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Editorial Team European Mathematical Society CONTENTS EDITORIAL TEAM EUROPEAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ROBIN WILSON Department of Pure Mathematics The Open University Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK e-mail: [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITORS STEEN MARKVORSEN Department of Mathematics Technical University of Denmark Building 303 NEWSLETTER No. 38 DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark e-mail: [email protected] December 2000 KRZYSZTOF CIESIELSKI Mathematics Institute Jagiellonian University EMS News: Reymonta 4 Agenda, Editorial, Edinburgh Summer School, London meeting .................. 3 30-059 Kraków, Poland e-mail: [email protected] KATHLEEN QUINN Joint AMS-Scandinavia Meeting ................................................................. 11 The Open University [address as above] e-mail: [email protected] The World Mathematical Year in Europe ................................................... 12 SPECIALIST EDITORS INTERVIEWS The Pre-history of the EMS ......................................................................... 14 Steen Markvorsen [address as above] SOCIETIES Krzysztof Ciesielski [address as above] Interview with Sir Roger Penrose ............................................................... 17 EDUCATION Vinicio Villani Interview with Vadim G. Vizing .................................................................. 22 Dipartimento di Matematica Via Bounarotti, 2 56127 Pisa, Italy 2000 Anniversaries: John Napier (1550-1617) ........................................... 24 e-mail: [email protected] MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS Societies: L’Unione Matematica Italiana ................................................... 26 Paul Jainta Werkvolkstr. 10 D-91126 Schwabach, Germany The Price Spiral of Mathematics Journals .................................................. 29 e-mail: [email protected] ANNIVERSARIES Digital Models and Computer Assisted Proofs ............................................ 30 June Barrow-Green and Jeremy Gray Open University [address as above] e-mail: [email protected] Forthcoming Conferences ............................................................................ 31 and [email protected] and CONFERENCES Recent Books ............................................................................................... 35 Kathleen Quinn [address as above] RECENT BOOKS Designed and printed by Armstrong Press Limited Ivan Netuka and Vladimir Sou³ek Crosshouse Road, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 5GZ, UK Mathematical Institute telephone: (+44) 23 8033 3132 fax: (+44) 23 8033 3134 Charles University Published by European Mathematical Society Sokolovská 83 18600 Prague, Czech Republic ISSN 1027 - 488X e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected] NOTICE FOR MATHEMATICAL SOCIETIES ADVERTISING OFFICER Labels for the next issue will be prepared during the second half of February 2001. Vivette Girault Please send your updated lists before then to Ms Tuulikki Mäkeläinen, Department of Laboratoire d’Analyse Numérique Mathematics, P.O. Box 4, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland; e-mail: [email protected] Boite Courrier 187, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE EMS NEWSLETTER 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France Institutes and libraries can order the EMS Newsletter by mail from the EMS Secretariat, e-mail: [email protected] Department of Mathematics, P. O. Box 4, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland, or by e- OPEN UNIVERSITY mail: ([email protected]). Please include the name and full address (with postal code), tele- PRODUCTION TEAM phone and fax number (with country code) and e-mail address. The annual subscription fee Liz Scarna, Barbara Maenhaut (including mailing) is 60 euros; an invoice will be sent with a sample copy of the Newsletter. EMS December 2000 1 EMS NEWS EMS Committee EMS Agenda EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT (1999–2002) 2001 Prof. ROLF JELTSCH Seminar for Applied Mathematics 15 February ETH, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland Deadline for submission of material for the March issue of the EMS Newsletter e-mail: [email protected] Contact: Robin Wilson, e-mail: [email protected] VICE-PRESIDENTS Prof. ANDRZEJ PELCZAR (1997–2000) 10-11 March Institute of Mathematics Jagellonian University Executive Committee Meeting in Kaiserslautern (Germany) at the invitation Raymonta 4 of the Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschafts Mathematik PL-30-059 Krakow, Poland e-mail: [email protected] 4-6 May Prof. LUC LEMAIRE (1999–2002) EMS Workshop, Applied Mathematics in Europe, Berlingen, Switzerland Department of Mathematics Université Libre de Bruxelles Contact: R. Jeltsch, e-mail: [email protected] C.P. 218 – Campus Plaine Bld du Triomphe 11-12 May B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium EMS working group on Reference Levels in Mathematics: e-mail: [email protected] Conference on Mathematics at Age 16 in Europe (venue to be announced) SECRETARY (1999–2002) Contact: V. Villani or A. Bodin, Prof. DAVID BRANNAN Department of Pure Mathematics e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] The Open University Walton Hall 15 May Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK Deadline for submission of material for the June issue of the EMS Newsletter e-mail: [email protected] Contact: Robin Wilson, e-mail: [email protected] TREASURER (1999–2002) Prof. OLLI MARTIO Department of Mathematics 9-25 July P.O. Box 4 EMS Summer School at St Petersburg (Russia) FIN-00014 University of Helsinki Asymptotic combinatorics with applications to mathematical physics Finland Organiser: Anatoly Vershik, e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] ORDINARY MEMBERS Prof. BODIL BRANNER (1997–2000) 19-31 August Department of Mathematics EMS Summer School at Prague (Czech Republic) Technical University of Denmark Simulation of fluids, and structures interactions Building 303 Organiser: Miloslav Feistauer, e-mail: [email protected] DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark e-mail: [email protected] 24-30 August Prof. DOINA CIORANESCU (1999–2002) Laboratoire d’Analyse Numérique EMS lectures at the University of Malta, in association with the 10th Université Paris VI International Meeting of European Women in Mathematics 4 Place Jussieu Lecturer: Michèle Vergne (Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France) 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France Title: Convex polytopes e-mail: [email protected] Contact: Dr. Tsou Sheung Tsun, e-mail: [email protected] Prof. RENZO PICCININI (1999–2002) Dipartimento di Matematica e Applicazioni These lectures will also be given at University of Rome, jointly arranged by Università di Milano-Bicocca ‘Tor Vergata’ and ‘Roma Tre’, at dates to be announced. Via Bicocca degli Arcimboldi, 8 Contact: Maria Welleda Baldoni, e-mail: [email protected] 20126 Milano, Italy e-mail: [email protected] 1-2 September Prof. MARTA SANZ-SOLÉ (1997–2000) EMS Executive meeting in Berlin (Germany) Facultat de Matematiques Universitat de Barcelona Gran Via 585 3-6 September E-08007 Barcelona, Spain 1st EMS-SIAM conference, Berlin (Germany) e-mail: [email protected] Organiser: Peter Deuflhard, e-mail: [email protected] Prof. ANATOLY VERSHIK (1997–2000) P.O.M.I., Fontanka 27 30 September 191011 St Petersburg, Russia e-mail: [email protected] Deadline for proposals for 2002 EMS Lectures. EMS SECRETARIAT Contact: David Brannan, e-mail: [email protected] Ms. T. MÄKELÄINEN Department of Mathematics 30 September P.O. Box 4 Deadline for proposals for 2003 EMS Summer Schools FIN-00014 University of Helsinki Finland Contact: Renzo Piccinini, e-mail: [email protected] tel: (+358)-9-1912-2883 fax: (+358)-9-1912-3213 2002 telex: 124690 1-2 June e-mail: [email protected] EMS Council Meeting in Oslo (Norway) website: http://www.emis.de 2 EMS December 2000 EDITORIAL EditorialEditorial Anatoly Vershik (St Petersburg) Member of EMS Executive Committee (1997-2000) President of St Petersburg Mathematical Society The EMS and cooperation in mathematics the internet and electronic media which both positive and negative aspects to the Cooperation in science, and in mathemat- step-by-step are changing the type of coop- internet. To some extent, cooperation and ics in particular, can be discussed from sev- eration between individual mathematicians exchange of information using the internet eral points of view – first as exchange of and has forced a change in the daily behav- deprive us of more vivid forms of commu- scientific information, then as cooperation iour of scientists. nication. But at the same time we have (in in joint research projects or other kinds of Let me give an example. As everybody our country) no other way of finding need- scientific activity (organisation of confer- knows, Russia has fewer computers than ed information, especially because in ences, schools, etc.), and finally as social the West and access to the internet is not recent years there has been a decrease in cooperation between different communi- the subscriptions on our journals, in buy- ties. All three types of cooperation are very ing mathematical books, and so on. Under important for Eastern European countries. these circumstances it is very important for Below I discuss them and give my view on us to have access to MatSciNet, the role of the EMS in encouraging them. Zentralblatt, and other such systems. I have spent many years organising the St Ultimately we will need to use the internet Petersburg Mathematical Society, as a instead of printed matter, because it will be member of the committee (1970-78), as impossible to maintain enough subscrip- Vice-president (1978-97)
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