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Report for the Academic Year 1995
Institute /or ADVANCED STUDY REPORT FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1994 - 95 PRINCETON NEW JERSEY Institute /or ADVANCED STUDY REPORT FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1 994 - 95 OLDEN LANE PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 08540-0631 609-734-8000 609-924-8399 (Fax) Extract from the letter addressed by the Founders to the Institute's Trustees, dated June 6, 1930. Newark, New jersey. It is fundamental in our purpose, and our express desire, that in the appointments to the staff and faculty, as well as in the admission of workers and students, no account shall be taken, directly or indirectly, of race, religion, or sex. We feel strongly that the spirit characteristic of America at its noblest, above all the pursuit of higher learning, cannot admit of any conditions as to personnel other than those designed to promote the objects for which this institution is established, and particularly with no regard whatever to accidents of race, creed, or sex. TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 5 • FOUNDERS, TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE BOARD AND OF THE CORPORATION 8 • ADMINISTRATION 11 REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN 15 REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 23 • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 27 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF HISTORICAL STUDIES ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS, VISITORS AND RESEARCH STAFF 36 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS AND VISITORS 42 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS AND VISITORS 50 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS, VISITORS AND RESEARCH STAFF 55 • REPORT OF THE INSTITUTE LIBRARIES 57 • RECORD OF INSTITUTE EVENTS IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1994-95 85 • INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Institute for Advanced Study is an independent, nonprofit institution devoted to the encouragement of learning and scholarship. -
Symmetric Products of Surfaces; a Unifying Theme for Topology
Symmetric products of surfaces; a unifying theme for topology and physics Pavle Blagojevi´c Mathematics Institute SANU, Belgrade Vladimir Gruji´c Faculty of Mathematics, Belgrade Rade Zivaljevi´cˇ Mathematics Institute SANU, Belgrade Abstract This is a review paper about symmetric products of spaces SP n(X) := n X /Sn. We focus our attention on the case of 2-manifolds X and make a journey through selected topics of algebraic topology, algebraic geometry, mathematical physics, theoretical mechanics etc. where these objects play an important role, demonstrating along the way the fundamental unity of diverse fields of physics and mathematics. 1 Introduction In recent years we have all witnessed a remarkable and extremely stimulating exchange of deep and sophisticated ideas between Geometry and Physics and in particular between quantum physics and topology. The student or a young scientist in one of these fields is often urged to master elements of the other field as quickly as possible, and to develop basic skills and intuition necessary for understanding the contemporary research in both disciplines. The topology and geometry of manifolds plays a central role in mathematics and likewise in physics. The understanding of duality phenomena for manifolds, mastering the calculus of characteristic classes, as well as understanding the role of fundamental invariants like the signature or Euler characteristic are just examples of what is on the beginning of the growing list of prerequisites for a student in these areas. arXiv:math/0408417v1 [math.AT] 30 Aug 2004 A graduate student of mathematics alone is often in position to take many spe- cialized courses covering different aspects of manifold theory and related areas before an unified picture emerges and she or he reaches the necessary level of maturity. -
Discurso De Investidura Como Doctor “Honoris Causa” Del Excmo. Sr
Discurso de investidura como Doctor “Honoris Causa” del Excmo. Sr. Simon Kirwan Donaldson 20 de enero de 2017 Your Excellency Rector Andradas, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is great honour for me to receive the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from Complutense University and I thank the University most sincerely for this and for the splendid ceremony that we are enjoying today. This University is an ancient institution and it is wonderful privilege to feel linked, through this honorary degree, to a long line of scholars reaching back seven and a half centuries. I would like to mention four names, all from comparatively recent times. First, Eduardo Caballe, a mathematician born in 1847 who was awarded a doctorate of Science by Complutense in 1873. Later, he was a professor in the University and, through his work and his students, had a profound influence in the development of mathematics in Spain, and worldwide. Second, a name that is familiar to all of us: Albert Einstein, who was awarded a doctorate Honoris Causa in 1923. Last, two great mathematicians from our era: Vladimir Arnold (Doctor Honoris Causa 1994) and Jean- Pierre Serre (2006). These are giants of the generation before my own from whom, at whose feet---metaphorically—I have learnt. Besides the huge honour of joining such a group, it is interesting to trace one grand theme running the work of all these four people named. The theme I have in mind is the interplay between notions of Geometry, Algebra and Space. Of course Geometry begins with the exploration of the space we live in—the space of everyday experience. -
President's Report
AWM ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN MATHE MATICS Volume 36, Number l NEWSLETTER March-April 2006 President's Report Hidden Help TheAWM election results are in, and it is a pleasure to welcome Cathy Kessel, who became President-Elect on February 1, and Dawn Lott, Alice Silverberg, Abigail Thompson, and Betsy Yanik, the new Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee. Also elected for a second term as Clerk is Maura Mast.AWM is also pleased to announce that appointed members BettyeAnne Case (Meetings Coordi nator), Holly Gaff (Web Editor) andAnne Leggett (Newsletter Editor) have agreed to be re-appointed, while Fern Hunt and Helen Moore have accepted an extension of their terms as Member-at-Large, to join continuing members Krystyna Kuperberg andAnn Tr enk in completing the enlarged Executive Committee. I look IN THIS ISSUE forward to working with this wonderful group of people during the coming year. 5 AWM ar the San Antonio In SanAntonio in January 2006, theAssociation for Women in Mathematics Joint Mathematics Meetings was, as usual, very much in evidence at the Joint Mathematics Meetings: from 22 Girls Just Want to Have Sums the outstanding mathematical presentations by women senior and junior, in the Noerher Lecture and the Workshop; through the Special Session on Learning Theory 24 Education Column thatAWM co-sponsored withAMS and MAA in conjunction with the Noether Lecture; to the two panel discussions thatAWM sponsored/co-sponsored.AWM 26 Book Review also ran two social events that were open to the whole community: a reception following the Gibbs lecture, with refreshments and music that was just right for 28 In Memoriam a networking event, and a lunch for Noether lecturer Ingrid Daubechies. -
Prahladh Harsha
Prahladh Harsha Toyota Technological Institute, Chicago phone : +1-773-834-2549 University Press Building fax : +1-773-834-9881 1427 East 60th Street, Second Floor Chicago, IL 60637 email : [email protected] http://ttic.uchicago.edu/∼prahladh Research Interests Computational Complexity, Probabilistically Checkable Proofs (PCPs), Information Theory, Prop- erty Testing, Proof Complexity, Communication Complexity. Education • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004 Research Advisor : Professor Madhu Sudan PhD Thesis: Robust PCPs of Proximity and Shorter PCPs • Master of Science (SM) Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000 • Bachelor of Technology (BTech) Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 1998 Work Experience • Toyota Technological Institute, Chicago September 2004 – Present Research Assistant Professor • Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa February 2007 – May 2007 Visiting Scientist • Microsoft Research, Silicon Valley January 2005 – September 2005 Postdoctoral Researcher Honours and Awards • Summer Research Fellow 1997, Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, Ban- galore. • Rajiv Gandhi Science Talent Research Fellow 1997, Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scien- tific Research, Bangalore. • Award Winner in the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO) 1993, National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM). • National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM) Nurture Program award 1995-1998. The Nurture program 1995-1998, coordinated by Prof. Alladi Sitaram, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore involves various topics in higher mathematics. 1 • Ranked 7th in the All India Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission into the Indian Institutes of Technology (among the 100,000 candidates who appeared for the examination). • Papers invited to special issues – “Robust PCPs of Proximity, Shorter PCPs, and Applications to Coding” (with Eli Ben- Sasson, Oded Goldreich, Madhu Sudan, and Salil Vadhan). -
Notices of The
Mathematics People His research addresses a variety of topics, including the 2012–2013 AMS Centennial information content of quantum states, the physical Fellowship Awarded resources needed for quantum computers to surpass classical computers, and the barriers to solving computer The AMS has awarded its Cen- science’s vexing P versus NP question, that is, whether tennial Fellowship for 2012– every problem whose solution can be quickly verified by 2013 to Karin Melnick of the a computer can also be quickly solved by a computer. University of Maryland. The The Waterman Award is given annually to one or more fellowship carries a stipend of outstanding researchers under the age of thirty-five in any US$80,000, an expense allow- field of science or engineering supported by the NSF. The ance of US$8,000, and a com- prize consists of a medal and a US$1 million grant to be plimentary Society membership used over a five-year period for further advanced study for one year. in the awardee’s field. Karin Melnick was born and raised in Marin County, —From an NSF announcement California. She attended Reed Photo by Riza Falk. College in Portland, Oregon, Karin Melnick and completed her Ph.D. at the Kalai Awarded Rothschild University of Chicago in 2006 Prize under the direction of Benson Farb. With a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Science Founda- Gil Kalai of the Einstein Institute of Mathematics, The tion, she went to Yale University as a Gibbs Assistant Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has been named a recipi- Professor. She received a Junior Research Fellowship from ent of the 2012 Rothschild Prize for his groundbreaking the Erwin Schrödinger Institute in spring 2009. -
Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum vitae Thomas Andreas Meyer 25 August 2019 Address Room 312, Computer Science Building University of Cape Town University Avenue, Rondebosch Tel: +27 12 650 5519 e-mail: [email protected] WWW: http://cs.uct.ac.za/~tmeyer Biographical information Date of birth: 14 January 1964, Randburg, South Africa. Marital status: Married to Louise Leenen. We have two children. Citizenship: Australian and South African. Qualifications 1. PhD (Computer Science), University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, 1999. 2. MSc (Computer Science), Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johan- nesburg), Johannesburg, South Africa, 1986. 3. BSc Honours (Computer Science) with distinction, Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg), Johannesburg, South Africa, 1985. 4. BSc (Computer Science, Mathematical Statistics), Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg), Johannesburg, South Africa, 1984. 1 Employment and positions held 1. July 2015 to date: Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 2. July 2015 to June 2020: Director, Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR), CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa. 3. July 2015 to June 2020: UCT-CSIR Chair in Artificial Intelligence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 4. August 2011 to June 2015: Chief Scientist, CSIR Meraka Institute, Pretoria, South Africa. 5. May 2011 to June 2015: Director of the UKZN/CSIR Meraka Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research, CSIR and University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 6. August 2007 to July 2011: Principal Researcher, CSIR Meraka Institute, Pretoria, South Africa. 7. August 2007 to June 2015: Research Group Leader of the Knowledge Representation and Reasoning group (KRR) at the CSIR Meraka Institute, Pretoria, South Africa. -
Awarded to Prof
Our entangled world All life on earth is so beautifully meshed together that to consider humans apart from the rest would be quite impertinent. In fact, humans as a species can hardly survive without their fellow living beings. There are a zillion reasons to believe this, and science has regularly unearthed more — microorganisms in our gut aid digestion; pollinators help seed the food we eat; green plants and phytoplankton produce oxygen that we breathe. And then there are the forward and backward chains of dependencies that make all this possible. And we have not yet explored even a fraction of the intricate relationships we have with all the inhabitants of earth. Some researchers question the assumption that all life is equally valuable. The idea being that we can do without many life forms that are just taking up space. So the coral ecosystem is of great value to human beings but what does a parrot fish do for us? Oh and those sordid roaches and dispensable rodents! A delightful ditty sums up this reservation, God in his wisdom Made the fly And then forgot To tell us, why? - Ogden Nash Is biodiversity indeed an indulgence? Is bringing visible advantage to us human beings the sole purpose of existence? Or are there finer equations we are missing? Michael Soule, the remarkable biologist held that ‘nature has intrinsic value beyond what it can afford humans.’ Researchers have discovered so many unique and fragile ecosystems of the world that hinge on a cautious chemistry between species. If one goes extinct, ripples will be felt across the environment. -
Professor Shang-Hua Teng
Professor Shang-Hua Teng Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California 2054 N. New Hampshire Ave 941 Bloom Walk, SAL 300, Los Angeles, CA 90089 Los Angeles, CA 90027 (213) 440-4498, [email protected] (617) 440-4281 EMPLOYMENT: Seeley G. Mudd Professor and Chair (Computer Science) USC (Fall 2009 – ) Professor (Computer Science) Boston University (2002 – 2009) Research Affiliate Professor (Mathematics) MIT (1999 – Present) Visiting Research Scientist Microsoft Research Asia and New England (2004 – Present) Senior Research Scientist Akamai (1997 – Present) Visiting Professor (Computer Science) Tsinghua University (2004 – 2008) Professor (Computer Science)[Associate Professor before 1999] UIUC (2000 – 2002) Research Scientist IBM Almaden Research Center (1997 – 1999) Assistant Professor (Computer Science) Univ. of Minnesota (1994 – 1997) Research Scientist Intel Corporation (Summer 1994, 1995) Instructor (Mathematics) MIT (1992 – 1994) Computer Scientist NASA Ames Research Center (Summer 1993) Research Scientist Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (1991 – 1992) EDUCATION: Ph.D. (Computer Science) Carnegie Mellon University (1991) Thesis: “A Unified Geometric Approach to Graph Partitioning.” Advisor: Gary Lee Miller M.S. (Computer Science) University of Southern California (1988) Thesis: “Security, Verifiablity, and Universality in Distributed Computing”. Advised by Leonard Adleman and Ming-Deh Huang B.S. (Computer Science) & B.A. (Electrical Engineering) Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, China (1985) Thesis: “Efficient Methods for Implementing Logic Programs.” Advisor: Yixing Hou HONORS/AWARDS: 2011 ACM STOC Best Paper 2009 ACM Fellow, 2009 2009 Fulkerson Prize (American Mathematical Society/Mathematical Programming Society) 2008 G¨odel Prize (ACM-EATCS). 2003 The NSF’s 2003 Budget Request to Congress listed the Smoothed Analysis of Spielman-Teng as one of three most significant accomplishments funded by its computer science division. -
Derandomizing the Ahlswede-Winter Matrix-Valued Chernoff Bound Using Pessimistic Estimators, and Applications
THEORY OF COMPUTING, Volume 4 (2008), pp. 53–76 http://theoryofcomputing.org Derandomizing the Ahlswede-Winter matrix-valued Chernoff bound using pessimistic estimators, and applications Avi Wigderson∗ David Xiao† Received: November 28, 2007; published: May 15, 2008. Abstract: Ahlswede and Winter [IEEE Trans. Inf. Th. 2002] introduced a Chernoff bound for matrix-valued random variables, which is a non-trivial generalization of the usual Chernoff bound for real-valued random variables. We present an efficient derandomization of their bound using the method of pessimistic estimators (see Raghavan [JCSS 1988]). As a consequence, we derandomize an efficient construction by Alon and Roichman [RSA 1994] of an expanding Cayley graph of logarithmic degree on any (possibly non-abelian) group. This gives an optimal solution to the homomorphism testing problem of Shpilka and Wigderson [STOC 2004]. We also apply these pessimistic estimators to the problem of solving semidefinite covering problems, thus giving a deterministic algorithm for the quantum hypergraph cover problem of Ahslwede and Winter. ∗Partially supported by NSF grant CCR-0324906 †Supported by an NDSEG Graduate Fellowship and a NSF Graduate Fellowship ACM Classification: G.3, G.2.2, F.2.1, F.1.2 AMS Classification: 68W20, 68R10, 60F10, 20D60, 81P68, 15A18 Key words and phrases: Chernoff bounds, matrix-valued random variables, derandomization, pes- simistic estimators Authors retain copyright to their work and grant Theory of Computing unlimited rights to publish the work electronically and in hard copy. Use of the work is permitted as long as the author(s) and the journal are properly acknowledged. For the detailed copyright statement, see http://theoryofcomputing.org/copyright.html. -
Annual Record 2012 Balliol College Annual Record 2012 Balliol College Annual Record 2012
Balliol College Annual Record 2012 Balliol College Annual Record 2012 Balliol College Annual Record 2012 Balliol College Oxford OX1 3BJ Telephone: (01865) 277777 Fax: (01865) 277803 Website: www.balliol.ox.ac.uk Edited and Designed by Sophie Petrou Printed by Berforts Information Press Ltd Front cover: Francis Bacon’s crest tooled in gold (see article on page 45), photograph by Jeremy Hinchliff Contents Visitor, Master, Fellows and Lecturers, Preachers in Chapel 5 The Master’s Letter: 13 Memorials: Lord Tom Bingham 17 Professor Baruch S. Blumberg 22 Lord Rodger of Earlsferry 28 Obituaries: Lynn Margulis 34 John F. Burke 39 Michael Douglas Gwynne 42 Francis Bacon and Ben Jonson in the College library Kathryn Murphy 45 Where have all the mockers gone? Richard Heller 51 The fiftieth anniversary of a ‘philistine’ proposal Peter Howell 54 Alan Montefiore’s birthday Paul Flather 60 Rossetti: Painter & Poet Book reviews: MyJ. B. Dear Bullen Hugh: letters from Richard Cobb to Rebecca Whiteley 65 Hugh Trevor-Roper and others Ed. Tim Heald Sir Colin Lucas 68 Can Intervention Work? SpiritualityRory Stewart and and mental Gerald health Knaus Will Clegg 72 Ed. Peter Gibert Olivera Petrovich 77 Poetry: Ian Blake 81 Brian Cosgrove 81 William Parkinson 83 Carl Schmidt 85 Vidyan Ravinthiran 86 Carmen Bugan 87 Letters to the editor: Paul Braterman 88 Adrian Firth 89 College News: First Year Graduates 91 First Year Undergraduates 95 The William Westerman Pathfinders 99 Firsts and Distinctions 99 University and College Prizes 101 College Scholarships 103 Doctorates of Philosophy 104 The Library 107 Archives 109 College Staff 111 JCR and MCR 112 Clubs, Societies and Sports 116 Old Members’ News: Honours 136 Births, Marriages, Deaths 137 News and Notes 142 Balliol College 2011–2012 Visitor MasterThe Right Honourable Lord Reed, PC. -
BULLETIN NEWSLETTER Contents
Bulletin Newsletter Fall 2007 Number 62 BULLETIN NEWSLETTER Contents ✬ ✩Reports from the Society Submissions President’s Report . 2 Submissions and ideas for publica- Past President’s Report . 4 tion are appreciated. They should Board of Directors . 7 be sent to the editor: Minutes from 2007 AGM . .11 Email:[email protected] Committee Membership . 14 Tele: 204-474-7486 ICIAM Report . 16 Fax: 204-474-7602 Report on CAIMS SCMAI 2007 . 18 Mail: Abba Gumel Membership Committee Update . .15 CAIMS SCMAI Secretary Dept. of Mathematics Society Updates University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 2007 Nerenberg Lecture . 20 CAIMS SCMAI Awards . 22 Advertising Rates 2008 Election – Call for Nominations . 23 Inserts and non-advertising submissions (including letters to the editor) should be CAMQ . 23 negotiated with the Secretary. Information CAIMS SCMAI 2008 . 24 about deadlines, payment and acceptable SIAM Reciprocity Agreement . 25 formats should be directed to the Secre- In Memory of Gene Golub . .26 tary. Publication Information News from the Math Institutes The Canadian Applied and Industrial CRM . 29 Mathematics Society / Societ´ e´ Canadi- enne de Mathematiques´ Appliquees´ et In- Fields Institute . 30 dustrielles (CAIMS SCMAI) is a mem- PIMS . .32 ber society of the International Council MITACS . 34 for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM). The newsletter is published at least once a year. Upcoming Conferences ................................35 Editors: Abba Gumel and Dhavide Aruliah Design and Production: James Treacy Position Announcements Photographs: Ken Jackson, Jack Macki . .36–40 and Hongbin Guo Back Cover ✫ ✪ICIAM 2011 Announcement 1 Reports from the Society BULLETIN NEWSLETTER Past President’s Report by Bill Langford, CAIMS SCMAI President, 2005–7 The very successful 2007 Annual Meeting in the beautiful setting of the Banff Conference Centre marked the end of my two-year term as President of CAIMS SCMAI.