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News 2001

"The American Mathematical Society is grateful to mathematicians around the world for their condolences and expressions of support for America in the wake of the tragic events on September 11, 2001." --- Hyman Bass, AMS President

Call for Proposals for the AMS-IMS-SIAM Summer Research Conferences in the Mathematical Sciences for 2003

The AMS-IMS-SIAM Summer Research Conferences Selection Committee invites mathematicians to serve as organizers of research conferences in the mathematical sciences. The deadline for receipt of all proposals for summer 2003 conferences is February 1, 2002. Complete instructions on proposal requirements, how to submit a proposal, and sample proposals are available from AMS Meetings and Conferences.

David Eisenbud New AMS President Elect

David Eisenbud, of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, is the new President Elect of the AMS. His term officially begins on February 1, 2002. Read more about results from the recent AMS elections.

Departments Coordinate Job Offer Deadlines

Departments of Mathematics in the U.S. have, for the third year in a row, formally adopted an agreement to coordinate deadlines for responding to postdoctoral job offers. Details, including a list of departments adhering to the agreement, are available.

LMS Honors Cathleen Morawetz

Cathleen Synge Morawetz has been elected to Honorary Membership of the London Mathematical Society. The Society cites Morawetz as "one of the most distinguished applied mathematicians in the United States and indeed worldwide." Morawetz's work includes important results on transonic flow and on wave scattering. She is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and in 1998 was a recipient of the United States National Medal of Science. Morawetz was President of the American Mathematical Society 1995-1996. [Item posted 10/01]

National Summit on the Mathematical Education of Teachers

According to the Glenn Commission report Before It's Too Late, the most direct route to improving mathematics and science achievement for all students is better mathematics and science teaching. On November 2nd and 3rd, near Washington, D.C., there will be a national summit on the mathematical community's efforts to improve the mathematical education of teachers. Sixteen national math societies have gotten together to issue recommendations on the mathematical education of teachers. The National Summit is intended to stimulate the mathematics community to make the mathematical education of teachers a national and local priority for the decade. It will engage college and university mathematics faculty in the hard work of beginning to implement the vision of the recently released document The Mathematical Education of Teachers. This National Summit is supported by grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation and the National Science Foundation. More information and application forms for the Summit are on the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences website. [Item posted 10/22/01]

Clay Invites Long-Term Prize Fellow Nominations

The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) is soliciting nominations for Long-Term Prize Fellows to begin research with the CMI during the summer of 2002. This position will provide a young mathematician employment for a period of up to five years. The CMI Scientific Advisory Board will select candidates who are finishing (or have recently finished) their Ph.D. dissertation; the deadline for nominations is November 20, 2001. See the CMI website for details about the fellowship, or email inquiries to cmi@claymath.org. [Item posted 10/01]

Mathematica exhibit by Charles and Ray Eames opens at Exploratorium

Mathematica: A World of Numbers and Beyond, the classic exhibit created in 1961 by Charles and Ray Eames, will be on view at the Exploratorium in San Francisco CA from October 6 to May 5, 2002. The mathematical concepts captured by the innovative design include demonstrations and devices on display--from light blubs and plastic balls to a soap bubble dipping device--which make usually abstract mathematical concepts real. States the Exploratorium press release: "Mathematica explores mathematics as a tool, a science, and a work of art". [Item posted 10/01]

Alain Connes Awarded Crafoord Prize

H.M. the King of Sweden is awarding the Crafoord Prize to Alain Connes in a ceremony today at The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences "for his penetrating work on the theory of operator algebras and for having been a founder of non-commutative geometry". French mathematician Connes is among the world's foremost mathematicians. He has made pioneering and unique contributions to the theory of operator algebras and non-commutative geometry, the latter a new field of mathematics. Anna-Greta and Holger Crafoord's Fund was established in 1980 to promote basic research in mathematics, astronomy, the biosciences (particularly ecology) and the geosciences: this year the prize is awarded in mathematics. The announcement of the award was reported extensively in the international press earlier in the year. View the September 24-26 Crafoord Days program. [Item posted 9/01]

Call for Feature Column Writer

The AMS Public Awareness office invites mathematicians to serve as the Feature Column writer for a two-year period. Tony Phillips (SUNY at Stony Brook) is retiring from writing the popular monthly Feature Column on the AMS website. This column provides a venue for original writings and graphics that describe current applications of or topics in mathematics. The archive of past Feature Columns is at www.ams.org/new-in-math/cover/. If you are interested in this chance to communicate mathematics to a wide audience, please contact us at paoffice@ams.org by October 31 with a letter of interest and writing sample. [Item Posted 9/01]

Mathematics to Have Nobel Equivalent

The Norwegian government has created a 22 million dollar fund for a yearly prize in mathematics. The first prize will be awarded in 2003, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Norwegian mathematician Niels Abel. The Abel prize will be worth about US$500,000. More details can be found in a short article in the September 7th issue of Science (p. 1761). [Item Posted 9/01]

NSF announces International Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

The Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) announces a special opportunity for postdoctoral investigators to conduct research projects abroad as MPS Distinguished International Postdoctoral Research Fellows (MPS-DRF). The objective of this activity is to provide talented recent doctoral recipients in the mathematical and physical sciences an effective means of establishing international collaborations in the early stages of their careers, thereby facilitating and enhancing connections between the U.S. science and engineering community and its international counterparts. By providing the resources needed to establish collaborations with potential for long-term impact, this activity is aimed at recognizing and supporting future leaders. As the scientific enterprise becomes increasingly global, there is a growing need for scientists who will excel and provide leadership in such an environment.

The deadline for submission of proposals is November 21, 2001. See the Full Program Announcement.

[ Item posted 9/01]

Register Now for the 2002 Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego

Deadlines :
  • Oct 2 - Abstracts Submission
  • Oct 26 - Room Lottery & Resumes/Job Descriptions printed in Winter Lists
  • Nov 7 - Hotel Room Reservations & Badge and Program mailed in December
  • Dec 6 - Hotel Cancellations and Changes through the MMSB
  • Dec 10 - Advance Registration
[Item Posted 9/01]

Mathfest in Madison: Prizes, Awards, and a Varied Program

Over 900 mathematicians attended Mathfest at the Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, August 2-4. Highlights included prizes and awards, a full program of invited lectures, minicourses, contributed papers, and social events. Ann Watkins, MAA President, introduced this year’s awardees for outstanding expository articles in MAA journals: James N. Brawner, Rafe Jones and Jan Pearce (Carl B. Allendoerfer Award); Ira Rosenholtz and James Tanton (Trevor Evans Award); Keith Kendig and E.R. Scheinerman (Lester R. Ford Award); Chip Ross, Jody Sorensen, and Ezra Brown (George Polya Award); and Francis Edward Su (Merten M. Hasse Prize).

Thomas Banchoff, Ingrid Daubechies, Judith Grabiner, Carl Graham, Rhonda Hatcher, Frank Morgan, Patrica Shure, Michael Starbird and Robert Witte were among the invited speakers. Special and contributed paper session topics covered teaching mathematics to liberal arts students, using technology in teaching mathematics, implementing recommendations in the Mathematical Education of Teachers (MET) document, using history in the teaching of mathematics, and increasing participation of women in mathematics, among others. And of course the Project NExT group was active at Mathfest. See the MAA website for more information. [Item posted 8/01]

SACNAS Offers Funding to Attend Annual Meeting

SACNAS (the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) announces that funding is still available for postdocs and junior faculty to attend the national conference in Phoenix, Arizona, September 27-30. The funding covers airfare, lodging and registration. Interested individuals should complete the student section of the financial aid application form and submit an accompanying 250-word statement to the national headquaurters. See SACNAS Conference Registration online or call Rosalina Aranda at (831) 459-0170 ext. 224 for details. [Item posted 8/01]

Highlights of the International Mathematical Olympiad 2001 Closing Ceremonies

IMO 2001 concluded July 13 with a grand awards ceremony held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The team from China won first place, and the teams from Russia and the U.S. tied for second place. The Clay Mathematics Institute planned and hosted the Closing Ceremonies, which included talks by Andrew Wiles and Edward Witten. [Item posted 7/01]

Questionnaire for Mathematicians

A research project has been launched to investigate what fascinates mathematicians about their subject, how they came into the field, and what they think about it now. A similar project was carried out in 1999 in the field of physics. These researchers intend to interview about ten prominent mathematicians and are also circulating a questionnaire. The ultimate aim is to write a book based on this research. Mathematicians may participate in the project by filling out the online questionnaire. [Item posted 7/01]

Online Membership Renewal

You can renew your 2002 AMS membership as well as subscriptions online. To save time and lock in this year's dues rate, you can pay for up to five years at once. Members in their first years of membership receive a special introductory rate. Payment is by credit card and AMS points only. [Item Posted 7/01]

Menger and Trjitzinsky Awards Made

The 2001 Intel-International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) was held May 6-12 in San Jose, California. Nearly 1,200 ninth- through twelfth-graders qualified to compete by winning top prizes in local, regional, and state fairs in the United States or national science fairs abroad. This was the fourteenth year of participation in ISEF by the AMS, and the twelfth year of presentation of the Karl Menger Memorial Awards. The AMS Special Awards Panel of Judges reviewed 48 mathematics projects and selected seven winners of the 2001 Menger Award.

The AMS has made awards to nine undergraduate students through the Waldemar J. Trjitzinsky Memorial Fund. For the 2001 Trjitzinsky awards, the AMS chose eight geographically distributed schools to receive one-time awards of US$4,000 each. The mathematics departments at those schools then chose students to receive the funds to assist them in pursuit of careers in mathematics.
[Item Posted 7/01]

NSF Call for Proposals for VIGRE and CARGO programs

The NSF invites proposals for two programs. The Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE) program in the NSF's Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) will provide grants "to departments in the mathematical sciences to carry out innovative educational programs in which research and education are integrated and in which undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty are mutually supportive". The deadline for full proposals is July 30, 2001.

The Computational and Algorithmic Representations of Geometric Objects (CARGO) program, sponsored by the Division of Computer and Communications Research and DMS at NSF and the Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advnaced Projects Research Agency (DARPA), will support grants "for innovations relevant to representation and computational manipulation of geometric objects." The deadline for full proposals is September 4, 2001.
[Item Posted 7/01]

Survey- Please tell us what you think of the AMS Primary Journals!

  • Mathematics of Computation
  • Journal of the AMS
  • Proceedings of the AMS
  • Transactions of the AMS

  • [Item Posted 6/01]

'Proof' Wins 3 Tony Awards

The Broadway play 'Proof', written by David Auburn, continues to receive accolades and awards--most recently three Tony Awards: Best Play, Best Actress (Mary-Louis Parker) and Best Director (Daniel Sullivan). The Tony Awards ceremony was broadcast internationally and was covered extensively in the press, generating interest in this drama about a famous mathematician and the impact his life, work and death have on his family. See the 'Proof' website for a synopsis of the play and its many positive reviews. [Item Posted 6/01]

Copyright Statement and Call to Authors endorsed by IMU

At its recent meeting on May 14-15, the Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) endorsed two statements put forward by its Committee on Electronic Information and Communication (CEIC). The first statement on copyright What do you want from your publisher?, is an executive summary of a longer paper outlining important issues for authors of journal articles in the changing electronic publishing environment. The second is a Call to Authors, urging mathematicians to provide their own past papers online to the extent possible.
[Item posted 6/01]

Clay Names Michael Hamburg as American Olympiad Scholar

The Clay Mathematics Institute conferred its prestigious American Olympiad Scholar award on June 5 to Michael Hamburg, an 11th grader from South Bend, IN. Michael beat out 350,000 other students nationwide to win the award, which commends the student with the most ingenious and elegant solution to a problem on the USA Mathematical Olympiad Competition's exam. Michael was one of only 9 out of 270 finalists to answer Problem 6 on the exam correctly, and his inventive "proof without words" won unanimous praise from the judges. [Item posted 6/01]

Clay Awards Four Fellowships

The Clay Mathematics Institute recently awarded four Long-Term Prize Fellowships. The Prize Fellows: Roman Bezrukavnikov, Alexei Borodin, Sergei Gukov and Mircea Mustata, are all in their twenties and "have already contributed profound ideas and major achievements to the discipline of mathematics." More information on the awards is available on the Clay Mathematics Institute website. [Item Posted 6/01]

Charles Seife wins PEN Award for First Nonfiction

The PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction has been awarded to Charles Seife for Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. The PEN news release notes that this is the first instance of the award--given for a distinguished book of general nonfiction by an American writer--going to a book on mathematics. The judges praised the work as an "extremely rigorous--and often extremely funny--investigation of a number" which recounts "the history of the human race through its terror of and flirtation with nothingness." The awards are being presented at Lincoln Center on May 21. See the PEN website for more information on the PEN 2001 Literary Awards. [Item posted 5/01]

APS-AAS-AMS Present Year 2001 Public Service Awards

Three major scientific societies presented their Year 2001 Public Service Awards at a ceremony at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 16. The honorees are Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and Dr. Neal Lane, former Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. [Item Posted 5/01]

NSF invites proposals for Early Career Development program

The deadline for submitting proposals to NSF's Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate is July 26, 2001. Successful applicants will propose creative, integrative, and effective research and education plans.

"The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards for new faculty members. The CAREER program recognizes and supports the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. CAREER awardees will be selected on the basis of creative career-development plans that effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their institution. Such plans should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from new faculty members at all CAREER eligible institutions." --- National Science Foundation [Item Posted 6/01]

AMS President Testifies Before House Appropriations Subcommittee, March 21, 2001

[Item Posted 3/01]

Proof   wins Pulitzer Prize

David Auburn has been awarded the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Proof,   "distinguished play by an American author". Proof, as summarized on the Pulitzer Prize website is "the story of an enigmatic young woman, Catherine, her manipulative sister, their brilliant father, and an unexpected suitor. They are all pieces of the puzzle in the search for the truth behind a mysterious mathematical proof." Proof   has been widely praised during its run on Broadway, and Prize-winner Auburn has been interviewed this past week by the New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, and the Lehrer News Hour, among other media. [Item Posted 4/01]

AMS Centennial Fellowships Awarded

The AMS has awarded four Centennial Fellowships for 2001-2002. The recipients are Ivan Dimitrov, Ravi Vakil, Jiahong Wu, and Meijun Zhu. The AMS Centennial Fellowships fund makes awards annually to outstanding mathematicians to help further their careers in research. [Item Posted 4/01]

Fulbright Deadlines, May 1 and August 1

The Fulbright Scholar Program is offering 36 lecturing/research awards in Mathematics for the 2002-2003 academic year. Awards for both faculty and professionals range from two months to an academic year or longer. While foreign language skills are needed in some countries, most Fulbright lecturing assignments are in English. Application deadlines for 2002-2003 awards are:
  • May 1, 2001 for Fulbright Distinguished Chair awards in Europe, Canada and Russia.
  • August 1, 2001 for Fulbright traditional lecturing and research grants worldwide.
For information, visit www.cies.org.
Or contact:
The Council for International Exchange of Scholars
3007 Tilden St., N.W. - Suite 5-L
Washington, D.C. 20008
Phone: 202-686-7877
Email: apprequest@cies.iie.org
[Item Posted 4/01]

AMS Epsilon Fund Makes Awards

The AMS has chosen eight summer mathematics programs to receive Epsilon grants for activities in the summer of 2001: All Girls/All Math (University of Nebraska); Mathcamp; Michigan Math & Science Scholars; Mathematics Scholars Academy (Oklahoma State University); Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics; PROMYS (Boston University); University of Chicago Young Scholars Program; and the Ross Mathematics Program (The Ohio State University).

The grants for summer 2001 are paid for by the Society's Program Development Fund. Read more about the Epsilon Fund for Young Scholars and how to apply for Epsilon grants. [Item Posted 3/01]

2000 Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences Published

The 2000 First Report on new doctoral recipients presents a statistical profile of doctoral degree recipients in U.S. universities from July 1, 1999 through June 20, 2000. It includes a preliminary analysis of their employment and a demographic profile of their citizenship status, gender and racial/ethnic group. [Item Posted 3/01]

Funding Opportunities for International Research

The Human Frontier Science Program, an international funding agency, supports international collaborations through collaborative research grants and post-doctoral fellowships. The agency strongly believes that biology needs input from mathematics and other disciplines. More information about the program is at http://www.hfsp.org [Item Posted 2/01]

Joint Mathematics Meetings 2001 Reached Record Attendance

[Item Posted 1/01]

DOE calls for proposals in computational biology

The Department of Energy is actively seeking proposals from the mathematical sciences community for new initiatives in computational biology. Pre-applications for Advanced Modeling and Simulation of Biological Systems   and Microbial Cell Project   grants are due February 21, 2001. [Item Posted 2/01]

National High School Calculus Award Nominations

Nominations are being accepted until February 28 for the second annual National High School Calculus award. A teacher may nominate any U.S. junior high or high school student for this US$1000 award. See www.calculus.org for more information. [Item Posted 1/01]

Prizes Awarded at Joint Meetings, January 11, 2001

On Thursday, January 11, 2001, the AMS, MAA, AWM and JPBM awarded a number of prizes for outstanding achievements in mathematics. The Prize Booklet contains information and statements from the winners. Click here for further information about the AMS prizes. [Item Posted 01/01]

Summer 2001 Fellowship Opportunity for Graduate Students

The AMS invites graduate students in mathematics to submit applications for a Mass Media Fellowship for summer 2001. The AMS-AAAS Mass Media Fellows Program sponsors 10-week fellowships for graduate students in mathematics to work full-time as reporters, researchers and production assistants in U.S. mass media organizations. The deadline for submitting applications is January 15, 2001. [Item Posted 01/01]

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