THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER No. 322 January 2004 Forthcoming COUNCIL DIARY tions for a possible further 21 November 2003 new venture for LMS Society Publications, in the area of Meetings The first substantial item at Mathematical Biology. the November meeting was Stephen Huggett reported on 2004 the Treasurer’s business. arrangements for the then very Friday 20 February Council approved his report imminent International Review London for the Annual General of Mathematics. All the back- D. Schleicher Meeting. It reported a (small) ground documentation was S.M. Rees rise this year in the Society’s now with the International (Mary Cartwright fixed assets, in line with a Panel, and many of the venues Lecture) general rise in UK equities; had had dry runs. [page 5] welcome news after last year’s The President reported on 1 falls, but the Society contin- the production of the medal for Wednesday 12 May ues to review its investment the joint IMA-LMS David Nottingham policy. As has been the case in Crighton award; he showed Midlands Regional each of the last few years, the Council a plaster cast, which Meeting Society’s fortunes have been was agreed to be a very good significantly boosted by rev- likeness of David. Friday 18 June enue from its publishing activ- The Society welcomed a London ities. The Society also receives powerful ‘statement of con- Hardy Lecture income from rent of surplus cern’ that the Education space in De Morgan House, Secretary had prepared, based Friday 2 July and is looking for new ten- on the Society’s response to Newcastle ants as the current tenants the HEFCE consultation on Northern Regional are terminating their agree- Funding Mathematics in uni- Meeting ment. A number of possibili- versities. ties are under consideration, Council received reports Friday 17 September including some with organisa- from a number of its repre- Exeter tions with which we have sentatives on other bodies. South West & South some common cause. Ken Brown reported from the Wales Regional The relaunch of the journal Scientific Committee of the Meeting Compositio Mathematica is British Mathematical going full steam ahead, Colloquium, on plans to hold Friday 19 November advertised at a recent very further joint meetings with London successful meeting in the BAMC, on the increasingly Annual General Amsterdam, and at the AMS important problem of the cost Meeting meeting in Phoenix in of accommodation, and on January. The Publisher report- how a liability for VAT compli- ed on her recent investiga- cated the issue of a BMC THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER No. 322 January 2004 reserve fund. Tom Körner, our representa- moves. As it nears the end of this phase, LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY tive at the British Association for the the Society is more conscious than 2003-2004 COUNCIL Advancement of Science, reported that the before of the relationship between its Mathematics Section was in need of some income stream and the schemes it has to As a result of the annual election, membership of the Council is the following: boosting. It was recognised that the British support; it needs to be, as the mecha- Association provides a massive opportunity nisms for support of our main activity, President: Professor F.C. Kirwan FRS (Oxford) for media attention, and agreed that this namely research, are changing at many Vice-Presidents: Professor A.G. Chetwynd (Lancaster) would be an appropriate job for the new levels. Professor A.J. Scholl (Cambridge) Mathematics Promotion Unit. As the meeting moved towards its Treasurer: Dr N.M.J. Woodhouse (Oxford) The report of the General Secretary end, it was time for the President to General Secretary: Professor N.L. Biggs (LSE) sparked off an extensive discussion on thank those members of Council whose Programme Secretary: Dr S.A. Huggett (Plymouth) the aims of the Society and its relation- last meeting it was, and especially Chris Publications Secretary: Professor J. Howie FRSE (Heriot-Watt) ship with the IMA; a joint LMS/IMA Lance, who had been Publications Education Secretary: Dr W.B. Stewart (Oxford) working group has been considering this Secretary since 1996 during a period of Members-at-Large: Professor I.D. Abrahams (Manchester) relationship, and it is now proposed that major expansion the Society’s publishing Professor M.R. Bridson (Imperial College London) we should step up a gear and embark on activity. Then Tony Scholl closed the Professor C.J. Budd (Bath) a more thorough investigation of the meeting with his thanks to the Dr R.D. Camina (Cambridge) ways in which the two societies might President. He had only been in office for Professor R.T. Curtis (Librarian) (Birmingham) 2 work together on issues which are rele- one year, leaving early to take up his Dr P.J. Davies (Strathclyde) 3 vant to both. As a starting point we new appointment at the Institute for Professor M.M. Dodson (York) would need to examine in detail the Advanced Study in Princeton, but, as Professor A.M. Etheridge (Oxford) aims of the LMS. In recent years much Tony put it, rather than take time to get Professor K.J. Falconer FRSE (St Andrews) has changed. The LMS has been going up to speed as President, he had started Sir John Kingman FRS (Isaac Newton Institute) through a period of evolution, during his post with us with rocket boosters on, Dr S.E. Rees (Newcastle) which the acquisition of De Morgan and so had more than made up for his Dr F.A. Rogers (King’s College London) House and the appointment of an short tenure. Executive Secretary have been key Sarah Rees TREASURER'S REPORT TO (£68,900) to cover grants that have been awarded but which will not be claimed THE ANNUAL GENERAL immediately; and the Special Activities LMS Newsletter MEETING 2003 Reserve (£23,222) to hold gifts and bequests. The level of reserve funds, and their purpose, General Editor: Dr D.R.J. Chillingworth ([email protected]) In the financial year 1 September 2002 to 31 will be reviewed in January. Reports Editor: Dr S.A. Huggett ([email protected]) August 2003 the Fixed Assets of the Society It has been another good year for the Reviews Editor: Professor M.P.F. du Sautoy ([email protected]) rose in value from £9,556,871 to £9,819,351. Society’s publishing activities, which generat- Administrative Editor: Miss S.M. Oakes ([email protected]) The rise is welcome after the sharp fall last ed a welcome surplus of £558,560, the drop Editorial office address: London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, year, and reflects a general rise in UK equi- from last year being almost entirely due to 57-58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS (tel: 020 7637 3686; fax: 020 7323 3655; ties. the start-up costs of Compositio. The surplus email: [email protected], web: www.lms.ac.uk) The Building and Development Reserve is the result of good management rather Designed by CHP Design (tel: 020 7240 0466, email: [email protected], web:www.chpdesign.com) Fund was unchanged over the year, and than excessive profit taking, but provides an Publication dates and deadlines: published monthly, except August. stands at £500,000. The Printing and essential contribution to the resources need- Items and advertisements by first day of the month prior to publication. Publication Reserve Fund fell by £55,413 to ed to pursue the Society’s charitable objects. Information in the Newsletter is free to be used elsewhere unless otherwise stated; attribution is £1,144,587, after a planned withdrawal to The total expenditure of the Programme requested when reproducing whole articles. The LMS cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy meet the start-up costs of the journal Committee, Research Meetings Committee, of information in the Newsletter. Nor do views expressed necessarily represent the views or policy Compositio. Two new reserve funds were Computer Science Committee, Women in of the London Mathematical Society. Charity registration number: 252660. established, the Grants Payable Fund Mathematics Committee, and Education THE LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER No. 322 January 2004 Committee was very much the same as last ANDREI BOLIBRUKH year at £296,895, but other grants and expenditure in furtherance of the objects of Academician Andrei Bolibrukh died on 11 LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY the Society fell back some £40K to the level November 2003 after a long illness, at the age of 2000-01, having increased by roughly this of 53. Professor Bolibrukh was appointed as the MARY CARTWRIGHT LECTURE amount last year as a result of grants for Editor of Izvestiya Mathematics in 2002 and he the Mathematical Olympiad and for the was a very welcome newcomer to the collabo- Friday 20 February 2004, University College London ICM in Beijing. ration that the Society has with the Russian 3.30 – 4.30 Professor Dierk Schleicher (Bremen) Total ordinary membership increased mar- Academy of Sciences on the translation of this Understanding Complex Dynamical Systems and their ginally by 5; there was a sharp increase in journal. His contribution to the management Parameter Spaces associate membership from 43 to 138, reflect- meetings that took place this summer in 4.30 – 5.00 Tea ing the success of the EPSRC scheme to pay Moscow was clear and incisive and gave an indi- 5.00 – 6.00 Mary Cartwright Lecture the cost of membership for EPSRC-funded cation of his value to Russian mathematics as Professor Mary Rees (Liverpool) research students. Subscription income rose one of the internationally distinguished mathe- The Topographer’s View of Parameter Spaces from £47,070 to £52,406; expenditure on maticians who chose to work in Russia.