement in meeting and engaging in dialogue with other brothers and sisters in Christ — especially when so few of us have the opportunity to do so in our professions.
Even with the large mix of backgrounds, areas of expertise, and career trajectories, the atmosphere was charged with a sweet unity that only comes from a common love for the Lord Jesus Christ and a desire to see Him honored in our individual lives. Witnessing this was one of the aspects of the symposium that I treasured the most.
I remember being particularly concerned that the 90 minutes scheduled for roundtable discussions over lunch was too much time. What if people run out of things to talk about? Well, this turned out not to be a problem at all. In fact, after 90 minutes, attendees were still engaged in deep conversations, which we had to interrupt on both days just to stay on schedule! What a great “problem” to have. As one attendee later told me, his table never moved beyond a single question: “How did you come to know Christ?” This elevation of the gospel captures well the spirit of the event and was mirrored in the keynote sessions as well.
A final takeaway comes on a more personal level, as the desire to hold this event was motivated by personal experiences. Before joining TMU in fall of 2021, I had never worked at a Christian institution and, as a result, have become particularly sensitive to the longing for fellowship with like-minded believers and the loneliness that arises when such opportunities are not available. In fact, until recently, I had not met many Christians working at the highest levels of science in academia or industry, and so I was not sure whether anyone (aside from myself!) would want to attend the Math3ma Symposium. But we proceeded to plan for the event anyway, trusting it all to the Lord through prayer. As described above, He answered those prayers in wonderful ways. Looking back, I can’t help but think, “’tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.”
All in all, I am very grateful to the Lord for blessing the symposium, and we pray that attendees will continue to be strengthened and encouraged until next year’s event. That’s right, mark your calendars! Planning for the next Math3ma Symposium is already underway — we look forward to hosting the event again on May 31 – June 1, 2024.
Missed this year’s Math3ma Symposium? Watch the event’s keynote sessions on TMU’s YouTube channel and browse the event’s bulletin here.
