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A New Approach to Stimulate Mathematics Research in the Netherlands

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A New Approach to Stimulate Mathematics Research in the Netherlands A new approach to stimulate mathematics research in The Netherlands Lex Zandee Head Mathematics, NWO BCAMath meeting 12 january 2011 Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Mathematics in the Netherlands 16 million inhab. 420 1st year math students Free University (VU) University of Amsterdam (UvA) Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) University of Utrecht (UU) University of Leiden (UL) Radboud University Nijmegen (RU) University of Groningen (RUG) Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) Delft University of Technology (TUD) University of Twente (UT) NWO NWO funds thousands of researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course of Dutch science by means of subsidies and research programmes. The organisation: - 10 divisions: e.g. chemical sciences, physics etc. - 7 institutes: e.g. CWI (Amsterdam), NIOZ etc. - Office situated in The Hague - Staff: 350 employees - Annual expenditure: 700 M€ Annual expenditure mathematics and computer science: - Mathematics: 9 M€ - CWI: 12 M€ - Computer science: 13 M€ Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Short history of the Dutch mathematical landscape I - 16th century: Dutch mathematical landscape took shape; Gemma Frisius, - Leiden University 1575 - 17th century: the Golden Age - Simon Stevin - Snellius 1st math. professor Leiden, 1601 - Christiaan Huygens - Van Ceulen, π - after the Golden Age: Dutch mathematics went into decline Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Short history of the Dutch mathematical landscape II - end of 19th century: end of stagnation: Diederik Korteweg Gustav de Vries nonlinear PDE - 20th century: second golden age Luitzen Brouwer è Johannes Burgers è Burgerscentrum Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Short history of the Dutch mathematical landscape III Founding fathers of field of nonlinear systems in the Netherlands: - current Dutch mathematical school in PDEs by: - Wiktor Eckhaus (pattern formation) - Bert Peletier (non-linear PDE’s) - current Dutch math. school in applied analysis by: - Floris Takens, Henk Broer, Arjen Doelman - NWO priority program ‘Nonlinear systems’ Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Issues at the end of the 20th century I 500 1st year BSc students of Mathematics in the Netherlands 400 300 200 Number ofNumber students 100 0 1988/1989 1992/1993 1996/1997 2000/2001 Year Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Issues at the end of the 20th century II 450 Number of mathematicians 400 employed by Dutch universities and 350 CWI UM WUR UvT 300 EUR CWI UT 250 TU/e TUD RU 200 VU Number RUG UvA 150 UU UL 100 50 0 1980 1990 2000 2005 Year 2008: 13 universities, 9 with math department, about 250 fte professors, associates professors, assistant professors Lack of critical mass Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The old funding approach – Free Competition – Veni/Vidi/Vici Scheme (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) Disadvantages: - Uncoordinated, not improving critical masses - uncertain who will do the work - no focus on key areas - National peer review - PR difficult Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The new approach – Free Competition – Veni/Vidi/Vici (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) – Mathematics Clusters – NWO themes Advantages: - coordinated - clear who will do the work - focus on key areas - improved visibility - improved internal interaction - education program driven by joint research program Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Mathematics Clusters, objectives – Bringing together researchers from different universities – Creation of more research capacity – Embedding of new appointments tenure track – Increase knowledge transfer – Involve industry – Agreed indicators with ministries Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Mathematics Clusters, in practice – Hub and nodes – Commitment letters from universities – Steering committee – In competition – Workprogramme including outreach – International panel Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Mathematics Clusters – NDNS+ (Nonlinear Dynamics of Natural Systems) – DIAMANT (Discrete Interactive and Algorithmic Mathematics Algebra and Number Theory) – GQT (Geometry and Quantum Theory) – STAR (Stochastics – Theoretical and Applied Research) Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Nonlinear Dynamics of Natural Systems Start: 2005 Budget: 3,9 M€ + Bifurcations & Chaos + Multiple scales + Scientific computing + Patterns & Waves + NEW: Variational methods + NEW: Stochastic dynamics Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Start: 2005 Budget: 2,4 M€ Board: Lenstra, Schrijver, Barendregt, Cohen Ø Number theory & Arithmetic geometry Ø Cryptology Ø Optimization Ø Logic & Proof checking Ø Algebra & Combinatorics Start: 2006 Budget: 2,8 M€ q Algebraic and Arithmetic Geometry q Category Theory q Geometric Analysis q Integrable Systems Mathematical Statistical Physics Stochastic Finance and Econometrics Start: 2010 General Budget: 1,5 M€ Methodology Stochastic Networks Stochastics and the Life Sciences NWO themes e.g. – Sustainable energy – Complexity (2006 – 2011) Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO themes – Joint effort between different disciplines & divisions – Multidisciplinary – International cooperation – Science for society / Focus on real-world problems Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Theme Dynamics of Complex Systems The green book – Micro-macro – Emergence – Networks – dynamics on networks – dynamics of networks – Predictability – Effect of more details – Long term predictions – Managing uncertainty Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Theme Dynamics of Complex Systems Call for proposals 3 compartments: – Research questions of the sponsors – Society or industry relevant research (application driven) – Basic research (new ideas) Educational and networking programme: – 100 hours per year (workshops, courses) Total budget: M€ 7 Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The Complexity of weather and climate systems – How to obtain relevant information from complex earth data? – What does the complexity of weather and climate imply for our future? – How predictable are the models for these systems? Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The Complexity of transportation systems – How to deduct decisions at macro level from data at micro level, from individual passenger preference to capacity network and stochastic flow models? – How to balance micro and macro level in case of disruptions by combining data sets such as timetable and weather data, and studying passenger behaviour in response to stimuli like tariff differentiation? Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The Complexity of financial systems – How could an “early warning signal” for crisis in financial and/or interbanking markets be designed by means of agent-based modelling? – How does panic arise in financial markets? – Is it possible to assess network based transactions patterns and predict financial flows? Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Smart Energy Systems Four focus area’s 1) Smart ICT methods for energy saving, storage and generation in building environments 2) Smart control systems for flexible electricity networks (smart grids) 3) Energy reduction in processing and storing of information 4) Energy reduction in communication Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Computational Science 2002-2008 programme (6M€): – complex (natural) systems; – Development and use of coupled dynamical models; – Transfer of new models and software; – Strengthening network and transfer of research New activity: e-science center Budget : 6M€ Focus: uncertainty, pattern recognition, handling datasets Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Mathematics & industry Expert groups: e.g. - OECD Global Science Forum Report (July 2008, April 2009) - ESF Forward Look Report (December 2010) Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research OECD Global Science Forum Report – Interdisciplinary Research Centres to increase impact in industry – Special positions in Industrial Mathematics – Workshops to identify mathematical problems in industry – Workshops to highlight mathematics relevant for industry – Sponsoring teams of junior researchers for industry-oriented research – Network of experts – Support of study groups dedicated to industry-oriented problems Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research ESF Forward Look – Mathematics and Industry – Coordination of clusters of excellence in industrial mathematics – European Institute of Mathematics for Innovation (EIMI, virtual research infrastructure) Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Stimulating society/industry relations – Partners in programmes – Curriculum reform – Study group Mathematics with Industry – Industry oriented new programmes – Internationalisation Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Theme Dynamics of Complex Systems Industrial Involvement The following companies have financially contributed to the Complexity Call for proposals 2009: LOGISTICS: TECHNOLOGY: FINANCE: NS (Dutch Chess Equens Rail) Cordis Dutch Central Bank Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Smart Grids – Increasing the Robustness of Smart Grids through distributed energy generation: a complex network approach – Prof. Frances Brazier (TUDelft) – IBM, Thales, Alliander, Eneco, etc. – Computational Capacity Planning in Electricity Networks – Prof. Han la Poutré (CWI) – KEMA, Enexis Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
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