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NEWSLETTER No. 466 February 2017 MATHEMATICS AND BREXIT House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee report ‘Bold steps are needed to ensure UK science has a prominent place in the global economy after Brexit’, says a House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee report. Amongst other things the report goes on to say that: ‘the UK needs to retain current scientific talent and attract even more of the world's leading scientists. The UK should expand and enhance existing New CEO of UK Research and programmes. But it must also search out the Innovation critical for its success world's most accomplished scientists and The soon to be appointed CEO of UK Research and persuade them to pursue careers here. The gov- Innovation (UKRI) will be critical for making a success ernment should send repeated signals to the of the new organisation, according to a Science and global science community that the UK remains Technology Select Committee report. Science and Tech- a welcoming place for talented scientists’. nology Select Committee Chair, Stephen Metcalfe MP, More information and the full report are available at http://tinyurl.com/zhph2ae. said: ‘UKRI represents a revolution in our research and Chief scientific adviser needed at DExEU innovation landscape, and the new organisation Following a House of Commons debate in will change how the country funds and commercial- December 2016 on 'Exiting the EU: Science and ises publicly-funded research. Getting UKRI right will Research', Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chair of the secure our position as a research superpower at a Science and Technology Committee, has written time when it is crucial to protect and build upon our to David Davis MP, Secretary of State, Depart- strength’. ment for Exiting the European Union (DexEU), ‘The soon to be appointed Chief Executive of UKRI regarding the need for a Chief Scientific Adviser will play a crucial role in determining the success of in the Department. The letter is available at the new organisation. They will have to address the http://tinyurl.com/zrzgk8s various concerns that the science and innovation sector SOCIETY MEETINGS AND EVENTS 2017 • 3 April: Society Meeting at BMC, Durham page 31 • 30 June: Society Meeting, London • 18–22 April: LMS Invited Lectures, Newcastle page 18 • 30 June: Graduate Student Meeting, London • 5 May: Mary Cartwright Lecture, London • 11 December: SW & South Wales • 1 June: Northern Regional Meeting, York Regional Meeting, Cardiff NEWSLETTER ONLINE: newsletter.lms.ac.uk @LondMathSoc LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk Contents No. 466 February 2017 10 14 Awards Mathematical Models in Ecology BSHM Undergraduate Essay Prize.................10 and Evolution.................................................24 Compositio Prize 2016.....................................9 North British Functional Analysis Seminars....24 Rough Paths in Probability and Statistics........24 2 Calendar of Events 35 Scalable Statistical Inference INI Workshop.....30 LMS Items SciCADE.............................................................23 Cecil King Travel Scholarship 2017................34 News David Crighton Medal 2017...........................4 EMS President - New Year Message...................5 News for Early Career Researchers European News.................................................6 and Students..................................................10 International Mathematics Competition for Undergraduate Research Bursaries in University Students.........................................13 Mathematics 2017..........................................17 Mathematics and Brexit...................................1 LMS Meetings Obituaries Algebraic Topology of Manifolds Keller, Joseph....................................................28 Reade, Maxwell................................................29 Research School..............................................27 Safarov, Yuri......................................................28 Christopher Zeeman Lecture............................19 Invited Lecturer 2017.......................................18 Records of Proceedings Microlocal Analysis and Applications SW & South Wales Regional Meeting...............15 Research School..............................................20 Reports New Trends in Representation Theory LMS SW & South Wales Regional Meeting....15 Research School..............................................21 Mathematics Society at the University Orthogonal Polynomials and Special of Central Lancashire.....................................16 Functions Research School............................26 Transpennine Topology Triangle......................14 Society Meeting at BMC...................................31 Reviews Meetings My Search for Ramanujan................................32 Computer-Aided Mathematical Proof Single Digits......................................................30 INI Workshop.................................................25 The GCHQ Puzzle Book...................................29 Computing for the Future of the Planet.......24 Visits Gregynog Welsh Maths Colloquium 2017.......23 Antolin, Yago.....................................................22 Index Theorems in Analysis, Geometry Cartier, Pierre.....................................................22 and Mathematical Physics.............................23 Treschev, Dmitry.................................................22 [email protected] No. 466 February 2017 has raised about the government’s plans for UKRI. rate the principles identified in Lord Stern’s Inde- The government will need to take great care in ap- pendent Review of the REF. The closing date for pointing the UKRI Board to ensure it has the right responses is Friday 17 March 2017. balance of experience of innovation and research More information is available at http://tinyurl. throughout the UK, to avoid any disconnect com/h29ayjd. between UKRI’s UK-wide and England-only remits’. The full report on Setting up UKRI is available at SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES http://tinyurl.com/hbnfxw5. Schools Green paper consultation Government response to Dowling Review The consultation on the government Green Paper Schools that Work for Everyone closed on 12 The Review (published in July 2015) sought to December 2016. The LMS response is now available understand how businesses of all types and sizes on the LMS website at http://tinyurl.com/guw37uh. could be encouraged to connect with UK universi- ties through research collaborations that delivered PISA results benefit for both the collaborators and the country The Organisation for Economic Co-operation as a whole. The government’s response states and Development (OECD) recently published the that the recommendations from the Review have results of their international student assessments. already had a significant influence on govern- The Programme for International Student Assess- ment policy and makes it clear that the Review has ment (PISA) is undertaken once every three years helped to stimulate a wealth of activity in the UK and tests 15-year-olds' abilities in the core academic aimed at improving conditions for business-univer- disciplines of reading, mathematics and science. sity collaborations. The government’s response is The UK's performance in mathematics has fallen, 3 available at http://tinyurl.com/jj4goba. with the UK dropping from 26th to 27th in the rankings. RESEARCH More information is available at http://tinyurl. Consultation on the second Research com/hu2snx3. UK specific results are available at Excellence Framework (REF2021) http://tinyurl.com/hmtxpbv. The four UK funding bodies for higher education Technical education at the centre of industrial have published a joint consultation on the arrange- strategy ments for research assessment in a second REF. The Prime Minister has recently outlined the The consultation sets out proposals to build on next steps in her ‘Plan for Britain’. The Industrial the first REF, conducted in 2014, and to incorpo- Strategy will include plans for a ‘radical overhaul Editorial team Publication dates and deadlines http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk Editorial office General Editor Published monthly, except August. Items and adver- London Mathematical Society, Mr A.J.S. Mann tisements by the first day of the month prior to publi- De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell ([email protected]) cation, or the closest preceding working day. Notices Square, London WC1B 4HS and advertisements are not accepted for events that Reports Editor occur in the first week of the publication month. (t: 020 7637 3686; Professor I. A. Stewart f: 020 7323 3655) ([email protected]) News items and notices in the Newsletter may be freely used elsewhere unless otherwise stated, al- Events calendar Reviews Editor though attribution is requested when reproducing Updates and corrections to Professor D. Singerman whole articles. Contributions to the Newsletter are [email protected] ([email protected]) made under a non-exclusive licence; please contact Articles Administrative Editor the author or photographer for the rights to repro- Send articles to S.M. Oakes duce. The LMS cannot accept responsibility for the [email protected] ([email protected]) accuracy of information in the Newsletter. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the views or Advertising Typeset by the LMS at De policy of the London Mathematical Society. For rates and guidelines see Morgan House; printed by newsletter.lms.ac.uk/rate-card Holbrooks Printers Ltd. Charity registration number: 252660.