From the Treasurer and the Executive Director David Rodgers and Graham P
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FROM THE TREASURER AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR David Rodgers and Graham P. Wright Treasurer Executive Director IN THIS ISSUE DANS CE NUMÉRO is not new. It was $144,170 In addition, the CMS has also Editorial ....................................2 in 2006 and $64,648 in moved to hold some meetings 2005. For the 2006 sum- jointly with other societies and Book Reviews: Exact Solutions mer and winter meetings, tak- with MITACS. The 2007 Sum- ing into account both direct mer Meeting in Winnipeg was and Invariant Subspaces of and administrative costs for a joint CMS/MITACS meet- Nonlinear PDEs in Mechanics both meetings, the deficit was ing. The 2008 summer meet- and Physics ...............................4 $202.20 per delegate.1 Rev- ing will be the Second Can- Support for CMS Meetings enue from other Society activi- ada-France Congress 2008 Book Review: Arthur Cayley, ties is not sufficient to make up and a joint meeting involv- Mathematician Laureate of the The CMS faces a number of the difference. ing the CMS, the Canadian significant challenges if we Applied and Industrial Math- Victorian Age ............................6 are to continue our meetings It is customary for societies to ematics Society, the Centre program, generally held to operate meetings that result de recherches mathématiques, Brief Book Reviews ..................7 be among the most impor- in a surplus and consequently the Fields Institute, the Institut tant activities sponsored by help support other activities. des sciences mathématiques, Education Notes .......................9 the Society. Indeed, a large This is often achieved through the Mathematics of Informa- deficit is projected in the Soci- significantly higher registration tion Technology and Complex Call for Nominations - 2008 ety’s overall operations for fees (e.g. members pay up to Systems, the Pacific Institute CMS Excellence in Teaching 2007. As the Society’s ability $450 at SSC meetings, and up for the Mathematical Sciences, Award / Appel de mises en to absorb deficits disappears, to $475 at SIAM meetings), a the Société de Mathématique candidature - Prix d’exellence en means must be found either to very large number of delegates Appliquées & Industrielles, increase revenues significantly (3000 or more), or by elimi- the Société Mathématique de enseignement 2008 ................13 or to reduce expenses. nating some of the services France, and the Université du that are provided at a typical Québec à Montréal. The sec- Call for Sessions – CMS Winter Currently, income from regis- CMS meeting. Some societies ond CMS/Sociedad Matemáti- 2008 Meeting / Appel de tration fees and from grants hold many smaller regional ca Mexicana meeting will take sessions – Réunion d’hiver 2008 or donations targeted at meet- meetings, but can afford not place in Vancouver in August de la SMC ...............................15 ings largely cover the direct to recoup administrative costs 2009. costs for the meeting (speaker from those, because those Call for Nominations - 2008 support, support for gradu- costs are already covered by a There are also suggestions for David Borwein Distinguished ate travel, room rental, audio very large annual meeting. additional joint meetings with visual and other equipment, other mathematical societies Career Award / Appel de mises printing and supplies, cater- The Good News in the near future. en candidature - Prix David- ing, etc.). In 2007, the direct Borwein de mathématicien costs associated with the two For the past several years, the The response from delegates émérite meetings are estimated to be Society’s semi-annual meet- has been very positive, not pour l’ensemble d’une carrière ings have been a huge success $261,895. Meeting revenues on many fronts. The number of only for the excellent quality 2008 ......................................15 do not however support any special sessions has increased of the scientific programs but of the administrative costs significantly and this has also for the meeting venues, Call for Nominations - 2008 incurred for each meeting attracted larger numbers of arrangements, and facilities. Doctoral Prize / Appel de [Executive Office salary and Scientifically our meetings are office costs specifically attrib- delegates. At the 2007 Winter in great shape. But we must mises en candidature - Prix de utable to the organization Meeting (London), there will be find a way of making them Doctorat 2008 ........................17 of each the meeting – both 10 plenary and prize lectures, financially sustainable. before and after – as well as 17 sessions, and more than CMS Winter 2007 Meeting 450 delegates. This is in sharp the costs for meetings-related contrast to meetings even ten The Challenges Réunion d’hiver 2007 .............19 electronic services.]. years ago, when there were 6 sessions at each meeting and In the past, revenues from for- IMO 2007 Report: Through The In 2007, the administrative fewer than 200 delegates. eign exchange and the pub- Eyes of a Deputy Leader ........25 costs associated with the two lications program have been meetings are estimated to be 1 Note that the expenses associ- sufficient for the CMS to offset $152,155. These costs have ated with all of the CMS business deficits from meetings. Rates and Deadlines to be paid from other CMS meetings are not included in these Tarifs et échéances .................31 revenues. This level of support figures, but are paid for from other In 2007, the difference between sources. français page 23 continued page 18 VOLUME 39 NO. 7 NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE 2007 by Srinivasa Swaminathan EDITORIAL Dalhousie University, Halifax The whole art of teaching is only the motivate their students to engage in their respective disciplines. art of awakening the natural curiosity of All three spoke with deep conviction about the importance of young minds for the purpose of satisfying conveying passion for one’s subject, even when this task might it afterwards. seem daunting. They provided compelling examples from their Anatole France, The Crime of Sylvestre own teaching that encouraged teaching assistants to create Bonnard a vision for their students and teach their subject with the confidence that it is a worthwhile pursuit [2]. This editorial is written in Chennai (Madras), India. I participated in an At the other extreme there are teachers whose dull and uninspiring informal discussion on teaching and lectures leave a permanent impression of ‘I hate Math’ in most of teaching methods at an Institute of Technology, suggested by a their students. Between these extremes lie a majority of teachers newspaper article on ‘the ideal teacher’. who cater to the needs of students who take just a minimum number of math courses in their degree programmes. The ‘ideal teacher’ is a concept, a goal towards which every teacher should aspire to attain. It is hard to attain just as difficult We would appreciate hearing your thoughts, anecdotes etc to achieve perfection in any endeavor. Whatever be the subject regarding the above. or topic concerned the teacher’s job depends on the level at which the students can understand what is being taught. True [1] http:// humanities.byu.edu/elc/teacher/bestteacher/ teachers are not shopkeepers of knowledge – they are those who help to remove the cover of ignorance. [2] http://dalnews.dal.ca/2007/09/19/ teachingassistants.html What are the characteristics of a good teacher? The list is NOTES DE LA SMC CMS NOTES long; the following is a selection from [1]: Appreciate students’ Les Notes de la SMC sont publiés par la Société The CMS Notes is published by the Canadian problems; be articulate; be accessible; avoid mannerisms; mathématique du Canada (SMC huit fois l’an Mathematical Society (CMS) eight times a have confidence in the student’s potential; be caring; maintain (février, mars, avril, mai, septembre, octobre, year (February, March, April, May, September, clarity in speech; evaluate assignments and quizzes on time; novembre et décembre). October, November and December). be thorough in the preparation of lessons; keep abreast of latest developments; be punctual; maintain a positive attitude RÉDACTEURS EN CHEF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Robert J. MacG. Dawson; S.Swaminathan Robert Dawson, Srinivasa Swaminathan always; promote free student-teacher interaction; maintain a [email protected] [email protected] sense of humor; be sensitive to cultural differences; spend extra time with students if necessary; handle difficult topics efficiently; RÉDACTEURS-GÉRANT MANAGING EDITOR use appropriate teaching aids; be receptive to constructive Graham P. Wright Graham P. Wright criticism. [email protected] [email protected] It is clear that one cannot have all of the above attributes. RÉDACTION CONTRIBUTING EDITORS But through constant training and experience it is possible to Éducation : Edward Barbeau Education: Edward Barbeau [email protected] [email protected] attain a great majority of them. Just pick any two mathematics Réunions : Gertrud Jeewanjee Book Reviews: Peter Fillmore instructors teaching the calculus and try to get them to agree on [email protected] [email protected] the treatment of limits. Unless they are following the method in Critiques littéraires: Peter Fillmore Meetings: Gertrud Jeewanjee a particular text they would differ in their approaches and each [email protected] [email protected] Recherche : Vacant Research: Vacant one would claim that his/her method is the better one. What [email protected] [email protected] would an ideal teacher do in such a case? Present the various Assistante à la rédaction : Editorial Assistant: approaches and let the student pick the one that appeals to him/ Susan Latreille Susan Latreille her? One can argue that this might only get the student confused! Note aux auteurs : indiquer la section choisie The Editors welcome articles, letters and an- The best course for an ideal teacher would be to follow Anatole 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.