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NEWSLETTER - 2012 bois-marie INSTITUTDESHAUTESÉTUDESSCIENTIFIQUES editorial Not so long ago, opening the history of mathematics,which attracted over 80 000 visitors, mathematics to everyone was will prompt other initiatives with a similar scope, to help the a challenge that felt very general public dare look at mathematics without fear and with daunting.This science fascinates us as much as it scares us,sitting pleasure. as it does at the intersection of so many paths we walk down IHÉS has been carrying out a complementary project since every day: technological progress, philosophical enquiry, September 2011, aimed at high school and university students. educational strategies. This fascination and fright can be The Tour de France des déchiffreurs has travelled in approximately explained by the fact that mathematics challenges us, throwing twenty French towns; thousands of people have been able to back to us our lack of understanding of the world around us. discover fundamental research in mathematics and theoretical However, mathematics is very much with us, very real and physicists from a fresh perspective.A more modest undertaking present everywhere, so closely woven in the fabric of our daily in terms of resources, it was also a great success. Because the life that we don’t notice it. Lying in wait in its abstraction, its general public is obviously curious about mathematics, IHÉS very first rampart of defence, it does not reveal itself easily and will continue its efforts to try and inspire young people and to its beauty is only known by mathematicians. firmly establish the presence of fundamental research in the And yet, it was the wish of the mathematical community to public sphere. gain increased exposure and esteem.The Mathematics,A Beautiful Two projects in this vein are underway. The celebrations Elsewhere exhibition, at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art marking the centenary of Henri Poincaré’s passing,coordinated contemporain offered a wonderful showcase and timeframe for by the Institut Henri Poincaré, will take place this autumn. A this. IHÉS very much hopes that this unprecedented venture in documentary film for general release in 2013, directed by Olivier Peyon and produced by Haut et Court and Zadig Productions, will take us to the heart of the complexity of mathematical issues today. contents scientific events . 2 - 3 awards ...................................... 4 Schlumberger chair . 5 research at IHÉS . 6 - 7 Fiftieth Anniversary Campaign . 8 campaign in the U.S. 9 events . 10 - 11 exhibition at the Fondation Cartier . 12 - 13 Tour de France des déchiffreurs . .14 - 15 a point of view from ... / forthcoming events . 16 © Ergo-Robots: artificial curiosity and language -View of the exhibition Mathematics,A Beautiful Elsewhere, from 21 October 2011 to 18 March 2012 at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris. - Photo Pierre-Yves Dinasquet Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques | Le Bois-Marie, 35 route de Chartres, F-91440 Bures-sur-Yvette, France Telephone: +33 1 60 92 66 00 | Email: [email protected] | Website: www.ihes.fr scientific events gravitation 1/2 From 6 October 2011 to 15 March 2012, 7 Thibault Damour (IHÉS),Cedric Deffayet (APC) and Pierre Vanhove (CEA-Saclay IPhT & IHÉS) organised symposium in honour of Yuri Manin eight seminar sessions on the theoretical and experimental aspects of gravitation. 71/2, a symposium organised by Ivan Penkov With the idea of recreating the atmosphere of (Jacobs University,Bremen) took place at IHÉS the Manin seminar in Moscow (1984-1986), Évariste Galois on 5, 6 and 7 March 2012. The event was in the four speakers were each invited to give a honour of mathematician Yuri I. Manin, lecture, consisting of two 75 minute sessions. A conference on Differential Equations and Galois Professor at the Max Planck Institute in Bonn The lectures were given byAlexander Beilinson Theory was organised from 17 to 21 October 2011 and former member of the IHÉS Scientific (University of Chicago), Vladimir Drinfeld at IHÉS to present the significant results of the Council, and the symposium was held on the (University of Chicago), Mikhail Kapranov past few years in this field. occasion of his 75th birthday. (Yale University) and Maxim Kontsevich (IHÉS). wall crossing From 10 to 12 November 2011, Maxim Kontsevich (IHÉS) and Andrew Neitzke (UT Austin) made a “The meeting in honour ofYuri Manin was a tribute by Russian series of presentations on wall crossing,a relatively mathematicians to a Russian mathematician.The range of different ways to recent phenomenon that appears in several areas, practice and share mathematics was dazzling.Vladimir Drinfeld showed the such as homological algebra, combinatorics, importance of exchanging ideas to make successive simplifications and improve differential geometry and complex analysis. a demonstration. Mikhail Kapranov highlighted the need for a geometric vision in formulating and solving problems of a very algebraic nature, a vision that enables the manipulation of complicated combinatorics. Publications Finally,Maxim Kontsevich shared his brilliant insights and the amazing mathématiques de l’IHÉS way he always has of reading certain mathematical formulas.” A new Rencontre autour des Publications Claude Sabbah, Mathématiques de l’IHÉS was organised on professor, École polytechnique 20 January 2012,after a first such event in 2011,by Claire Voisin, managing editor of Les Publica- tions Mathématiques de l’IHÉS. Laurent Schwartz seminar For the second year running, F.Merle (Univ.of Cergy-Pontoise & IHÉS) and F.Golse (École polytechnique) jointly organised the Laurent Schwartz Seminar on the subject of Partial Differential Equations and Applications. The seminar took place over a day,comprising 3 or 4 presentations, and generally saw specialists on the subject meeting together once a month, at the École polytechnique or at IHÉS. physics seminar Yuri Manin, Jean-Pierre Serre From 6 February to 26 March 26, 2012, David Ruelle (IHÉS) and Hans Henrik Rugh (Univ.Paris- Sud) organised a seminar,with seven presentations on Dynamical Systems and Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics. 2 courses in Arithmetics and Algebraic Geometry at IHÉS Interview with Ahmed Abbes, research success of the first two courses taught by Peter scientific collaboration is so much greater with director at CNRS, long term CNRS visitor at Scholze (Perfectoid Spaces and the Weight- friends. We had the opportunity to jointly IHÉS since 1 May 2011. Ahmed Abbes is a Monodromy Conjecture,October and November organise three conferences, two in France and mathematician, specialised in arithmetic 2011) and Kim Minhyong (Fundamental one in Japan. But we thought it helpful to geometry. Groups, Non-Abelian Cohomology and maintain more regular contact.Todai accepted Diophantine Geometry, February 2012) shows the idea straight away. In 2008, the university You are the person who already has that this format meets a real need.The courses already had the necessary equipment for several conferences to his credit and is are filmed and videos and notes are made conducting video-seminars. also behind a particular initiative: available on the IHÉS website, in order to I then spoke of the project to IHÉS, where it Courses in Arithmetics and Algebraic benefit the greatest number possible. was welcomed with enthusiasm. IHÉS Geometry. Why did you choose this equipped itself with a videoconferencing approach? system in 2010. Since then, the seminar has During the 1960s, IHÉS witnessed a usually been held once a month. Speakers are revolution in algebraic geometry, led by alternately from IHÉS and Todai, and their Alexander Grothendieck, who did much to presentation is transmitted simultaneously by establish the Institute’s international video to the other institute.The audience is reputation.The foundations of this new theory able to interact directly with the speaker, were developed by Grothendieck and his which is the whole point of this new students over ten years or so in his famous technology. Séminaire de Géométrie Algébrique du Bois- The French school of arithmetic geometry has Marie.These presentations were then published kept close links with the Japanese school in a collection of papers (known by the since the 1970s.These were initially developed acronym SGA) which remains to this day the Peter Scholze by Michel Raynaud and Tetsuji Shioda, then « bible » for this topic.This foundational period by Luc Illusie and Kazuya Kato.With Takeshi was extended with Pierre Deligne continuing You love Japan and you run the Paris- Saito, we hope to carry on this tradition for the tradition of the seminar, by presenting Tokyo Arithmetic Geometry Seminar. the benefit of both schools.Our next project is some of the most elegant and profound results How did this come about? Do you have the joint Arithmetic GeometryWeek in Tokyo to in arithmetic and algebraic geometry (Weil any other projects involving Japan? be held from 4 to 8 June 2012. conjecture,Hodge theory,Galois representations The idea came to me during an extended stay and modular forms ...). The new series of at the University of Tokyo (Todai) in courses in arithmetics and algebraic geometry, 2008. Over the past ten years, I have been which I am currently co-organising with working extensively withTakeshi Saito atTodai Christophe Breuil and Laurent Lafforgue, aims on arithmetic geometry ramification.This has to revive the tradition of an in-depth seminar given me the opportunity to discover this on important topics.The courses are likely to wonderful country and has, more importantly, enhance the attractiveness and influence of enabled me to establish relationships of trust IHÉS. and friendship with my Japanese colleagues, There is an abundant supply of generalist or primarily withTakeshi Saito.The pleasure of a thematic seminars in the Paris area at the moment. Because of their format, these * Courses in arithmetic and algebraic geometry are seminars only give a brief presentation of new jointly organised by the Fondation mathématique results, without exploring the new ideas and Jacques Hadamard and IHÉS.