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Science Lives: Video Portraits of Great Mathematicians

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Science Lives: Video Portraits of Great Mathematicians Science Lives: Video Portraits of Great Mathematicians accompanied by narrative profiles written by noted In mathematics, beauty is a very impor- mathematics biographers. tant ingredient… The aim of a math- Hugo Rossi, director of the Science Lives project, ematician is to encapsulate as much as said that the first criterion for choosing a person you possibly can in small packages—a to profile is the significance of his or her contribu- high density of truth per unit word. tions in “creating new pathways in mathematics, And beauty is a criterion. If you’ve got a theoretical physics, and computer science.” A beautiful result, it means you’ve got an secondary criterion is an engaging personality. awful lot identified in a small compass. With two exceptions (Atiyah and Isadore Singer), the Science Lives videos are not interviews; rather, —Michael Atiyah they are conversations between the subject of the video and a “listener”, typically a close friend or colleague who is knowledgeable about the sub- Hearing Michael Atiyah discuss the role of beauty ject’s impact in mathematics. The listener works in mathematics is akin to reading Euclid in the together with Rossi and the person being profiled original: You are going straight to the source. The to develop a list of topics and a suggested order in quotation above is taken from a video of Atiyah which they might be discussed. “But, as is the case made available on the Web through the Science with all conversations, there usually is a significant Lives project of the Simons Foundation. Science amount of wandering in and out of interconnected Lives aims to build an archive of information topics, which is desirable,” said Rossi. about the main developments in mathematics The videos have an intimate, relaxed feeling and in the twentieth century, recounted by some of convey a clear sense of personality. The conversa- the people responsible for those developments. tions were carried out in places of comfort to the Through videotaped conversations and biographi- subject, Rossi said: for John Nash, in old Fine Hall cal narratives, Science Lives provides engrossing at Princeton University; for Pierre Deligne, in the personal glimpses of a vibrant field and the people library at the Institute for Advanced Study; for who have shaped it. Yuri Manin, in his home. “We have learned from The foundation hopes to create a comprehen- Csicsery that the environment is a very important sive, lasting resource that will be widely available factor in the quality of the conversation,” Rossi to students of mathematics and to the public. It noted. is anticipated that the series will eventually be The conversations cover topics of interest to the broadened to include interviews with luminaries people being profiled, consistent with the goal of across all the basic sciences. providing insight into mathematical developments So far, twenty-five videotaped conversations of the twentieth century. The technical level of the conversations therefore varies according to have been made, and as of August 2012 nine the interests of the profile subjects and the topics have been posted on the site. The videos were discussed. The amount of personal material also made by George Csicsery, a filmmaker who has varies according to how much the profile subjects created several acclaimed documentaries about wish to discuss their personal lives. The videos mathematicians. His hand in making the videos are organized into short chapter-like sections with is unmistakable, not only in the quality of the im- descriptive titles so that viewers can steer to the ages and sound but also in the aesthetic choices conversational threads they will find most inter- of camera angle and background. For each video esting. There are also keys that delineate general there are links to biographical materials available themes, such as history, philosophy, mathematics, on the Web. In addition, some of the videos are and the mathematics profession; asterisks indicate parts that are more technical. The total time of DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1090/noti914 each interview is about two hours. NOVEMBER 2012 NOTICES OF THE AMS 1443 By providing a vivid and personal look at some Science Lives Conversations of the great recent developments in mathematics, Videos available on the Science Lives web- Science Lives helps to bring human faces to a sub- site (https://simonsfoundation.org/mps-science- ject that is often seen as impersonal and forbid- lives): ding. It is an inspiring and edifying resource for mathematicians, students, and the general public. Michael Atiyah — Allyn Jackson Egbert Brieskorn (listener: Anna Pratoussevich) Pierre Deligne (listener: Robert D. MacPherson) About the Simons Foundation Friedrich Hirzebruch (listener: Matthias Kreck) The Simons Foundation was established in 1994 by mathematician and investor James Simons and Robert D. MacPherson (listener: Robert Bryant) his wife, Marilyn. The foundation’s mission is to Yuri Manin (listener: David Eisenbud) advance the frontiers in research in mathematics and the basic sciences. Paul J. Sally Jr. (listener: Diane Hermann) The Simons Foundation has supported many Isadore M. Singer institutions and individuals in the mathematical Chen-Ning Yang (listener: George Sterman) sciences around the globe. It has helped fund the building of lecture facilities at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley and at the ... And More To Come Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques outside Conversations with the following individuals have been Paris as well as the creation of the Simons Center filmed and are in the editing stages. for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook Univer- sity. In 2010 the foundation launched its Math- Alfred Aho (listener: Mihalis Yannakakis) ematical and Physical Sciences program, which Alexandre Chorin (listener: Jamie Sethian) awards grants via open application procedures and also supports the Science Lives project. The William Browder (listeners: Alejandro Adem, Andrew latest addition to the program is the Africa Math- Ranicki, and Sylvain Cappell) ematics Project, intended to bolster mathematics John H. Conway (listener: Alex Ryba) scholarship on the African continent. In addition Michael Freedman (listener: Robion Kirby) to Science Lives, the foundation’s website offers a series of articles and videos of interest to math- Phillip Griffiths (listener: Mark Green) ematicians, including the Simons Science Series, Mikhail Gromov (listener: Alfredo Hubard) Simons Symposia, and the videos of George Hart. The foundation also supports research in the Richard Karp (listener: Christos Papadimitriou) life sciences and autism research. Robion Kirby (listener: Michael Freedman) Please visit the website simonsfoundation.org Peter Lax (listener: Robert Kohn) for more information. Laszlo Lovasz (listener: Avi Wigderson) Cathleen Morawetz (listeners: Marsha Berger and Margaret Wright) John Nash (listeners: Harold Kuhn and Charles Fefferman) Louis Nirenberg (listener: Jalal Shatah) James Simons (listener: Jeff Cheeger) Elias Stein (listeners: Charles Fefferman) S.R. Srinivasa Varadhan (listener: Jalal Shatah) 1444 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 59, NUMBER 10.
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