MATH MATTERS DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS • CORNELL UNIVERSITY • ITHACA, NY • DECEMBER 2001 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR, JOHN SMILLIE This department is internationally Birgit Speh has assumed the job of awarded the Swedish Mathematical known for the quality of the research it director of undergraduate studies, Society’s Wallenberg Prize this past June produces, but what may be less widely formerly held by Steve Chase. Since the at a ceremony during the SMS’s annual known is the importance it attaches to department teaches close to 6,000 meeting in Lund. The Magnus Memorial teaching. As a means of letting others students in over 200 courses each year this Prize, awarded by New York University, know about our teaching efforts, the is a very important position. Steve was was presented to José Ramírez. department plans to institute a new originally appointed to the position of I am delighted to announce that our teaching award. The award for faculty, associate chair by Peter Kahn. The whole search for a senior faculty member adjunct faculty, lecturers and visitors department owes Steve a debt of gratitude, resulted in the appointment of a leading would consist of a certificate of and I would especially like to thank Steve probabilist, Gregory Lawler. Greg has recognition, while the graduate student for being willing to extend his term by a been at Duke University since 1979 and award would consist of a certificate of year to facilitate this latest transition. is an expert on the theory of random recognition and cash prize. We would like It is my sad duty to relay the news walks. We are delighted that he has to create an endowment for the graduate that Paul Olum died January 19, 2001 in decided to join us at Cornell. I would like student award so that the prize could be a Sharon, Massachusetts. Paul was a to congratulate Greg and Harry Kesten for generous one. For the time being the professor in the Mathematics Department being selected as speakers at the award will be called simply the from 1949 to 1974 and chair of the International Congress of Mathematicians “Department Teaching Award,” but we Mathematics Department from 1963 to that will be held in Beijing, China in 2002. welcome suggestions for a better name. 1966. For more information about his A congress is held every four years, and There have been some changes in the life, see the article on page 10. it is an honor to be invited to speak. department during the last year. We The fall 2001 Battig Graduate Prize The university has adopted a novel welcomed four new H.C. Wang Assistant was awarded to Fernando Marques, and approach to Computer Science. They have Professors in July 2001: Kai-Uwe Bux the Eleanor Norton York Award was given created a new college with responsibility (University of Frankfurt); Martin Dindos to Chris Francisco. In spring 2001, for computer science and for interacting (University of North Carolina at Chapel graduate student Kathryn Nyman won the with other departments on related issues. Hill); Irina Mitrea (Institute for Advanced Clark Distinguished Teaching Award This new unit is called Computing and Study); and Milen Yakimov (University given by the College of Arts and Sciences. Information Science (CIS). Spanning the of California at Berkeley). In addition, The Harry S. Kieval Prize in entire campus, CIS serves to bring we will have two new VIGRE Assistant Mathematics, an undergraduate award, together experts in computing with Professors for the 2001-2002 academic was given to Jesse Alt at the May 2001 researchers and scholars in a variety of year: Matthew Fickus (University of commencement reception. The Freshman disciplines. The CIS is run by Dean Maryland, College Park) and Anita Math Prize was awarded to Asher Robert Constable and a group of faculty Mareno (Cornell University). The Walkover, with second prize going to called the “Founders,” which serve as a following new NSF Postdoctoral Fellows Omar Nayeem. Undergraduate major kind of “board of trustees.” We are have been in residence since July 2001: Justin Kinney was one of three Cornell delighted that Dean Constable has Jason Schweinsberg and Alexander recipients of a Barry M. Goldwater appointed the first Mathematics Vladimirsky, both of whom recently Scholarship in science and mathematics. Department representative to the group of received their Ph.D.’s from the University Graduate student Huibin Zhou was founders: John Guckenheimer. of California at Berkeley. chosen to receive the Liu Memorial Our VIGRE grant continues to fund Louis Billera took over as director of Award. a variety of interesting activities that graduate studies from Dan Barbasch. At the Joint Mathematics Meetings benefit our department and the Many thanks to Dan for four years of in New Orleans in January 2001, Harry mathematical community. (See page 8.) outstanding service to the department. I Kesten was honored with the 2001 Leroy For more information, visit our would like to thank Lou for agreeing to P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement. website: take on this demanding position. (See page 2.) Warwick Tucker was www.math.cornell.edu HARRY KESTEN WINS STEELE PRIZE Goldwin Smith Professor of Professor Kesten earned his Mathematics Harry Kesten won the undergraduate degree at the 2001 Leroy P. Steele Prize for University of Amsterdam, The Lifetime Achievement. The prize is Netherlands and received his Ph.D. awarded by the American at Cornell in 1958. He was an Mathematical Society and is one of instructor at Princeton University for the highest distinctions in a year and then spent two years at mathematics. It was presented to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor Kesten on January 11 at the In 1961, he returned to Cornell as a Joint Mathematics Meetings in New visiting assistant professor, and he has Orleans. as percolation theory and random remained here since then. walks, he has “dabbled” in models Professor Kesten was honored inspired by statistical mechanics. The American Mathematical for “his many and deep contributions Kesten also has contributed to the Society established the Steele Prize to probability theory and its understanding of such practical in1970, following a bequest of applications.” In addition to his matters as population growth and $145,000 from Leroy P. Steele. research on such theoretical problems river networks. MATH EXPLORERS and Tiberiu Tomita, and has modules eager minds and spreading the taught by faculty members. word that mathematics is a cool CLUB subject. We expect the program The Math Explorers Club, a The modules offered in the first to evolve and grow in response program for high school students, 6-week cycle this fall were knot to the needs and interests of the began its second full year of operation theory by Graeme Bailey, and the participants. this fall. The Saturday meetings are Fibonacci sequence and the golden open to all interested students at no ratio by Robert Strichartz. Later in charge. The goal of the club is the fall, Edward Swartz offered a CCC MATH DAY two-fold: to stimulate an interest in module on geometry and topology of mathematics by exposing students to surfaces. More modules will be Corning Community College material not usually encountered in announced for the spring semester. sponsors an annual outreach event the high school curriculum, and to (See our department’s web page.) called Math Career Day, in which provide a peer group of students who high school seniors from three share an interest in mathematics. The program is funded by the counties are invited to tour campus VIGRE grant, which provides and attend math talks. This year, on Participants choose among stipends for the graduate students Friday, October 12, CCC Math Day modules that provide instruction in and pays for the refreshments. talks were given by several Cornell interesting areas of mathematics, This is a great opportunity for faculty members, various computer lab activities, and problem the graduate students to interact professionals in the greater area, and solving sessions. Two intense hour- with faculty in an informal setting and Suzanne Hruska, a current graduate long sessions are separated by a to gain valuable experience student in the Mathematics break, during which participants of in education and outreach that Department. Suzanne’s talk, “Order all modules can gather to relax and will help them in future job searches. in Chaos,” was about fractals and talk things over. The program is run Participants enjoy the challenge iteration. CCC Math Day this year by four graduate students, Sharad of communicating the excitement included 431 students from seventeen Goel, Todd Kemp, Maria Sloughter, of mathematics to young and schools in the Corning area. 2 MATH FOR MONKS By Avery Solomon Motivated by the vision of His During the workshop, I stayed understand English well enough to Holiness the Dalai Lama, the second at Ganden Monastery, the rebuilt converse, so we had four translators science for monks workshop, held at version of one of the largest monastic in the room: two Tibetan math the Ganden Monastery in Karnataka institutions in Tibet. I taught two teachers from the Tibetan Children’s state in March 2001, had a groups of monks essentially the same Village and two translators from the mathematics component, which I curriculum. For half of the program, Library of Tibetan Archives. The taught concurrently with the science I met a group of 19 students who had director of the program, Achok component. been to the workshop the previous Rinpoche, is the current head of the year for science, from 8:00-9:30 and library. During an audience that I 10:00-11:30, while the other group attended with about 50 people in of students did science experiments Monks who were returning to the Stockholm in May 2000, His Holiness led by two American scientists/ program had already received Tibetan the Dalai Lama spoke of his idea of a science educators.