From the President’s DESK Tom Salisbury York University, Toronto IN THIS ISSUE DANS CE NUMÉRO Six Reasons I should be a 5. The benefits of membership. Editorial ....................................2 CMS member: For example: the CMS Notes 1. I benefit from the CMS’s or meeting and publication Book Review: Divine advocacy to government, discounts. New members can Proportions: Rational industry and the media join for two years at half-price. Trigonometry to Universal on behalf of mathematics. CMS members get a discount Geometry ................................3 For example, the CMS on reciprocal membership in attempts to both increase the the American Mathematical News From the Fields Institute 4 Renewing the Society: This total funding available for Society or the Mathematical month’s issue contains a copy mathematics, and to ensure Association of America. Book Review: Collected Papers of the President’s lengthy that funding policies (e.g., of Leo Moser .........................5 annual report. So this column those of NSERC) deal fairly 6. My membership dues can be will be short, and will focus with the needs of mathematics. reimbursed from my NSERC Brief Book Reviews ..................7 on a single critical issue, that grant. This is a relatively Education Notes .......................8 of bringing new members to 2. I benefit from the new policy. While not in itself the CMS. infrastructure the CMS a justification for joining, at CMS Winter 2007 Meeting provides. For example: least it makes joining easier Réunion d’hiver 2007 .............11 The CMS’s ability to carry out our meetings, our journals, once you are convinced by the its broad portfolio of projects our electronic services. If other reasons. Call for Proposals - 2006 and services depends crucially your department advertises Endowment Grant .................12 upon the work and financial conferences or academic Valid as all these points are, support of volunteers across jobs in Canada, chances are they are not the real reason Appel de propositions - concours the country (and abroad). To you use our listserv cmath you should join the CMS. In du fond de dotation 2006 .....13 sustain these efforts, it is vital to do so. If not, you should. fact, rather than asking what Math in Moscow Competition that we engage and recruit CMS membership can do for Concours Math à Moscou ......13 the cohort of young faculty 3. I want to support the you, many of us view joining and recent graduates that our educational projects the and supporting the CMS as 2006 Report of the President universities and colleges have CMS takes on. For example: a responsibility - something and the Advancement of been actively hiring over the Mathematics competitions, everyone should do who Mathematics Committee ........14 last few years. Math Camps, Math education genuinely seeks to advance fora. Through these projects the cause of mathematics in 2006 Annual Reports to If you are not a CMS member, mathematicians play an Canada. members / Rapports annuels I urge you to join the Society important role in improving 2006........................................18 and to volunteer for some of the mathematical education of In advancing that cause, the our committees or projects. If school age students, and in CMS is committed to working Putnam 2006: Two Canadian you are already a member, I encouraging talented students with all components of our Teams Among the Top Ten ......23 urge you to talk to your new to study mathematics further. community and with our (and old) colleagues about partners, such as the research Call for nominations - Awards also joining. Please think 4. I want to build a network institutes, MITACS, and and Prizes / Appel de mises en of inviting a member of the of friends and future provincial associations. We candidature - Prix ...................24 CMS Exeutive Committee or collaborators by participating will continue to build bridges in CMS meetings and activities. Du bureau du président ..........25 Board of Directors to address to our sister disciplines and a meeting of your department Professional service, or the their professional societies. Calendar of events or organization about the organization of sessions at Together we will succeed in Calendrier des événements ....26 work of the CMS. With that meetings are a great way to meet ensuring a healthy future for in mind here are, in order of interesting people. And they Canadian mathematics. Rates and Deadlines importance: look good in a tenure file, too. Tarifs et échéances .................27 français page 25 VOLUME 39 NO. 4 MAI/MAY 2007 by Robert Dawson EDITORIAL St. Mary’s University, Halifax Change of Season For most of the last seven months, d’étudiants entreprendront à leur tour leur premier cycle universitaire the rhythms of most of our lives were et viendront prendre leur place dans le cours de Calcul 101. dominated by the week. One Monday would have much the same classes, Cette grande composition comprend d’autres rythmes encore or seminars, or meetings, as another; plus à long terme, des rythmes difficiles à suivre tous en même Tuesdays would resemble other Tuesdays, temps. Ces collègues qui nous ont guidés à nos premières and so on through to the weekend. années d’enseignement prennent leur retraite; les jeunes collègues Hopefully somewhere we would que nous avons embauchés obtiennent leur permanence ou une find some time for research and relaxation as well. promotion, et deviennent des éléments permanents du département, tout comme ceux et celles dont ils occupent désormais les bureaux. But now the last lectures are over, extra-help sessions and exams Nos lieux de travail changent : ordinateurs et vidéoprojecteurs coming up. The rhythm is changing, from a steady seven- sont maintenant des éléments tout aussi indispensables que beat time to a looser, more flowing one. Time will l’étaient pour nous le tableau et la craie. Pour certains d’entre soon be available for research projects and travel. And nous, Internet a changé notre façon de faire des mathématiques, this is the last issue of the NOTES until September. et pour chacun de nous, notre façon de les transmettre. By the time you read this, graduation will be nearly upon us. Permettez-moi de vous souhaiter, chers lecteurs, un été à la fois Students to whom we taught first-year calculus will be lining reposant et productif, et d’offrir mes meilleurs vœux à tous ceux et up, dressed better than we ever saw them in the 8:30 lecture, celles pour qui la fin de cette saison est une étape marquante, que crossing the stage, accepting their diplomas - and leaving. We ce soit la fin des études, une année sabbatique bien méritée ou la will see some of them again as graduate students; others will have retraite. ended their formal education and be going on to put it to use. NOTES DE LA SMC CMS NOTES And in September another group of freshmen will be filling the Les Notes de la SMC sont publiés par la Société The CMS Notes is published by the Canadian seats in Calc I, beginning their own four-year cycle of university. mathématique du Canada (SMC huit fois l’an Mathematical Society (CMS) eight times a (février, mars, avril, mai, septembre, octobre, year (February, March, April, May, September, And there are still longer rhythms in this composition; rhythms that novembre et décembre). October, November and December). is hard to take in all at once. Colleagues, who guided us when we first started to teach, retire; the younger colleagues whom we helped RÉDACTEURS EN CHEF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF hire are tenured, promoted and become as apparently permanent Robert J. MacG. Dawson; S.Swaminathan Robert Dawson, Srinivasa Swaminathan elements of the department as those whose sometime offices [email protected] [email protected] they now inhabit used to be. Our workplaces change: computers and data projectors seem as inevitable a part of our classrooms RÉDACTEURS-GÉRANT MANAGING EDITOR as chalk boards used to. The Internet has changed the way some Graham P. Wright Graham P. Wright of us do mathematics, and the way all of us communicate it. [email protected] [email protected] Let me take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a restful and RÉDACTION CONTRIBUTING EDITORS productive summer, and to offer special good wishes to all those Éducation : Edward Barbeau Education: Edward Barbeau for whom this season marks a larger change, whether graduation, [email protected] [email protected] Réunions : Gertrud Jeewanjee a much-needed sabbatical, or retirement. Book Reviews: Peter Fillmore [email protected] [email protected] Éditorial : Changement de saison Critiques littéraires: Peter Fillmore Meetings: Gertrud Jeewanjee [email protected] [email protected] Recherche : Vacant Research: Vacant Depuis environ sept mois, nous vivons le plus souvent au [email protected] [email protected] rythme des semaines. Les lundis, nous avons généralement les Assistante à la rédaction : Editorial Assistant: mêmes cours, les mêmes séminaires ou les mêmes réunions; Susan Latreille Susan Latreille les mardis ressemblent à tous les mardis, et ainsi de suite, Note aux auteurs : indiquer la section choisie The Editors welcome articles, letters and an- jusqu’à la fin de semaine. Nous espérons tous trouver un peu pour votre article et le faire parvenir au Notes nouncements, which can be sent to the CMS de la SMC à l’adresse postale ou de courriel Notes at the address below. de temps pour la recherche ou le repos dans cette routine. ci-dessous. No responsibility for the views expressed by Mais, maintenant que les derniers cours sont donnés, que les séances Les Notes de la SMC, les rédacteurs et la SMC authors is assumed by the CMS Notes, the ne peuvent être tenus responsables des opin- editors or the CMS.