THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318 September 2003
Forthcoming COUNCIL DIARY degree institutions for post- graduate study. Could the LMS Society 20 June 2003 establish a forum providing Meetings Ursula Martin was present at advice on PhD study? It was the June Council meeting to suggested that this might be a report on the work of the function of the planned 2003 Computer Science Committee, Mathematics Promotion Unit, Friday 24 October which she chairs. The commit- and that the Society might well Southampton tee is focusing on three initia- play a coordinating role, and South West and tives. As MathFIT draws to an establish a web page. South Wales Regional end, the question of succession The Treasurer reported on the Meeting is a natural one, and is under meeting of the Finance Nonlinear Dynamics discussion. A meeting of past Committee two weeks earlier. 1 grantholders, planned for the For the first time the specialist Autumn, will allow consulta- advisors had been present, who Friday 21 November tion. Following the success of had agreed to supplement London the e-Science meeting held at Finance Committee and join an L.C.G. Rogers, De Morgan House in March, a Investment Advisory Committee. M.H.A. Davis (Naylor proposal for a mathematics pro- They had provided very valuable Lecture) gramme scheme for e-Science input to a broad-ranging discus- similar to, but on a smaller scale sion of the Society’s investments than, MathFIT is also being and investment policies, and at a 2004 debated. And Robert Leese’s meeting with the Society’s pro- Friday 20 February seminar at De Morgan House on fessional advisors. It was agreed London the work of the Smith Institute, that the Investment Advisory D. Schleicher, highlighting useful opportuni- Committee would meet again in S.M. Rees (Mary ties for collaboration with the September. Cartwright Lecture) industrial and commercial sec- The Treasurer presented the tors, has raised some interesting budget proposals for 2003/04, questions on ways in which the which are tougher than they Society might contribute. have needed to be in the past, Miles Reid initiated discus- due in part to the poor per- sion on the recruitment and formance of investments. We distribution of PhD students to are lucky that publications UK mathematics departments. income remains healthy, but it He asked if the LMS should would be unwise to rely too consider helping with this. It heavily on this. The was widely recognised that it Administration, Computer was in students’ best interests Science Committee and to move on from their first Programme Committee have THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
had to accept lower budgets than were UK mathematics community. Let us know HONORARY MEMBERSHIP A tour of his achievements includes: his requested; Programme Committee needs to your opinions: my address is at the bottom of famous 1974 proof of the last of the Weil consider seriously ways in which it can tight- this page. Naturally we are unable to please conjectures (the ‘Riemann Hypothesis’ for en up its procedures in order to be more everybody, and we apologise to those read- varieties over finite fields); his construction selective. The Treasurer commented that this ers who will miss the handcrafted style of the in 1968 of the l-adic representation associ- year’s projection figures are definitely pes- old Newsletter with its sober monochrome ated to a modular form, yielding the proof simistic; the budget is a cautious one. The and incongruous juxtapositions. As always, of the Ramanujan–Petersson conjecture, as Society’s membership subscription is due to we welcome suggestions for articles and well as providing substantial evidence for increase to £30, but Council still considered it reviews, as well as news of conferences and the Langlands program, and motivation for to be a good deal, considering the services meetings – especially of course those sup- the solution by Wiles and others of the the Society provides for members. ported by the LMS. Taniyama–Shimura–Weil conjecture; the The meeting adjourned early to allow And this isn’t all ... the new web version of development of the theory of weights and members of Council to attend the Society’s the Newsletter will also appear each month mixed sheaves; the algebraic study of inter- very first Fröhlich lecture. simultaneously with the printed version, section cohomology (with Beilinson and Sarah Rees complete with relevant links to conference Bernstein), perverse sheaves, t-structures sites, reports and other background docu- and derived categories, and the decompo- NEW LOOK NEWSLETTER ments, such as archives of more photographs sition theorem; the existence of mixed of Council members and other mathemati- Hodge structures on the cohomology of 2 So, here it is: the New Look Newsletter. cians at various meetings than you (or they) varieties over the complex numbers; differ- 3 More attractive, easier to read, better organ- could ever want. There isn’t yet a webcam at ential equations with regular singular ised, we hope, and of course in colour (which De Morgan House, but as always the LMS is points, and the solution of Hilbert’s 21st need not remain constant). We aim to widen keen to innovate and is ready to embrace problem; the theory of absolute Hodge the scope of material included, with more enthusiastically any realistic suggestions as cycles on Abelian varieties, and the identi- opinion, polemics, politics, pictures, poems, to how we might advance to meet with cre- fication of the Taniyama group with the singing and dancing – well, perhaps that will ativity and panache the stimulating chal- Galois group of the category of CM come later – while maintaining the brief of lenges of the twentieth century, or even the motives; his ingenious proof of the exis- the Newsletter to inform members of current twenty-first. The London Mathematical Society has elect- tence of local ε-factors, a key ingredient of events and news particularly relevant to the David Chillingworth ed Professor Pierre Deligne to Honorary the Langlands program; his discovery of Membership of the Society in recognition of the motivic structure on the fundamental his monumental contributions to algebraic group of an algebraic variety, providing in LMS Newsletter geometry. the simplest case of the projective line Viewed as a whole, Deligne’s work con- minus three points a link between polylog- General Editor: Dr D.R.J. Chillingworth ([email protected]) cerns many different aspects of the cohomol- arithms and mixed Tate motives, and (with Reports Editor: Dr S.A. Huggett ([email protected]) ogy of algebraic varieties. It has turned Beilinson) giving a motivic interpretation Reviews Editor: Professor M.P.F. du Sautoy ([email protected]) Grothendieck’s philosophy of motives from a of Zagier’s conjecture on special values of Administrative Editor: Miss S.M. Oakes ([email protected]) conjectural program into what is the driving the Dedekind zeta-function of a number Editorial office address: London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, force behind many of the most subtle areas field. 57-58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS (tel: 020 7637 3686; fax: 020 7323 3655, of current algebraic geometry and arith- Professor Deligne is a member of the email: [email protected], web: www.lms.ac.uk) metic. Through an unparalleled blend of Paris Académie des Sciences, of the Designed by CHP Ltd (tel: 020 7240 0466, email: [email protected], web:www.chpdesign.com). penetrating insights, fearless technical American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Printed by: Armstrong Press Ltd, Southampton (tel: 023 8033 3132, email: [email protected]) mastery and dazzling ingenuity, Deligne has and of the Académie Royale de Belgique. Publication dates and deadlines: published monthly, except August. single-handedly brought about a new under- He was awarded a Fields Medal in 1978, Items and advertisements by first day of the month prior to publication. standing of the cohomology of varieties, and the Crafoord Prize of the Swedish Information in the Newsletter is free to be used elsewhere; attribution is requested when reproducing both classical and in finite characteristic, with Academy in 1988. He is currently Professor whole articles. The LMS cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of information in the Newsletter. numerous applications to deep problems in at the Institute of Advanced Study in Charity registration number: 252660 geometry and number theory. Princeton. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
THE INTERNATIONAL with the academic staff and particularly meet- ing and interacting with young postgrad and LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY SOUTH WEST REVIEW OF MATHEMATICS postdoc research mathematicians. Report 6 Stephen Huggett, the Scientific Secretary AND SOUTH WALES REGIONAL MEETING to the Review, is in contact with the venues Invitations have been sent to the eight insti- and hosts, discussing each of the pro- Nonlinear Dynamics tutions selected as venues for the Review grammes. It is recognised that the specific Panel to visit during the Review Week, programmes will vary, drawing on the differ- University of Southampton, 24 October 2003 Monday 1 December to Saturday 6 ing strengths and natures of the regions and December. their institutions. The South West and South Wales Regional Meeting of the London Mathematical At each venue, key institutions of high There is a contact point on the Review Society will be held on Friday 24 October. There will be a reception and dinner afterwards. standing in the region centred on the venue website for feedback ([email protected]). Please 3.30 - 4.30 Marcelo Viana (IMPA, Brasil) have been asked jointly to act as “hosts” to use this to send in your own comments and 4.30 - 5.00 Tea/coffee present the core material to the sub-Panel. suggestions. 5.00 - 6.00 Philip Holmes (Princeton) Piecewise-holonomic mechanics, The eight venues, and institutions associat- hybrid dynamical systems, and escaping cockroaches ed with preparing the programmes, are: FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL • Bristol University, with Bath, Cardiff, There are limited funds available to contribute in part to the expenses of members of the Exeter, Portsmouth, Southampton and SOCIETY Society or research students to attend the meeting. Requests for support, including an esti- 4 Swansea In addition to the list of Mathematics FRSs mate of expenses, may be addressed to the Programme Secretary at the Society (web: 5 • Cambridge University (including the Isaac elected earlier this year and recorded in the www.lms.ac.uk; email: [email protected]). Newton Institute) July Newsletter, we are glad to include also • Durham University, with Leeds, Newcastle Professor Roger Fletcher, Dundee University, This will be followed by a weekend workshop (25-26 October) on “Nonlinear and York a numerical analyst and Professor Leon Dynamics and Life Sciences”. The speakers are: • Edinburgh University (including ICMS), Simon, who is an Australian analyst based in • Roman Borisyuk (Plymouth) Dynamics of neural activity, synchronisation and with Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Heriot- the USA. Apologies for these omissions. information processing Watt, St Andrews and Strathclyde • Pietro-Luciano Buono (CRM, Montreal) Analysis of delay-differential equation • Imperial College, with Brunel, Holloway, CHAIR OF ACME models in biological science Kent, Kings, Queen Mary, Reading, Surrey, • Tsuyoshi Chawanya (Osaka) Attractive structures of saddles and exotic attractors in Sussex and UCL Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith FRS, Chairman of dynamical systems with forced invariant sets • Manchester University, with Keele, Lancaster, ACME (the Advisory Committee on • Tomas Gedeon (Montana) Symmetry breaking bifurcations, normalized cuts and Liverpool, Salford, Sheffield and UMIST Mathematics Education), is to be the new the neural coding problem • Oxford University (including the Smith Director of Culham, responsible for develop- • Philip Holmes (Princeton) Optimal decisions: From neural spikes, through stochas- Institute) ing and implementing the strategy for the tic differential equations, to behavior • Warwick University, with Birmingham, UK’s fusion research programme. • Tim Lewis (NYU) Dynamics of spiking neurons connected by inhibitory and electri- Leicester, Nottingham and UEA Chris Llewellyn Smith spent much of his cal coupling The eight venues have been selected for geo- career at Oxford, where he merged five • Stefano Luzzatto (Imperial) Stability of dynamics under various kinds of perturbations graphical spread, size, position, facilities, inter- University Departments to form one of the • David Rand (Warwick) Uncovering design principles underlying cellular systems: national standing, postdoc and postgrad com- UK’s top rated physics departments. He was clocks, regulatory nets and signals munity, etc. The venues and hosts have been Director-General of CERN, the European • Ian Stewart (Warwick) Patterns of synchrony in networks – the groupoid formalism asked to prepare a programme for the Review Laboratory for Particle Physics, from 1994 to • Marcelo Viana (IMPA) TBA Panel that will include presentations demon- 1998, and was President and Provost of UCL strative of the strengths of mathematics and (University College London) from 1998 to Some financial support is available for research students at UK institutions and for statistics in the region. These presentations 2002. He has served on numerous advisory participants from countries other than North America, Western Europe and need to be subject-centred and highly selective. committees, including the Prime Minister’s Australia. For further details contact David Chillingworth (tel: 02380 593677, The Panel members will spend considerable Advisory Committee on Science and email: [email protected]). time with mathematicians, having discussions Technology (ACOST) 1989-92. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
DAVID CRIGHTON MEDAL Nationally, he was very effective in helping to establish the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Scotland. Over the years it has been, and remains, a major national asset. John Ball was President of the London Mathematical Society from 1996-1998, and led the Society’s moves throughout that peri- od to increase its activity and influence in its promotion of mathematics and its links with other bodies. He has been a member of the Council of the EPSRC, acting as a liaison with the Royal Society and speaking up for mathematics as well as for the sciences and engineering. He chaired the 1998 EPSRC review of the Isaac Newton Institute. Internationally, John Ball has been for 6 some years prominent in the activities of the 7 International Mathematical Union (IMU), in particular as a member of the Fields Medal Committee and of the Programme Committee for the 2002 Beijing International Congress. At the 2002 Shanghai IMU General Assembly he was elected President of the IMU for the next four years, bringing distinc- The Councils of the London Mathematical tion to the UK mathematics community. He Society and the Institute of Mathematics and was one of the five members of the Abel its Applications have awarded the David Prize committee which awarded its first inter- Crighton Medal for 2003 for services to math- national prize in June 2003. ematics and to the mathematics community Much of John Ball’s research focuses on to Professor John Ball, FRS, Sedleian Professor the calculus of variations and its applica- of Natural Philosophy in the University of tions to solid mechanics, bringing to bear Oxford. an armoury of knowledge and techniques John Ball is an outstanding mathemati- of mathematical analysis and algebra. His cian of international stature. At the same papers illustrate in many ways his fine time he has exerted himself both nationally qualities in linking mathematics with and internationally for the good of mechanics. Mathematics and its community. In particu- At the EPSRC-IMA-LMS conference in lar, his activity internationally has done 2001, on ‘Connectivity between much to raise the profile of UK Mathematics and Engineering’, Ball’s contri- Mathematics, especially of Applied bution was a highlight, showing how the Mathematics. He has an exceptional record choice of the space of functions is of such of getting things done and making things importance in the construction of numeri- happen – in this he demonstrates the quali- cal/computational schemes that converge to ties of David Crighton himself. physically relevant solutions. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
SYLVESTER MEDAL mathematics at Durham or any other uni- FUNCTION THEORY MEETING IN HONOUR OF versity. The Royal Society has awarded the MEETING SUSAN BROWN AND Sylvester Medal for 2003 to Professor VISIT OF A one-day Function Theory Meeting will be MICHAEL O’NEILL Lennart Carleson, ForMemRS, for his deep held on Monday 15 September from 10:30 – and fundamental contributions to mathe- PROFESSOR 5:30 at De Morgan House. The meeting will An afternoon of seminars will be held at matics in the field of analysis and complex V.N. TOLSTOY focus on all areas of current research in University College London on 19 September dynamics. His most spectacular achieve- complex function theory. Speakers include in honour of Professor Susan Brown and ment was the proof of the convergence Professor Valery Tolstoy (Moscow State R. Halburd, P. Rippon, A. Vassiliev, I. Professor Michael O’Neill to celebrate their almost everywhere of the Fourier Series of University) will be visiting the University Markina, E. Crane and G. Kendall. Lectures 65th birthdays. The seminars will take place in square integrable and continuous func- of York from 12 September until 11 begin at 11:00, with coffee available from the Sir Harrie Massey Lecture Theatre tions. Professor Carleson is an Honorary October. His visit is supported by an LMS 10:30. (25 Gordon Street). The schedule is as follows. Member of the London Mathematical Scheme 2 grant, and by a Royal Society The meeting is open to all members of the Ron Shail (Surrey) Society. FSU grant. During his visit he will give LMS and any other interested parties. PhD Stokes flow at University College London Other recipients of Royal Society Awards talks at the Universities of York (27 students are particularly encouraged to Norman Riley (UEA) and Medals for 2003 are: September), Durham (2 October) and attend; some financial assistance is available. Laminar flow separation revisited Royal Society GlaxoSmithKline Prize and Leeds (10 October). For further informa- The meeting is supported by an LMS confer- Peter Daniels (City) Lecture – Dr Michael Neuberger, FRS tion contact Dr Maxim Nazarov ence grant. For more information and a pro- Convection patterns in large containers 8 Royal Society Armourers and Brasiers’ ([email protected]). gramme of the meeting contact Matthew M. Anatoly Ruban (Manchester) 9 Company Award – Professor Derek Fray Jones ([email protected]). Boundary-layer separation and related Copley Medal – Sir John Gurdon, FRS VISIT OF phenomena Gabor Medal – Professor Jean Beggs, FRS JOHN WALLIS Howard Brenner (MIT) Royal Medals – Sir Nicholas Shackleton, FRS, PROFESSOR Summers and sabbaticals with Michael. Low Sir John Skehel, FRS, and Professor Kenneth M-F. CHEN TERCENTENARY Reynolds number flows and the demise of Johnson, FRS The British Society for the History of the Navier-Stokes paradigm Davy Medal – Professor Roger Parsons, FRS Professor Mu-Fa Chen (Beijing Normal Mathematics is holding a one-day meeting Sidney Leibovich (Cornell) Hughes Medal – Professor Peter Edwards, FRS University, China) will be visiting the on Saturday 25 October at New College, Langmuir-Ekman patterns on the ocean The winners of the awards will receive Department of Mathematical Sciences, Oxford, to celebrate the tercentenary of surface them at a ceremony during the Royal Loughborough University, and the John Wallis (1616 – 1703). John Wallis was The whole session is open to all; gradu- Society’s Anniversary Day on 1 December Department of Mathematics, University of Savilian Professor of Geometry in Oxford for ate students, postdocs, et al. are particu- 2003. Wales Swansea, in November. During his over fifty years. The speakers are: Philip larly encouraged to attend the session, visit he will give three talks at Beeley, David Cram, Penelope Gouk, Noel which involves six renowned experts in COLLINGWOOD Loughborough University from 5 – 14 Malcolm, Scott Mandelbrote and Jackie Applied Mathematics. The meeting is sup- November and two talks at the University Stedall. ported financially by an LMS conference MEMORIAL PRIZE of Wales Swansea from 15 – 22 November The registration fee of £25 includes tea grant. The 2003 Collingwood Memorial Prize has on “Ergodic Convergence Rates of Markov and coffee and a buffet lunch at The been awarded to Anna R. Lishman, Processes and Spectrum Theory”. During Queen’s College (next door to New College). MEASURE THEORY, University College, who will study for a PhD his visit to Loughborough University, he To register for the meeting write to Tony in Mathematical Physics at Durham will give a talk at University of Oxford on Mann, Department of Mathematics, TOPOLOGY AND SET University from October 2003. The 10 November and a talk at University of University of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval THEORY Collingwood Memorial Prize, established in Hull on 12 November. His visit is funded by College, London SE10 9LS, giving your name memory of Sir Edward Collingwood, FRS, an LMS Scheme 5 grant. For further infor- and contact details and enclosing the regis- A one-day meeting on Measure Theory, President of the Society 1969-1970, is mation contact Dr Huai Zhong Zhao tration fee (cheques payable to BSHM). Topology and Set Theory will be held in the awarded to a final-year mathematics stu- ([email protected]) or Dr Jiang-Lun Wu Further details can be found at Hardy Room of the London Mathematical dent at the University of Durham who ([email protected]). www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/ or email Tony Society on Thursday 25 September. The intends to continue to a higher degree in Mann ([email protected]). meeting marks the retirement from the THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
University of Essex in Colchester of David H. NEW FRONTIERS IN Fremlin, Reader at the University of Essex and Honorary Fellow at the University of COMPUTATIONAL East Anglia. It is particularly hoped that MATHEMATICS LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY many of David’s friends and colleagues will be able to attend. The topics chosen for the A two-day workshop on the New Frontiers in CECIL KING TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP meeting reflect some of the areas in which Computational Mathematics will be held on David has made significant contributions Saturday 10 January – Sunday 11 January 2004 The London Mathematical Society annually awards a Cecil King Travel Scholarship in over the many years he has worked at the at the Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre, Mathematics to the value of £5000, to a young mathematician of outstanding prom- University of Essex. University of Manchester. It will focus on the ise, to support a period of study or research abroad for a typical period of three The speakers are: cutting edge research areas of computational months. Many mathematicians have found that such a visit has benefited both their • Mirna Dzamonja (University of East Anglia) mathematics that are of growing importance mathematics and their career; the Society urges young mathematicians and their • Richard Haydon (Oxford University) and interdisciplinary in nature. The aims are to supervisors to consider seriously this opportunity. • Grzegorz Plebanek (University of Wroclaw) bring together interested researchers for fruit- The award is competitive and based on a written proposal describing the intend- • Juris Steprans (York University, Toronto) ful discussions of current challenges and future ed programme of study or research abroad and the benefits to be gained from such • Stevo Todorcevic (CNRS, Paris) directions in computational mathematics, a visit. Talks will take place from 11.30 am to 6.00 encompassing both mathematicians and com- pm with coffee available from 11.00 am. putational scientists who make strong use of Applicants should be nationals of the UK or Republic of Ireland, under the age of 10 After the meeting there will be a dinner at mathematics. There is no registration fee. 25 years, either registered for or having recently completed a doctoral degree at a 11 the Rasa Samudra Restaurant in Charlotte Attendance is limited to at most 80 persons. UK University. Street, London at 7:30. The four highlighted areas, and associated The initial application should include: The meeting is funded by the London keynote speakers, are 1. A completed application form. Mathematical Society, and some funding • Jack Dongarra (University of Tennessee, 2. A short proposal (4 pages maximum) indicating the proposed programme of is available to cover the expenses of Knoxville) High performance computing study abroad, the benefit of such an opportunity in advancing the candidate’s postgraduate students at British univer- trends, the grid, and numerical algorithms studies, and the Institution that the candidate wishes to visit. sities and any participants from Eastern • Per Christian Hansen (Technical University 3. A letter of support from the applicant’s Head of Department, or from his or her and Central Europe. According to the of Denmark) Inverse problems and ill- Research Supervisor. rules of the LMS grant that supports us posed problems there will be a registration fee. It is vol- • Mark Chaplain (University of Dundee) Candidates selected for interview will be asked to approach the intended research untary and its cost is £5 per person. It Mathematical biology institution or research leader to be visited, to confirm that a visit would indeed be can be paid to Mirna Dzamonja at the • Tony F. Chan (UCLA) Partial differential welcomed if an award were made. meeting. equation methods in image processing and At the end of the Scholarship, the student will be expected to write a short report Please let Mirna Dzamonja know computer vision indicating the activities and benefits gained from the visit. ([email protected]) if you are inter- The call for attendance and papers/posters is at ested in applying for the support funds or www.maths.man.ac.uk/MCCM/frontiers.html. The Cecil King Travel Scholarship was established in 2001 by the Cecil King going to the dinner. It would also be help- The organizing committee is: Nicholas J. Higham, Memorial Fund. The award is made by the Council of the London Mathematical ful to know the approximate number of Tony Shardlow, Francoise Tisseur (University of Society on the recommendation of the Cecil King Prize Committee, nominated by people coming to the meeting so even Manchester), David Silvester (UMIST). the Society’s Education Committee. though you are more than welcome to just The workshop is organized by the Manchester Application forms for the 2004 Scholarship are available on the Society’s website show up on the day, if you know you are Centre for Computational Mathematics (www.lms.ac.uk/activities/cecil_king/index.html) or from the Society. Closing date for coming please try to email Mirna to let her (MCCM), and forms part of the University of applications: 4 February 2004. know. She can also give some advice about Manchester’s Centenary Research Workshop accommodation; the speakers will be stay- series. Financial support for the workshop is pro- The London Mathematical Society (ref: Cecil King/FS), De Morgan House, 57-58 ing at the Tavistock Hotel on Tavistock vided by The University of Manchester, The Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS (tel: 020 7637 3686; email: [email protected]). Square, London. London Mathematical Society, and the UK and Republic of Ireland SIAM section. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
SECANTS STRUCTURAL MODELLING AND NONLINEAR Daphne Jackson Research Fellowship SECANTS (South of England Computation- al and Algorithmic Number Theory MATHEMATICS Sponsored by the London Mathematical Society Seminars) will hold its twenty-first meeting in Bristol on Monday 22 September. The A colloquium on Structural Modelling and Applicants are invited to apply for a half-time Research Fellowship under speakers will be Lois Salveil (BRICS), Igor Nonlinear Mathematics, organized by the auspices of the Daphne Jackson Trust*. The Fellowship will be spon- Shparlinski (Macquarie) and Peter Khurram Wadee and Andrew Bassom, will be sored by the London Mathematical Society. The Society urges readers to Leadbitter (Bristol). Lois Salveil’s talk will held on 17 September in the School of consider suitable applicants and to bring this advertisement to their form part of a series of lectures on Engineering, Computer Science and attention. Quantum Information Processing and Mathematics at the University of Exeter. This Cryptography which he is giving in Bristol event is supported by the LMS Scheme 3 The Daphne Jackson Trust helps talented women scientists, engineers and on 18-26 September. DynaBUGS group. The theme of the day is a technology specialists to return to work after a career break by offering For more details of the programme and discussion of the use of modern nonlinear half-time, sponsored Fellowships in research laboratories throughout the venue, as well as general information mathematics in structural mechanics. UK. Since its inception, the Trust has appointed over 100 Fellows, most of about SECANTS, and how to be put on the The meeting will consider state-of-the-art whom have resumed a promising career in their chosen field. email mailing list, visit the website applications to diverse topics in elastic (www.maths.nott.ac.uk/personal/jec/ buckling such as instabilities in struts, shells, 12 Each Fellowship aims to provide advanced research and training opportu- secants/secants21.html). SECANTS is fund- tubes and layered materials (e.g. the study of 13 nities for a well-qualified woman (research scientist, engineer or technol- ed by an LMS Scheme 3 grant. geological folding and failure in composites). ogy specialist) with a PhD or good honours degree, seeking to resume her Visit the website www.ex.ac.uk/ career after a minimum three-year break to meet family commitments. SYMMETRY AND ~mkwadee/LMS.html if you are interested in attending or email [email protected] or The Fellowship is tenable in a science, engineering or technology depart- PERTURBATION [email protected] . ment or related institution at University of the applicant’s choice. THEORY Applicants must prepare a proposal for a research project in conjunction MODULAR INVARIANTS with an accredited supervisor. The successful applicants will be elected to The fifth conference on Symmetry and a Research Fellowship at their chosen institution for the tenure of their Perturbation Theory (SPT2004) will be held AND REPRESENTATIONS OF appointment. in Cala Gonone (Sardinia, Italy) from 30 FINITE GROUPS May to 6 June 2004. The conference will The appointment will be for two years, half time. (The stipend will be focus in the topics mentioned in its title A conference on Modular Invariants and pro rata on the RA1A scales for research staff, amounting to a minimum and cognate ones, such as classical and Representations of Finite Groups: Theory of £9,840 per annum plus £850 extraordinary expenses in the first year.) quantum dynamical systems, integrable and Computation will be held on 11-12 There is a facility for additional support from a special discretionary fund systems, symmetry of differential equa- September at the Institute of Mathematics administered by the Daphne Jackson Trust. tions, etc. The scientific committee is: and Statistics, University of Kent, For more information contact: S. Abenda (Bologna), D. Bambusi (Milano), Canterbury. The conference aims to bring G. Cicogna (Pisa), A. Degasperis (Roma), together researchers in constructive invari- The Fellowship Administrator, The Daphne Jackson Trust, G. Gaeta (Milano), V. Kuznetsov (Leeds), ant theory of finite groups and computa- Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH. G. Marmo (Napoli), P. Olver (Minneapolis), tional group theory. Recent advances in Tel: 01483 689166 J.P. Ortega (Nice), S. Rauch (Linkoping), invariant theory deal with degree bounds Email: [email protected] E. Sousa Dias (Lisboa), F. Verhulst (Utrecht), and efficient construction procedures for Useful websites: www.daphnejackson.org and www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk S. Walcher (Aachen), B. Zhilinskii sets of generating invariants. These proce- (Dunquerque). For further information dures involve a dense interplay between * Registered as the Daphne Jackson Memorial Fellowships Trust, Charity No. 1009605 about the conference visit the website techniques from computational commuta- www.sptspt.it or email Giuseppe Gaeta tive algebra and computational group ([email protected]). theory. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318No. September 318 June 2003
Confirmed speakers: Programme strategy in advance of the • Emmanuel Briand (Marne-la-Vallé) International Review of Mathematics and the • David Green (Wuppertal) Review of Operational Research in the UK. 2003/2004 Warwick Symposium on • Gregor Kemper (Munich) The SAT agreed that future priorities should • Steve Linton (St Andrews) include: • Nicolas Thiéry (Lyon) • the support of novel curiosity driven Noncommutative Algebra and its • Chris Woodcock (Kent) research through responsive mode; The conference is funded by the London • involvement with a wider industrial user Applications Mathematical Society and some financial sup- base by engaging with the Industrial port is available for research students at UK uni- Mathematics and Systems Engineering September 2003 – July 2004 versities. If you are interested in attending, Faraday Partnership; and Organisers: C.R. Hajarnavis and D. Rumynin please contact Dr R. James Shank • establishing a longer-term funding ([email protected]). For further information arrangement for ICMS, in partnership Activities will take place over the whole year and there will be a number visit the website (http://www.kent.ac.uk/IMS/ with SHEFC. of Workshops as follows: personal/rjs/ septemberconference.html). The SAT also discussed a paper on adven- ture in mathematics research, suggesting Ring Theory EPSRC MATHEMATICS SAT ways by which the Programme could facili- 8-12 September 2003 tate the submission of more radical Organiser: C. R. Hajarnavis 14 MEETING research proposals. A paper on ensuring Representations of Finite Dimensional Algebras 15 The third meeting of the EPSRC Mathematics greater participation by the mathematics 8-13 December 2003 Programme’s Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) community in public awareness activities Organisers: S. Konig & D. Rumynin was held on 11 June. It was the first meet- also stimulated a productive discussion. ing for the new members Dr David Further feedback on these issues from the Geometric Methods in Algebra and Representation Theory Calderbank (Edinburgh), Dr Helen Byrne wider mathematics community would be 29 March - 3 April 2004 (Nottingham) and Dr Steve Brooks welcomed. The business plan will be Organisers: K. Brown & D. Rumynin (Cambridge). The SAT was given an update finalised during July and will be published Hopf Algebras on the preparation of potential bids for the on the EPSRC website (www.epsrc.ac.uk) in 24-26 June 2004 next government spending review (SR 2004) late autumn following the October meeting to be held at the University of Wales at Swansea and on progress to date towards the of EPSRC’s Council. Organisers: T. Brzezinski International Review of Mathematics and Annette Bramley the Review of Operational Research in the EPSRC Programme Manager, Mathematics Noncommutative Algebra UK. Ursula Martin presented the report of ([email protected]) 5-16 July 2004 the Mathematics and e-Science meeting held Organisers: C. R. Hajarnavis & D. Rumynin at the LMS in March. INDIAN SOCIETY FOR HISTORY The SAT then turned its attention to the People are welcome to come for longer visits than a workshop. main business of the meeting - discussing the OF MATHEMATICS PhD students are particularly encouraged to participate. Limited financial formulation of the Mathematics Programme The Indian Society for History of support is available. Business Plan for 2004-06. The programme Mathematics (ISHM) has launched its web- strategy has four elements: site during its Silver Jubilee year. The site The Symposium is supported by the EPSRC and also the London • supporting excellence; www.indianshm.com was formally Mathematical Society via the Warwick British Visitors Fund. • greater connectivity with other disciplines launched by the Society’s President and with users in industry, business and Professor G.S. Pandey in June. The site For further information contact: Mathematics Research Centre, University commerce; intends to cover information on all aspects of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL; email: [email protected]; • supporting training; of the history of mathematical sciences and tel: +44 (0)24 7652 4403; fax: +44 (0)24 7652 3548. • promoting international activities. includes links to some societies working in No significant changes will be made to the the area. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
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FRENCH MATHEMATICAL distinct categories of members. First there are the national mathematical societies, ISAAC NEWTON INSTITUTE FOR MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES SOCIETY such as the LMS, IMA and E(dinburgh) MS, At its meeting on 15 June 2003 the French or academic institutes such as the Isaac GEOPHYSICAL GRANULAR & Mathematical Society elected a new board: Newton Institute and IHES. Then there are President: Michel Waldschmidt individual members, who generally join PARTICLE-LADEN FLOWS Vice-Presidents: Jacques Wolfmann, Gilles through the national societies. As more Godefroy, Claude Sabbah individual members join, the number of 27 – 31 October 2003 Treasurer: Alain Jacquemard their representatives on Council increases, Treasurer adjointe: Martine Bellec up to a limit of two-fifths. Currently, "@-Bristol", Harbourside, Bristol Secretary: Marc Chardin Council is composed of 19 delegates elected Organisers: J.M.N.T. Gray (Manchester), A.J. Hogg (Bristol) & K. Hutter (Darmstadt). Under the reciprocity agreement between by the individual membership and 64 dele- Scientific committee: J.T. Jenkins (Cornell), C. Keylock (Leeds), T. Mullin the LMS and the French Mathematical Society gates of societies. (Manchester) & A. Woods (Cambridge). the reciprocity membership fee for 2003/04 is So much for the theoretical balance of Conference theme: Many large-scale natural hazards and geomorphic processes 32. Information on the French Mathematical power. In fact, Council delegates do not sep- involve granular or particle-laden flows. Examples abound in our natural environ- Society is available at www.emath.fr. arate into groups according to the type of ment, ranging from avalanches, debris flows, rock-falls, pyroclastic flows and membership they represent. They mainly act lahars, to turbidity currents, sediment transport in rivers and dune formation. as individuals, accepting or amending pro- This meeting will bring together environmental scientists, geographers, geologists SWEDISH MATHEMATICAL and geophysicists, who observe these phenomena in the field, with mathemati- posals from the Executive Committee, per- 18 cians, physicists and engineers who are developing sophisticated mathematical 19 SOCIETY haps questioning some of the Society’s activ- models and laboratory based experiments to understand these complex and chal- At its meeting in Uppsala on 23 May 2003 the ities or suggesting new ones. An example of lenging flows. A group of leading mathematicians and scientists will be gathered Swedish Mathematical Society elected a new board: the latter is the joint mathematical weekend at the Isaac Newton Institute for a four month programme on Granular and Chairman: Sten Kaijser (Uppsala University) the EMS is holding together with the Particle-Laden Flow at this time, and this Satellite workshop provides an unparal- Vice chairman: Olle Häggström (Chalmers Portuguese Mathematical Society this month. leled opportunity for environmental scientists, theoreticians and experimentalists University of Technology) The atmosphere in Council is generally to meet, discuss and exchange ideas. Secretary: Ming Fan (Dalarna University) friendly and constructive. Of course there Speakers: C. Ancey (CEMAGREF), J. Best (Leeds), C.S. Campbell (USC), R.P. Denlinger Treasurer: Milagros Izqierdo Barrios are differences of approach arising from (USGS), H. Huppert (Cambridge), D. Issler (NADESCOR), R. Iverson (USGS), (Linköping University) diverse national traditions, and these do K. Nishimura (Nagaoka), G. Parker (Minnesota), J. Rice (Harvard), S.B. Savage Fifth Member: Anette Jahnke (Hvitfeldtska enliven the proceedings from time to time. (McGill), R.S.J. Sparks (Bristol), J. Vallance (USGS), K. Whipple (MIT). Gymnasiet) For instance, in Barcelona there was a Location and costs: The conference will take place "@-Bristol", Harbourside, Bristol, Under the reciprocity agreement between the debate about the early history of the and accommodation for participants will be provided in local hotels. The workshop LMS and the Swedish Mathematical Societies the Society: strong and contradictory views are package, costing £450, includes the conference fee, five nights’ accommodation, membership fee for members of the LMS to join held about what happened. In Oslo, there breakfast and lunch. Partial financial support is available to all participants through generous grants from the NERC-EPSRC Environmental Mathematics & the Swedish Society is 100 Swedish Crowns per were passionate interventions in favour of Statistics Programme, the London Mathematical Society, the NSF, the Office of year. Information on the Swedish Mathematical reduced membership rates for young Naval Research International Field Office and the Isaac Newton Institute. The over- Society is available at www.matematikersamfun researchers, but Council was not persuaded. all number of participants is limited to 70. If you are interested in participating in det.org.se. Also in Oslo, Council debated the Bologna this meeting, please complete the application form. process, but was unable to agree a state- Further information and application: Forms are available from the web (www. THE EUROPEAN ment acceptable to all delegates. newton.cam.ac.uk/programs/GPF/gpfw02.html). Completed application forms The next Council meeting will be held in should be sent to Tracey Andrew, Programme and Conference Secretary, Isaac MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY Stockholm in June 2004, during the weekend Newton Institute, 20 Clarkson Road, Cambridge BB3 0EH, or via email COUNCIL before the fourth European Congress of ([email protected]). Please email your enquiries to Tracey Andrew or Mathematics. There will be vacancies for del- one of the organisers. The Council, which meets every two years, is egates of the individual membership. Closing date: The closing date for the receipt of applications is 31 August 2003. the governing body of the European David Salinger Late registration until 7 September for LMS members. Mathematical Society. The EMS has two EMS Publicity Officer THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
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JUNE SOCIETY Taylor’s lecture was well received and enthusiastically applauded. MEETING At this stage Jeremy Rickard arrived and RECORDS OF PROCEEDINGS AT A meeting of the Society was held on the President made a presentation of the Friday 20 June at University College Senior Berwick Prize certificate. We were MEETINGS London. It was chaired by the President, assured that the lecture would take place Professor Peter Goddard, who began by at a later date. ORDINARY MEETING inviting new members to add their names Following the lecture, there was a well- held on Friday 20 June 2003 at University College London. At least 47 members and to the original Membership Book which attended reception at De Morgan House visitors were present for all or part of the meeting. dates from the foundation of the Society and those attending took advantage of a in 1865. D. Cariolaro, P. Fleischmann and balmy summer’s evening to spill out into The meeting began at 3.30 pm, with the President, Professor P. GODDARD, FRS, in R.J. Shank duly signed, and were wel- the attractive garden. More than thirty the Chair. comed into the LMS. The President then people then proceeded to Poon’s The President announced the awards of the Polya Prize to Professor read aloud citations for the 2003 LMS Restaurant on Woburn Place to enjoy a A.J. Macintyre, FRS, of the University of Edinburgh, the Berwick Prize to prizewinners, some of whom were pres- pleasant Chinese meal and good company. Dr T. Bridgeland of the University of Edinburgh, the Senior Whitehead Prize to ent, and the audience acknowledged Dr P. Neumann of Oxford University, and Whitehead Prizes to Dr N. Dorey of their fine achievements with enthusiastic R.T. Curtis University of Wales, Swansea, to Dr T. Hall of Liverpool University, to clapping. Birmingham University 20 Dr M. Lackenby of St. Catherine’s College and the University of Oxford, and to The first lecture, on ‘The stable module 21 Dr M. Nazarov of the University of York. The President read short versions of the cita- category of a finite group algebra’ was to tions, which would be published in full in the Bulletin. have been delivered by Professor Jeremy Rickard, Senior Berwick prizewinner for The President, on Council’s behalf, proposed that Professor Pierre Deligne be elect- 2002. Unfortunately, though, he fell vic- Now available! ed to Honorary Membership of the Society. This was approved by acclaim. tim to our endemic problems on the rail- TRADITIONAL The President read a short version of the citation, to be published in full in the ways and was seriously delayed. Bulletin. Apparently a fire close to the line at JAPANESE Seven people were elected to Ordinary Membership: M.G. Blyth, G. El, Burnham had affected trains into MATHEMATICS Paddington. All was not lost, however, J. Mao, S.E. Mikhailov, J. Talabany, C. Yastremiz, A.S.I. Zinober; and three people PROBLEMS were elected to Associate Membership: S. Hendren, K.J. Shackleton, I. Shah. and Professor Martin Taylor stepped into the breach and gave an impromptu Three members signed the book and were admitted to the Society. update on preparations for the forthcom- of the 18th and 19th Centuries ing International Review of British by H. Fukagawa and J.F. Rigby GENERAL MEETING Mathematics and Statistics. With Professor P. Goddard, FRS, in the Chair. On a recommendation from Council Following tea, we had the first it was agreed to elect Dr D.J. Collins and Dr A.R. Camina to be appointed scrutineers Fröhlich Lecture, in memory of Professor £35 including p&p. in the forthcoming Council elections 2004. Albrecht Fröhlich, appropriately deliv- The Ordinary Meeting then resumed. ered by Martin Taylor who had been a Copies will be sent by airmail from research student of his at King’s College Singapore, but sterling cheques The President announced, with regret, that Professor J.C. Rickard, of the University and with whom he had subsequently payable to J.F. Rigby, together with of Bristol, Senior Berwick Prizewinner for 2002, who was to have given the first lec- produced several important number the- name and address for delivery (and ture, had been unavoidably delayed. It was intended to reschedule his lecture for a oretic publications. Ali’s widow, Dr Ruth email contact address if possible), later date. Fröhlich, and their daughter, Sorrel, should be sent to Dr J.F. Rigby, Flat 5 The Fröhlich Lecture was then given by Professor M.J. Taylor, FRS, on ‘Die Fröhliche were present for the lecture, entitled Cathedral Court, Cathedral Green, Wissenschaft’. ‘Die Fröhliche Wissenschaft’, but their Llandaff, Cardiff CF5 2EB. Please son, Shaun, was able to come for the allow 28 days for delivery. reception and dinner only. Martin THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318 September 2003
POINCARÉ CONJECTURE metric g0 : indeed Hamilton proved that if g0 is a metric of positive Ricci curvature on a closed On 23 July, the participants at the Hodge 3-manifold, then g(t) tends to a metric of con- Centenary meeting (LMS Newsletter 310, pp stant positive curvature as t increases. Since 25) run by the International Centre for then, Hamilton and others have proved many Mathematical Sciences at Edinburgh took time further results which point towards a possible off from Hodge theory to hear about recent proof of the geometrization conjecture by a progress on the Poincaré conjecture. The focus detailed analysis of the Ricci flow. of attention was the remarkable work of Grisha Before Perelman’s work, the main problem Perelman, which has appeared in a series of in this approach can be explained, roughly, as preprints dating from November 2002. follows. If one has no information about the
Professor Simon Donaldson, FRS, gave a initial metric g0, the Ricci flow can usually not lecture describing the Poincaré conjecture, be extended beyond some critical finite time T: Thurston’s geometrization conjecture, and the solution blows up because of the nonlin- Richard Hamilton’s approach via Ricci flow to earities in the equation. In order to understand these conjectures. He then explained, in out- the limiting behaviour of g(t) as t approaches T, line, how Grisha Perelman appears to have it is necessary to control the injectivity radius of overcome a major stumbling block in g(t). Perelman has solved this problem through 22 Hamilton’s programme. the introduction of a new notion of ‘entropy’. 23 The geometrization conjecture is motivat- This behaves monotonically for a family of met- ed by the well known fact that every closed rics evolving by the Ricci flow, and at the same surface admits Riemannian metrics of con- time controls the injectivity radius. Taken stant Gauss curvature. (This is closely related together, these two properties of the entropy to the uniformization theorem of Riemann give information about the injectivity radius of surface theory.) Two-dimensional Poincaré, g(t) as t approaches T, just as required. the statement that every closed simply con- While it will take months or perhaps years nected surface is the standard round sphere for the mathematical commnity to agree on follows rather easily from this. whether the Poincaré conjecture has finally It is not the case that every closed 3-mani- been settled, it is clear that Perelman’s work fold admits metrics of constant curvature: but will have a great impact on future work in geo- Thurston’s geometrization conjecture asserts metric flow equations, and will lead to a deep- that every such manifold can be split into geo- er understanding of the geometric meaning metric pieces. These geometric pieces include and significance of the Ricci flow itself. spaces of constant curvature as well as 5 other standard types. As in the 2-dimensional case, Michael Singer the Poincaré conjecture would follow easily if Edinburgh University the geometrization conjecture were true. Perelman’s work, which is aimed at proving The ICMS is aware of the need to bring the the full geometrization conjecture, is based on latest and best developments in mathematics the Ricci flow equation which was introduced worldwide rapidly to the attention of the UK by Hamilton in the early 1980s. This equation, community and sees this as one of its roles.
dg/dt = - 2r, g(0) = g0 (where r is the Ricci cur- The initiative to hold this Poincaré vature of g) defines a one-parameter family of Conjecture afternoon, which arose at very Riemannian metrics g(t) starting from an arbi- short notice, is a case in point.
trary initial metric g0. In general terms, one John Toland hopes that this flow will improve the initial ICMS Scientific Director THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER No. 318 September 2003
THE LMS POPULAR greater knowledge on their toes. The art of number in a sequence – only to dissolve in by the man who stood on the vibrating constructing such a lecture is not easily rather embarrassed laughter when it turned machine to stop it walking off the platform, LECTURES acquired, and the Society has been very for- out to be the Lottery numbers from, was it, he showed it happening. What was it Victor Well, follow that! In the last couple of years tunate (and skilled) in its selection of its lec- last September? We even had a dab at Meldrew used to say? we have had double pendulums hanging turers. Inevitably one’s visual memory is Fermat’s Last Theorem. And to top it all off we had a duet vertically down, and performing tricks that what dominates in thinking back to previous And then David Acheson: Mathematics, between our two lecturers on trumpet and no decent-minded pendulum ought to lectures. Colin Wright explaining the mathe- Music and the Electric Guitar. David’s recent- guitar – Autumn Leaves. know about, and quadruple pendulums matics of juggling is a case in point (and how ly published book, 1089 & all that, furnished hanging upwards (?) and staying there, in anyone can juggle while riding a unicycle is some of the material for this lecture, and spite of all our instincts that they should col- still beyond me – but I know he can because highly entertaining it was. From the ‘trick’ lapse and behave properly. So what will we I’ve seen it). that involves 1089, the divergence of the har- get next year? monic series and the intriguing convergence The LMS Popular Lectures have been run- of ning for 21 years, having been started in 1982 as a way of attempting to share with a large audience some of the delights and via some famous errors, such as Malfatti’s unravel for them some of the mysteries of problem, and finally to the oscillations of a our subject. I suspect, too, that many profes- six-legged spider (sic) and some weird simu- 24 sionals have been pleased to have an insight lations of the three-body problem we came 25 into what some of their fellow mathemati- to ‘not the Indian Rope Trick’: the stable oscil- cians working in totally unrelated fields have lations of a series of upside-down pendu- been getting up to. lums. Common sense tells us that of course So what will we get next year? I first became aware of the lectures some this is quite impossible, so there, ably assisted Martin Perkins fifteen years ago, and regularly turned up at Imperial College before they migrated to Bloomsbury, a move which came with that of the Society from Piccadilly to De Morgan House in Russell Square. Over the years we have tied ourselves in knots; floated, spun and tumbled; married, voted and chosen; stamped (through mathematics); hopped (mad, with probability); and juggled. When I first started to attend I sometimes attempted to make notes. This was usually in vain. And so to this year. Marcus du Sautoy Somehow the lectures did not lend them- investigated with us The Music of the Primes. selves to that sort of attention. Much better There was some intriguing music being to let it happen and enjoy them as a theatri- played as we entered the lecture hall, but no cal experience (which many of them were!) reference was made to it later. Was it rele- and then later hire the video to refresh one’s vant? Was it some strange piece in which the memory of the trickier bits. primes had been converted into musical I have usually found the lectures to be notes? I know not. Marcus took us on a tour pitched at what I thought was the right level of the primes, reminded us that they were – they should be accessible to someone at the infinite (with proof), and that, perhaps, there end of the lower sixth (Year 12 in current jar- was an infinite number of prime pairs. We gon) but there should also be something fur- investigated how often they occurred, and ther to puzzle them and to keep those with puzzled over trying to work out the next THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
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NEWS FROM ICSU in the Mathematical Sciences’. This Workshop will be held at the newly refur- Visa information for the USA bished AIMS building in Muizenburg, South The International Visitors Office (IVO) of the Africa, 13-16 April 2004. National Academies of the USA has launched The Board of Directors of AIMS will meet a new website (www.nationalacademies.org/ on 16-17 September 2003, when AIMS will be visas) to provide information on visas for vis- officially launched. iting scientists and scholars and advice for organizers of international scientific meet- ICSU Policy Committee on Developing ings in the United States. Countries This site includes a questionnaire through The overall mandate of the Committee is to which scientists, engineers, medical profes- advise ICSU on ways and strategies to sionals, and scholars can report their difficul- enhance scientific activities in developing ties with the visa process. The questionnaire countries. The primary goals must be: is used by the IVO to collect statistical data, • To provide a vision and advice to the ICSU and, in some cases, to assist with the visa Executive Board on its work relating to process. The IVO maintains a list of interna- developing countries. tional scientific meetings held in the United • To increase participation of scientists and 26 States. It shares this list with the Department scientific organizations from developing 27 of State on a regular basis to help validate a countries in ICSU programmes and activities. visa applicant’s purpose for visiting the • To assist ICSU in strengthening science United States. To register your meeting, send and capacity building in developing coun- the IVO ([email protected]) the following details: tries through North-South and South- meeting name, location, date, and website South co-operation. link. The IVO site also has guidelines for To fulfil its mandate, the Committee must organizing international scientific meetings also meet the following objectives: in the United States. Please visit this site and • To provide a platform within ICSU for poli- share it with your colleagues. You are cy discussions on science in and for devel- encouraged to add a link to the IVO site on oping countries. your website. If you have any comments on • To alert ICSU on global trends and generic how the IVO site can better inform and assist issues which influence the advancement of you and your colleagues on visa issues, please science in developing countries. send your comments to International Visitors • To encourage ICSU scientists to recognize Office, The National Academies, Room 578, developing countries as an important source 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, of science and local knowledge that is to be USA (tel: 202-334-2602; email: [email protected]). integrated into international science. • To ensure that ICSU is cognizant of current African Institute for Mathematical debates on the importance of science for Sciences (AIMS) development and to interact with the An application by Keith Moffatt on behalf of developing communities in relation to the IUTAM to ICSU under the 2004 Grants pro- importance of science. gramme for support for the project ‘African • To provide a forum for policy dialogue Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)’ with major ICSU partners and others with a has been successful, and $100K awarded. view to identifying critical science issues Part of the grant has been earmarked for the that are relevant and significant for devel- support of a Workshop on ‘Capacity Building oping countries. THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
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BOOK REVIEW get a look in; three, a few selected topics between and after them collectively repre- amount to blaming the author for not hav- Mathematics - A Very Short of a more specific nature: ‘advanced’ sent (or at least equal) the greatest achieve- ing written the book I was expecting. Of Introduction by Timothy Gowers, geometry, which may be non-Euclidean or ment of the human intellect since civiliza- course, Gowers is a first-rate mathemati- Oxford University Press, pp 156, £6.99, higher-dimensional, and ‘estimates and tion began. At the same time, we all know cian, and he has produced a thoughtful US$9.95, ISBN 9-19-285361-9. approximations’ as a method of obtaining that most people, however well educated and illuminating account of matters that precise results in, for example, analytic and intelligent, just don’t see this: some are are rarely spelt out. Understanding such This is an odd little book, and not quite number theory. There is something pleas- sympathetic but bemused, many just con- matters is fundamental to grasping what what I expected from the title. Tim Gowers antly old fashioned about it: apart from a sider it bizarre. mathematicians are about, and the (right has evidently decided not to aim for the brief mention of manifolds, everything The latter class of reader is not likely to sort of) reader will be much the wiser. popular science market. Instead, he has could have been written by G.H. Hardy a be converted by this book. Those who are Other readers might have preferred a bit produced a rather serious book for the century ago (I hope Tim Gowers will take sympathetic but bemused will be wiser less of the painstaking foundations, and intellectually sophisticated mathematical this as a compliment). after reading what Gowers has to say; but more hints of the exciting rewards avail- virgin. His main purpose is to both moti- Every mathematician has his or her own I’m not sure they will be much closer to able at the end of all the work. But this was vate and explain the ground rules and basic mental folder labelled with something like grasping the beauty, excitement and not the author’s goal, and it is done in modus operandi of (pure) mathematics. the title of this book. No doubt, what is greatness of mathematics. many other books. His goal is clearly sig- These are addressed at several different inside our various individual folders varies Tim Gowers sets himself some austere nalled in the preface: “I have focused on a levels: one, the need for and advantages of widely, but I think we would all agree that ground rules: “ ... I do presuppose some different barrier to mathematical commu- abstraction, and the need for and meaning the issues Tim Gowers has chosen to focus interest on the part of the reader rather nication. This one, which is more philo- 28 of proof; two, how one deals with infinity on are fundamental and deserve to be than trying to drum it up myself. For this sophical than technical, separates those 29 – or rather, with limits (e.g. what does it included. We also all agree that the discov- reason I have done without anecdotes, car- who are happy with notions such as infini- mean for two real numbers to be equal?): eries – or inventions – of Euclid, Wiles and toons, exclamation marks, jokey chapter ty, the square root of minus one, the twen- infinite sets, indeed sets in general, don’t the countless mathematicians before, titles or pictures of the Mandelbrot set.” ty-sixth dimension and curved space from Nothing wrong with that: the ideas are quite exciting enough in themselves. But the author is perhaps a little too deter- mined to avoid hype: there is a risk that instead of drumming up the reader’s inter- est, he may extinguish it. There are two aspects to this. One is the concentration on foundational issues, at least to start with; the other is a sort of ‘negative tendency’ to begin things with a red herring, which is then knocked on the head before the real business of the chapter gets going. For example, Chapter 2 begins with a quixotic discussion of whether numbers exist, the only point of which is to emphasize that “mathematicians can, and even should, happily ignore this seemingly fundamental question”. This is a good point, but hardly the thing to whet the novice’s appetite. Nor is the advice (I paraphrase) “if you think this is pedantic, try reading Principia Mathematica.” Criticisms of this kind are easy to make. On reflection, I realised that they really © Sidney Harris THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
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those who find them disturbingly paradox- DIARY 17-19 Computational Modelling in JANUARY 2004 ical. It is possible to become comfortable Medicine Workshop, ICMS, Edinburgh 9 UK & Republic of Ireland SIAM Section with these ideas without immersing one- The diary lists Society meetings and other (316) Annual Meeting, Sheffield University (316) self in technicalities, and I shall try to show events publicised in the Newsletter. Further 19 Meeting in Honour of Susan Brown and 10-11 New Frontiers in Computational how”. Not an easy thing to do in 138 small information can be obtained from the Michael O’Neill, University College, London Mathematics Workshop, Manchester pages, and it is well done. appropriate LMS Newsletter whose number (318) University (318) The final chapter, ‘Some frequently asked is given in brackets. A fuller list of meetings 22 South of England Computational and 20-23 Towards a Predictive Biology questions’, is not about the content of and events is given on the Society’s website Algorithmic Number Theory Seminar, Conference, INI, Cambridge (316) mathematics as such; it discusses several old (www.lms.ac.uk/meetings/ diary.html). Bristol University (318) chestnuts about mathematicians and the 22 Jack, Hall-Littlewood & Macdonald FEBRUARY 2004 sociology and discipline of mathematics. It SEPTEMBER 2003 Polynomials Workshop, ICMS, Edinburgh 20 LMS Mary Cartwright Lecture, London can safely be recommended to everyone. I 17 Virtual Learning Environments Course, (317) did find the very last section, ‘Why do Newcastle University (316) 25 Measure Theory, Topology & Set Theory MARCH 2004 mathematicians refer to some theorems 28–1 July Differential and Functional Meeting, De Morgan House, London (318) 30-1 Apr Modelling Permeable Rocks IV, IMA and proofs as beautiful?’, a bit disappoint- Equations in the Complex Domain Conference, Southampton University (316) ing; in keeping with the tone of the rest of Meeting, Loughborough University (316) OCTOBER 2003 31-2 Apr Quantitative Modelling in the the book, Gowers seems reluctant to discuss 1-3 Undergraduate Mathematics 2 Robert Hooke Commemoration Management of Healthcare IV, IMA the mystery, excitement and sense of Teaching Conference, Birmingham Symposium, Oxford (311) Conference, Salford University (316) 30 achievement that are surely the lifeblood of University (317) 24 LMS South West & South Wales 31 mathematics. It is arguable that these can 1-5 Derived Categories in Algebra and Regional Meeting, Nonlinear Dynamics, APRIL 2004 only be appreciated by the practitioner, Geometry, LMS /EPSCR Short Course, Southampton University (318) 5-7 Modelling in Industrial Maintenance who jolly well has to slog through the defi- Warwick University (317) 25-26 Nonlinear Dynamics & Life Sciences and Reliability V, IMA Conference, Salford nition of Hilbert space before getting to 1-5 Computational Algebra, NETCA Workshop, Southampton University (318) University (316) that point. But this is a harsh message to hit Instructional Workshop, St Andrews 25 John Wallis Tercentenary Meeting, New 5-8 British Mathematical Colloquium, the interested newcomer with, and I’m not University (315) College, Oxford (318) Queen’s University, Belfast (315) sure I agree with it. 3-6 British Logic Colloquium, St Andrews 27-31 Geophysical Granular & Particle- 19-22 British Applied Mathematics Who should be given this book as a pres- University (316) Laden Flows, Satellite Meeting, INI, Colloquium, East Anglia University ent? I envisage the ideal reader as a univer- 11-12 Modular Invariants and Cambridge (318) sity lecturer in some non-mathematical sub- Representations of Finite Groups: Theory MAY 2004 ject (though a philosopher will find points and Computation Conference, University NOVEMBER 2003 30-6 Jun Symmetry and Perturbation to argue with), or an already dedicated of Kent, Canterbury (318) 15 Belfast Functional Analysis Day, Queen’s Theory Conference, Italy (318) mathematical sixth-former; the sixth-for- 15 Function Theory Meeting, De Morgan University Belfast (315) mer who is considering mathematics among House, London (318) 21 LMS Annual General Meeting and JUNE 2004 a range of possible subjects to study at uni- 15-17 Mathematics of Surfaces X, IMA Naylor Lecture, London 27-2 Jul Fourth European Congress of versity should be only be given this book in Conference, Leeds University (316) 23-27 Remarkable Delta ’03 Conference, Mathematics, Stockholm (315) conjunction with one of Ian Stewart’s (or 15-18 Free Boundary Problems in Fluid Queenstown, New Zealand (314) Rudy Rucker’s, or Keith Devlin’s, or Marcus Mechanics Colloquium, Nottingham JULY 2004 du Sautoy’s) offerings, to provide that extra University (316) DECEMBER 2003 4-11 ICME10 – International Congress of frisson of excitement. For someone who 15-19 Topics in Algebraic Geometry, 8-12 Stochastic Methods in Coagulation Mathematical Education, Denmark (308) knows that mathematics is important, and LMS/EPSRC Short Course, Bath University and Fragmentation EuroWorkshop, INI, doesn’t need to be shown why it is exciting, (317) Cambridge (314) SEPTEMBER 2004 there is a lot of insight to be gleaned from 16-25 Singularity Theory and its 16-18 Cryptography and Coding IX, IMA 1-6 Pan-African Congress of Mathematics, Tim Gowers’s thoughtful explanations of Applications Meeting, Sapporo, Japan (314) Conference, Royal Agricultural College, Tunisia (308) the basic building-blocks. 17 Structural Modelling and Nonlinear Cirencester (316) 14-18 Boundary Integral Methods III: Dan Segal Mathematics Conference, University of Theory and Applications, IMA Conference, Oxford University Exeter (318) Brunel University (316) HENRY FREDERICK BAKER DE MORGAN MEDALLIST 1905
Professor Baker received the De Morgan the award of the De Morgan Medal and Medal on 9 November 1905. Baker is only represent about half of his mathemati- remembered as the founder of a vigorous cal work; the range which he covered goes school of geometry and for his influential far beyond the bounds of geometry. His six-volume work Principles of Geometry contributions to the theory of functions, dif- published 1922-33. In fact his contributions ferential equations and continuous groups to knowledge in that field, to which the sec- had in their day as much influence as his ond half of his life was devoted, came after later work in geometry.