DOCSLIB.ORG

December 2011

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
December 2011 LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER No. 409 December 2011 Society LMS COUNCIL DIARY interpreted as teaching students, and therefore ‘working’), but a Meetings 7 October 2011 ‘scientific presentation’ (which is and Events A personal view not). We approved the Annual Ac- 2012 In these turbulent times there is counts, and the draft Trustees’ Friday 24 February always plenty to discuss in Coun- Report (subject to a few minor Mary Cartwright cil meetings. It will not be news amendments), for presentation Lecture, London to LMS members that the EPSRC to the AGM in November. The [page 3] Shaping Capability agenda is one Society is in a strong financial po- matter which worries us greatly. sition, mainly due to a significant 26–30 March While individual reactions prob- increase in publishing income. LMS Invited Lectures, ably range from outrage to de- We considered a draft Strategic Glasgow [page 17] 1 spair, and individual comments Plan prepared by the Executive Saturday 19 May from condemnatory to unprint- Secretary, Fiona Nixon, but rec- Poincaré Meeting, able, the LMS Council is keenly ognised that this requires more London aware of the need, through thought outside the meeting, be- CMS, to keep open lines of com- fore bringing a revised version to Wednesday 6 June munication with EPSRC, even if the new Council in January. Northern Regional our representations appear to be We considered briefly how to Meeting, Newcastle achieving little at present. Our respond to the Education Select Friday 29 June hopes rest mainly with The Royal Committee inquiry on ‘How should Meeting and Hardy Society, which is the only body examinations for 15–19 year olds Lecture, London with the breadth and the clout in England be run?’. The Education to be able to stand up to EPSRC. Committee will prepare a draft Monday 1 October Another recurring problem is response and circulate it to Council SW & South Wales the frequent refusal of visas for in the near future. So far our main Regional Meeting, short-term visitors on some of recommendation is the obvious Bristol our grant schemes. While on the one of separating the running of Friday 16 November one hand we are making high- examinations from the writing Annual General level representations to the UK and publishing of textbooks. If this Meeting, London Border Agency, at a practical lev- is implemented, of course, there el Marco Marletta explained to will suddenly be a big hole in the us some of the words that need textbook market, and we discussed to be used, or avoided, in visa ways in which we might help to applications and letters of invita- ensure that such a hole would be NEWSLETTER tion. For example, the applicant filled with good quality teaching must be an ‘academic visitor’ (not materials. Members of the Educa- ONLINE: a ‘visiting researcher’, which re- tion Committee will be develop- Go to www.lms.ac.uk/ quires a work permit), and must ing ideas in this direction. Another newsletter not be giving a ‘lecture’ (which is issue being actively considered by LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter [email protected] No. 409 December 2011 Education Committee is that of training of Subscription forms, direct debit mandate lecturers. With the likely demise of the MSOR forms and further information about the network of the Higher Education Academy, the current subscription rates can also be down- LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY suggestion was made for the LMS to take over loaded from the LMS website at www.lms. the running of the induction day for new lec- ac.uk/content/paying-your-subscription. turers. This will be investigated. MARY CARTWRIGHT LECTURE An outline bid for a two-year extension to LMS PRIZES 2012 the LMS–EPSRC short courses was successful, AND SOCIETY MEETING Call for Nominations and work is going on to finalise details of the contract. We agreed in principle to support The London Mathematical Society welcomes Friday 24 February 2012 the annual Prospects in Mathematics meeting nominations for the 2012 prizes to recognise for final-year undergraduates thinking of do- and celebrate the achievements in and contri- Black Suite, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JP ing a PhD. Details of the scheme are still to be butions to all aspects of mathematics, including worked out, and it would of course be subject applied mathematics, mathematical physics and to review after a few years. Another possible mathematical aspects of computer science. Programme: new venture is in Undergraduate Research In 2012 the LMS Council expects to award: Bursaries, currently funded by the Nuffield • The in recognition of outstand- Pólya Prize 3.30 Opening of the meeting Foundation, who are withdrawing from the ing creativity in, imaginative exposition of, 2 scheme in order to concentrate their funding or distinguished contribution to, mathematics Tom Lenagan (Edinburgh) 3 at school level. We made no decision on this, within the United Kingdom as it would cost a significant amount of money, • The Senior Berwick Prize in recognition of Totally nonnegative matrices and we need time to weigh this up against a piece of mathematical research of the other ways this money could be used. highest quality actually published by the 4.30 Tea There was bad news from the Website Work- Society during the last eight years ing Group, who unanimously recommended (i.e. between 1 January 2004 and 5.00 Mary Cartwright Lecture parting company with the developers we had 31 December 2011 for the 2012 award) Agata Smoktunowicz (Edinburgh) been using until now. This was agreed, but we • The Fröhlich Prize for original and now need to come up with a Plan B. extremely innovative work in any branch Old and new questions in Robert Wilson of mathematics noncommutative algebra Post Evening Wales South the of Courtesy • The Whitehead Prizes for work in and LMS SUBSCRIPTION influence on mathematics Mary Cartwright giving a lecture The Prizes Committee is keen to increase the at Swansea University Reminder number of nominations it receives and, in particu- Members are reminded that their annual sub- lar, the number of nominations for women, which A reception will be held after the meeting at BMA House followed by a scription, including payment for publications, are disproportionately low each year. The prize dinner at the Number Twelve Restaurant, Ambassador Hotel, at a cost of for the period November 2011 – October 2012 regulations refer to the concept of ‘academic was due on 1 November 2011, and should be age’ – rather than date of birth – in order to take £32 per person, inclusive of wine. If you would like to attend the dinner, paid by 31 December 2011 at the latest. account more fully of broken career patterns. please contact Elizabeth Fisher ([email protected]) by 17 February. In the case of members who already have a For further information and nomination direct debit set up, no action need be taken. forms, please visit the LMS website (www.lms. There are limited funds available to contribute in part to the expenses of All members should now have received a re- ac.uk/content/nominations-lms-prizes) or con- minder via email or letter, detailing how to tact Elizabeth Fisher, Secretary to the Prizes members of the Society or research students to attend the meeting. pay their subscription. If you have not received Committee at the Society (tel: 020 7291 9973, Contact Duncan Turton/Elizabeth Fisher ([email protected]) for a reminder please contact the Membership email: [email protected]). further information. Department (email: [email protected]; The closing date for nominations is Friday tel. 020 7291 9973 or 020 7927 0808). 13 January 2012. LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter [email protected] No. 409 December 2011 Cecil King Travel Scholarship The London Mathematical Society annually awards a £,000 Cecil King Travel Scholarship in Mathematics to a young mathematician of outstanding promise. The Scholarship is awarded to support a period of study or research abroad, typically for a period of three months. Study or research in all areas of mathematics is eligible for the award. The award is competitive and based on a written proposal describing the intended programme of study or research abroad and the benefits to be gained from such a visit. A shortlist of applicants will be selected for an interview during which they will be expected to make a short presentation on their proposal. 4 Applicants should normally be nationals of the UK or Republic of Ireland, either registered for or having recently completed a doctoral degree at a UK University. Applications should be made using the form available on the Society’s website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/cecil-king-travel-scholarship) or by contacting [email protected]. The closing date for applications is LMS Newsletter www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter Friday 2 March 2012. It is expected that interviews will take place in Editorial office: [email protected]; London Mathematical Society, London in late April or early May. De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS (t: 020 7637 3686; f: 020 7323 3655) Events calendar: please send updates and corrections to [email protected] The Cecil King Travel Scholarship was established in 2001 by the Cecil General Editor: Mr A.J.S. Mann ([email protected]) King Memorial Fund. The award is made by the Council of the London Reports Editor: vacant Mathematical Society on the recommendation of the Cecil King Prize Reviews Editor: Dr C.M. Roney-Dougal ([email protected]) Administrative Editor: S.M. Oakes ([email protected]) Committee, nominated by the Society’s Education Committee.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Gresham College: Over Four Centuries of Adult Education Raymond Flood
    Gresham College: Over four centuries of adult education Raymond Flood Slide: Title Gresham College, in the City of London, was established in 1597 with the founding principle of accessible free education for all. It was funded from the will of the Elizabethan financier Sir Thomas Gresham. In my presentation I will first briefly talk about him and what he wanted to achieve. One of his original seven professorships was in Geometry and this is the oldest professorship of mathematics in England. I will talk about some of the holders of the chair: from Henry Briggs, the first Geometry professor and creator of common logarithms to some of the more recent professors. The final part of the lecture will be about my lectures and some of the excitement, achievements and challenges in giving lectures in mathematics to a general adult audience and I will show some of the approaches I’ve taken Slide: Sir Thomas Gresham Gresham served all but one of the Tudor monarchs. First Henry VIII, then Mary I followed by Edward VI and finally Elizabeth I. He was a very successful merchant banker involved with trade between London and Antwerp and did well for himself and his clients while serving these four monarchs. Slide: Career Gresham began his public career by purchasing gunpowder for Henry VIII. It wasn’t until the end of the century that gunpowder was manufactured in quantity in England. When Henry VIII died he left the country’s finances in a mess due to his extravagance and mismanagement. Gresham was called in to help and was very successful and was appointed Royal Agent under Edward VI.
    [Show full text]
  • Gresham's Bequest to Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn
    11 MARCH 2019 Gresham’s Bequest To Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn MARGARET WILLES In his vivid record of the Great Fire of London, Samuel Pepys noted on the 5th September 1666 how he walked into the City and found ‘The Exchange a sad sight, nothing standing there of all the statues or pillars, but Sir Tho. Gresham’s picture in the corner’. 1 By picture, he meant his portrait statue, which had been placed in the courtyard of the Royal Exchange, founded by Gresham just under a century earlier. Ranged around the courtyard were also statues of all the kings of England from Edward the Confessor to the current monarch, Charles II. The survival of just Gresham’s statue was likewise observed by John Evelyn in an entry in his diary two days later. Describing people walking among the ruins as ‘like men in some dismal desart’ he noted how ‘Sir Tho. Gresham’s statue, tho’ fallen from its nich in the Royal Exchange, remain’d entire, when all those of ye kings since ye Conquest were broken to pieces’. 2 Did those wandering citizens, in their state of shock, fear this was a portent for the future? After all, it had been only six years since the Commonwealth had come to an end, and Charles restored to his throne. Perhaps they took comfort in the symbol of the survival of Gresham’s statue presaging that the City would rise again like a phoenix. For the wealthy mercer, Sir Thomas, was still dominating the life of London with two bequests nearly a century after his death in 1579.
    [Show full text]
  • Sir Thomas Gresham and His Vision for Gresham College', London
    Sir Thomas Gresham and his Vision for Gresham College Dr Valerie Shrimplin Research Associate, Gresham College Themes ◼ Sir Thomas Gresham – the man ◼ The Will and a Vision for a College ◼ The College’s History and location(s) ◼ Activities and Provision (lectures, professors, students, online) ◼ Going Global ◼ Barnard’s Inn Hall Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-79) Sir Thomas Gresham, Sir Thomas Gresham, Antonis Van 1544 (aged 26) Dashorst, 1565-70 (aged 46-50) Career ◼ Father financier, Lord Mayor of London ◼ London apprenticeship; Mercers’ Company 1543 ◼ Attended Gonville (and Caius) College Cambridge ◼ Employed on Business abroad (France, Flanders) ◼ Royal agent for Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I ◼ Mainly overseas, especially Antwerp (Bourse) but also Germany, France, Spain – and in London ◼ Raised loans and negotiated interest for the Crown; saved Crown from bankruptcy by application of ‘Gresham’s Law’ ◼ Continued under Elizabeth I (1558); association with William Cecil (Lord Burghley). Knighted in 1559 ◼ Expanded estates in England (1560’s); Built Royal Exchange (begun 1565) Sir Thomas Gresham The Gresham grasshopper symbol (grasslands or a lost foundling?) Married Anne Ferneley, widow of Sir William Reade, one son (also had illegitimate daughter c 1550, private and son) collection (age 50+) Son died in 1564 – so left estate for benefit of the City of Lady Gresham London (contested the will) Gresham and Antwerp 43 Lange Nieuwstraat Oude Beurs Hof van Liere – used by the ‘English Nation’ (now part of the University) The Court of Queen Elizabeth
    [Show full text]
  • Worshipful Company of World Traders MASTER's@Home “Technology
    Worshipful Company of World Traders MASTER’S@Home “Technology & Trade” 18:00 to 20:00, Thursday, 11 October 2018 Gresham College Barnard's Inn Hall Holborn, London EC1N 2HH Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli FCCA FCSI FBCS It is customary for each Master to organise an ‘At Home’ at an interesting venue of personal importance to him or her. I chose Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall. So a bit about three things: Barnard’s Inn Hall Sir Thomas Gresham Gresham College One of London’s few pre-Great-Fire buildings, Barnard's Inn Hall was built on Roman and Saxon foundations and in its current state dates back at least to the mid-thirteenth century. It was recorded as part of the estate of Sir Adam de Basing (d 1266), one time Lord Mayor of 1/8 Worshipful Company of World Traders London. It had a long relationship with the legal profession. Barnard's Inn was one of two Inns of Chancery linked to Gray's Inn, the other being Staple Inn. The hero of Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations, Pip, lodged in Barnard's Inn with Herbert Pocket for a number of years following his arrival in London, circa 1820. The Mercers purchased the building in 1888 and in 1894 moved the Mercers School (1542-1959, though some constituent parts date to 1447) there until the closure of the School in 1959. The building is still owned by the Mercers and has housed Gresham College (1597- present) since 1991. It does sometimes feel like home. I have delivered over 40 one-hour recorded lectures here, run over two dozen symposia, written a book, and participated in numerous events from musical soirées to chairing conferences to running school stock market games.
    [Show full text]
  • Gresham Handbook
    Professorial Appointments at Gresham College General Candidate Brief and Appointment Details for Professorships in: Business, Divinity, Environment, Information Technology, Music, Physic November 2017 Gresham College Barnard’s Inn Hall Holborn London EC1N 2HH www.gresham.ac.uk Thank you for your interest in undertaking the role of Professor at Gresham College 1. Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business (formerly ‘Commerce’) 2. Gresham Professor of Divinity 3. Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment 4. IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology 5. Gresham Professor of Music 6. Gresham Professor of Physic As the terms of office of the above current Professors come to an end, new appointments will be made to these positions from 1 August 2018. We trust that the new Professors will continue to educate and inspire College audiences, building on the 400 year old traditions of Gresham College, at the same time as developing innovative ideas as it enters its sixth century of existence. The overarching aim of the College is to continue to provide free public lectures of the highest possible standard in an extensive range of academic disciplines in accordance with the Vision of Sir Thomas Gresham as expressed in his Will in 1575. In aiming to fill the above position, we are seeking exceptional candidates with the necessary qualifications and experience to follow in the footsteps of a long tradition of Gresham Professors since 1597. The successful candidates will have a national and/or international reputation and a record of high-level scholarship. Applications will be judged against the person specification and criteria as set out in this document, and applicants should ensure that their application clearly demonstrates how their skills and experience meet these criteria.
    [Show full text]
  • Mathematics in the Modern Age - the 18Th Century: Crossing Bridges Transcript
    Mathematics in the modern age - The 18th century: Crossing bridges Transcript Date: Wednesday, 4 October 2006 - 12:00AM Location: Barnard's Inn Hall MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN AGE - THE 18TH CENTURY: CROSSING BRIDGES Professor Robin Wilson Introduction After Isaac Newton had published his celebrated PrincipiaMathematicain 1687 – the book that explained gravitation and how the planets move – his life changed for ever, and in a way that would also affect the nature of British mathematics for the next 150 years or so. His book was highly praised in Britain, even though few people could understand it, and the reclusive Newton was now a public figure. After spending a year as an ineffective Member of Parliament for Cambridge University – apparently he spoke only once, and that was to ask an official to open a window – Newton became Warden, and later Master, of the Royal Mint, living in the Tower of London, supervising the minting of coins, and punishing counterfeiters. He had now left Cambridge for good. In 1703 Newton’s arch-rival Robert Hooke died, with repercussions for both Gresham College where he was Gresham Professor of Geometry, and the Royal Society which still held its meetings in Sir Thomas Gresham’s former house. The rebuilding of the Royal Exchange after the Great Fire of 1666 had been costly, and attendances at Gresham lectures were then sparse, so proposals were made to save money by rebuilding the College on a smaller scale. Parliament was petitioned for approval, with only Robert Hooke, now frail and the only professor resident in the College, holding out against the plans.
    [Show full text]
  • Part One: Welcome and Introduction Transcript
    Part One: Welcome and Introduction Transcript Date: Thursday, 25 November 2010 - 10:00AM Location: Wadham College, Oxford 25 November 2010 Welcome and Introduction Professor Tim Connell When the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in Plymouth Sound in 1620 they might have been surprised to learn that there were already cities in North America with street lighting, main drainage and libraries, only they were on the West Coast, and had names like Nuestra Señora de los Angeles and San Francisco de Asís. By the time Gresham College opened its doors in 1597, universities had already been operating in Mexico City and Lima for over fifty years, and Santo Domingo had had one since 1538. Harvard (1636) and Yale (1701) are positive newcomers by comparison. In the New World at least, Early Science was based firmly on observation and overwhelming intellectual curiosity in the face of so many wonders, ranging from some of the world's highest volcanoes, to an abundance of flora and fauna. On my window sill at home, I have a rather curious plant called the Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis Jalapa), the only one in the natural world to grow flowers of three different colours on the same stem without being a hybrid. (This is due, needless to say, to cytoplasmic inheritance.)[i] The leaves and roots, as well as the flowers, all have medicinal properties. It was discovered in 1542 in the Andes, not unlike its more celebrated neighbour the cinchona tree, also known as Peruvian or Jesuit's Bark which is the original source for quinine. It was indeed discovered by a Jesuit in the 1620s as a cure for malaria, or rather a Jesuit was treated for malaria by someone local.
    [Show full text]
  • Gresham College Professorship in Astronomy November 2018
    Gresham College Professorship in Astronomy November 2018 Gresham College Barnard’s Inn Hall Holborn London EC1N 2HH www.gresham.ac.uk 1 Dear Applicant: Thank you for your interest in the role of Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College. The mission of Gresham College is to provide free public lectures of the highest possible standard in a range of academic disciplines. As the term of office of the current holder of the Gresham Professorship in Astronomy Professor Joseph Silk comes to an end, a new appointment will be made to this position with effect from 1 August 2019. The college is seeking a Professor of Astronomy who will continue to educate and inspire audiences, building on the 400-year-old traditions of Gresham College, at the same time as developing innovative ideas for the transmission of knowledge. In aiming to fill the post, we are seeking an exceptional candidate with the necessary qualifications and experience to follow in the footsteps of a long tradition of Gresham Professors since 1597. Previous postholders have included Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Martin Ryle, Lord Rees, and Heather Couper. The successful candidate will have a record of high-level scholarship, and a demonstrable ability to communicate complex ideas to an intelligent and interested public. In recent years, the professorship has expanded to consider other physical sciences, and a range of topics from particle physics to astrophysics has been covered. Gresham Professors are contracted to provide six one-hour lectures annually, as well as participating in occasional promotional filming, and engaging in a small number of meetings and social events, including attendance at the College’s Academic Board.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brief History of Gresham College 1597-1997, Richard Chartres and David Vermont
    A Brief History of Gresbam College I5974997 Richard Chartres and David Vermont GRESHAM -COLLEGE- This edition first published in 1998 Copyright 01997 Gresham College British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A Catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN 0 947822 16 X All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing of the publishers Typeset in 11/14pt Garamond Designed and Produced by Robin Ollington and Frank Lee Printed in England by St Edmundsbury Press Ltd. Bury St Edrnunds, Suffolk A Brief History of Gresham College 15974997 Thbomas Gresham 1544portraZt at Mercers' Hall Reproduced hy kind pcrmirrion of the Meners' Company FOREWORD is survey of the history of the College in its Tquatercentenary year not only discharges a debt of piety but also concentrates the mind on the prospects for Gresham College in its fifth century. Like some mythlcal island, the College has emerged from the engulfig waters and disappeared again on several occasions. Each time very similar questions have arisen. What were the Founder’s intentions and how can they be honoured in vastly changed circumstances? What kind of educational constituency should the Professors of the College seek to address? Would it be wise for the College to associate itself with complementary institutions? Who should in the last analysis make decisions about these matters and how can a consistent policy be developed? The following sketch is intended to be a small contribution to this debate while telling the story of the College in the past four hundred years.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Small Mites for the Treasury of Learning: the Everyday Life of the New Science in Late Seve
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Small Mites for the Treasury of Learning: The Everyday Life of the New Science in Late Seventeenth-Century London A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Laura Ritchie Morgan 2016 © Copyright by Laura Ritchie Morgan 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Small Mites for the Treasury of Learning: The Everyday Life of the New Science in Late Seventeenth-Century London by Laura Ritchie Morgan Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Margaret C. Jacob, Chair Drawing on experimental notebooks, account books, estate inventories, and bureaucratic memoranda, this dissertation demonstrates that the investigation and manipulation of the natural world in Restoration London stretched beyond the well-known Royal Society. The Society relied on skills, labor, and unexpected expertise outside its Fellowship to shape its work, while skills valued by the Society’s Fellows were found in pre-existing industries. In addition, the experimentation, observation, and collection practices essential to the new science occurred in small shops, Royal palaces, and the streets of metropolis. Chapter Two argues that the Society’s first home at Gresham College was an uncontrolled space, neither public nor private, through which many Londoners moved. While some servants, craftspeople, and experts were invited in to contribute skill or labor, the experience and knowledge outsiders unexpectedly brought into the Society, the College, or London itself also influenced the questions investigated by the Society. ii Chapter Three is a detailed examination of apothecary John Conyers’s years-long efforts to disprove the theory of air pressure by observing changes in atmospheric moisture.
    [Show full text]
  • NEWSLETTER Issue: 492 - January 2021
    i “NLMS_492” — 2020/12/21 — 10:40 — page 1 — #1 i i i NEWSLETTER Issue: 492 - January 2021 RUBEL’S MATHEMATICS FOUR PROBLEM AND DECADES INDEPENDENCE ON i i i i i “NLMS_492” — 2020/12/21 — 10:40 — page 2 — #2 i i i EDITOR-IN-CHIEF COPYRIGHT NOTICE Eleanor Lingham (Sheeld Hallam University) News items and notices in the Newsletter may [email protected] be freely used elsewhere unless otherwise stated, although attribution is requested when EDITORIAL BOARD reproducing whole articles. Contributions to the Newsletter are made under a non-exclusive June Barrow-Green (Open University) licence; please contact the author or David Chillingworth (University of Southampton) photographer for the rights to reproduce. Jessica Enright (University of Glasgow) The LMS cannot accept responsibility for the Jonathan Fraser (University of St Andrews) accuracy of information in the Newsletter. Views Jelena Grbic´ (University of Southampton) expressed do not necessarily represent the Cathy Hobbs (UWE) views or policy of the Editorial Team or London Christopher Hollings (Oxford) Mathematical Society. Robb McDonald (University College London) Adam Johansen (University of Warwick) Susan Oakes (London Mathematical Society) ISSN: 2516-3841 (Print) Andrew Wade (Durham University) ISSN: 2516-385X (Online) Mike Whittaker (University of Glasgow) DOI: 10.1112/NLMS Andrew Wilson (University of Glasgow) Early Career Content Editor: Jelena Grbic´ NEWSLETTER WEBSITE News Editor: Susan Oakes Reviews Editor: Christopher Hollings The Newsletter is freely available electronically at lms.ac.uk/publications/lms-newsletter. CORRESPONDENTS AND STAFF LMS/EMS Correspondent: David Chillingworth MEMBERSHIP Policy Digest: John Johnston Joining the LMS is a straightforward process. For Production: Katherine Wright membership details see lms.ac.uk/membership.
    [Show full text]
  • HONORARY DEGREE of DOCTOR of SCIENCE Professor Elmer Rees
    HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF SCIENCE Professor Elmer Rees Laureation Address – Tuesday, 24th June, 2008 Laureator – Sir Michael Atiyah Mr. Vice-Chancellor, in the name and by the authority of the Senatus Academicus, I have the honour to present for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science, Elmer Gethin Rees For over forty years Elmer Rees has made major contributions to mathematics in Britain and particularly here in Edinburgh. He was an undergraduate at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge from 1960-63, moving on to be one of the first Ph.D. students at the new University of Warwick. After short stints at Hull, Princeton and Swansea he settled down as a Tutorial Fellow and Lecturer in Oxford. By a pleasing symmetry his College there was also St. Catherine’s. He was then head-hunted, to use a now fashionable phrase, by Edinburgh University to take up the prestigious Chair of Mathematics. Finally, after a quarter-century of exceptional service to this University, he moved to become the Director of the new Heilbronn Institute at Bristol. This institute is a partnership between Bristol University and GCHQ at Cheltenham, the nerve centre of UK security, on whose efficient operation we all rely. Such are the bare bones of Professor Rees’s career and they clearly show that he is held in high regard in the mathematical world. Despite holding onerous administrative posts both within and outwith the university, he has throughout maintained an active research output in his field of geometry. But he is no narrow specialist, he interprets geometry in the broad sense so that it encompasses topology, differential geometry and algebraic geometry.
    [Show full text]