C CENTRE R DERECHERCHES M MATHÉMATIQUES AnnualReport 2009 2010 . 1 C 2 C CENTRE R DERECHERCHES M MATHÉMATIQUES AnnualReport 2009 2010 . 3 Centre de recherches mathématiques Université de Montréal C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 Canada [email protected] Also available on the CRM website http://crm.math.ca/docs/docRap_an.shtml. © Centre de recherches mathématiques Université de Montréal, 2012 ISBN 978-2-921120-48-7 C Presenting the Annual Report 2009 – 2010 5 ematic Program 8 ematic Programs of the Year 2009–2010: “Mathematical Problems in Imaging Science” and “Number eory as Experimental and Applied Science” ............................. 9 Aisenstadt Chairholders in 2009–2010: Stéphane Mallat, Claude Le Bris, and Akshay Venkatesh .... 10 Activities of the Two ematic Semesters ................................... 12 Past ematic Programs ............................................. 22 General Program 24 CRM Activities .................................................. 25 CRM–ISM Colloquium Series .......................................... 30 Multidisciplinary and Industrial Program 33 Activities of the Multidisciplinary and Industrial Program .......................... 34 CRM Prizes 38 CRM–Fields–PIMS Prize 2010 Awarded to Gordon Slade ........................... 39 André-Aisenstadt Prize 2010 Awarded to Omer Angel ............................ 40 CAP–CRM Prize 2010 Awarded to Clifford Burgess .............................. 40 CRM–SSC Prize 2010 Awarded to Grace Yi .................................. 41 e CRM Outreach Program 43 Arithmetic Problems Posed by Rabbits, Cows, and the Da Vinci Code — Michel Waldschmidt ........ 44 Brouwer’s Fixed-Point eorem: a Mathematical Chameleon — Jean Mawhin ................ 46 Coin Flipping and Other estions of Probability — Jeffrey Rosenthal .................... 47 Geometreks — Ivars Peterson .......................................... 47 CRM Partnerships 49 CRM Partners .................................................. 50 Joint Initiatives .................................................. 53 Mathematical Education 57 Institut des sciences mathématiques (ISM) ................................... 58 Other Joint Initiatives .............................................. 60 Research Laboratories 61 Applied Mathematics .............................................. 62 CICMA ...................................................... 64 CIRGET ...................................................... 66 GIREF ....................................................... 68 INTRIQ ...................................................... 70 LaCIM ....................................................... 71 Mathematical Analysis ............................................. 74 Mathematical Physics .............................................. 76 PhysNum ..................................................... 80 Statistics ..................................................... 82 Publications 85 Recent Titles ................................................... 86 Previous Titles .................................................. 86 CRM Preprints .................................................. 90 3 C Scientific Personnel 91 CRM Members in 2009–2010 .......................................... 92 Postdoctoral Fellows ............................................... 94 Visitors ...................................................... 94 List of Students Having Graduated in 2009–2010 96 Ph.D. Students .................................................. 97 M.Sc. Students .................................................. 98 Governance and Scientific Guidance 100 Board of Directors ................................................ 101 International Scientific Advisory Commiee ................................. 102 CRM Administrative and Support Staff 105 e Director’s Office ............................................... 106 Administration .................................................. 106 Scientific Activities ............................................... 106 Computer Services ................................................ 106 Publications ................................................... 106 Communications ................................................. 106 Statement of Revenue and Expenditures for the Fiscal Year Ending on May 31, 2010 107 Mandate of the CRM 111 4 Presenting the Annual Report 2009 – 2010 C two thematic programs proposed by the CRM for its applications, number theory is now being ap- T in 2009 – 2010 were especially original. Each of plied in many ways and especially in secure infor- them was related to the emergence of pure mathemat- mation exchange and cryptography. e semester on ics in a very active scientific discipline. e semester number theory was organized by Henri Darmon, Eyal on medical and quantum imaging brought together Goren, Andrew Granville, and Michael Rubinstein and two groups of researchers, the first one in brain imag- included a series of lectures by Aisenstadt Chairholder ing and the second one in molecular and atomic imag- Akshay Venkatesh (from Stanford University). ing. Both disciplines are witnessing a revolution in e CRM general program allows researchers to orga- their techniques that requires new mathemacal ideas nize, either at the center or in the laboratories, work- and modern and original methods. Neuroimaging is shops and international conferences that the CRM sup- expanding at a fast pace and involves at least four ar- ports in order to foster scientific exchanges smaller in eas of pure and applied mathematics: modelling, signal scope than thematic semesters or years. e 11 ac- processing, statistical analysis, and information pro- tivities organized under the CRM general program in cessing through data fusion. 2009 – 2010 were aended by 337 participants. e thematic semester on imaging also included a fo- e CRM is the Canadian mathematical institute that cus on atomic imaging, one of the most active fields awards the largest number of prestigious Canadian of modern scientific research. is field is spearhead- prizes (in collaboration with other institutes). Alto- ing a revolution not only in chemistry and physics gether there are four such prizes. e CRM – Fields – but also in mathematics. Underlying this revolution PIMS Prize is awarded to a brilliant Canadian mathe- is the advent, within the last few years, of very high- matician on account of his exceptional contributions 10−15 frequency lasers, of the order of a femtosecond ( ) and is considered to be the crowning of his career. 10−18 for molecules and an aosecond ( ) for atoms. In 2010 Gordon Slade, from the University of British But the reading of these data requires the process- Columbia, was the recipient of the CRM – Fields – ing of fundamental equations that are strongly non- PIMS Prize. e André-Aisenstadt Prize is awarded linear in a nonperburbative regime. is requirement, to a young Canadian mathematician who has distin- in turn, calls for a new kind of mathematics, and guished himself, within a few years, in one of the most the thematic semester on imaging took on the chal- difficult areas of contemporary mathematics. In 2010 lenge. e semester was organized by André Ban- Omer Angel, from the University of British Columbia, drauk, Christophe Grova, Frédéric Lesage and Jean- was the recipient of the André-Aisenstadt Prize. e Marc Lina (and French and American researchers), CRM – SSC Prize is awarded to a Canadian statistician and included two series of lectures by Aisenstadt for the contributions made during his career. In 2010 Chairholders: Stéphane Mallat, from the École Poly- Grace Yi, from the University of Waterloo, was the technique in Paris, and Claude Le Bris from the École recipient of the CRM – SSC Prize. Finally the CRM – des Ponts ParisTech. CAP Prize is awarded to a theoretical or mathematical e thematic program on number theory as experi- physicist for his contributions to his field. In 2010 Clif- mental and applied science was also very topical. Its ford Burgess, professor at McMaster University and purpose was to demonstrate that number theory, both member of the Perimeter Institute, was the recipient in its discovery processes and its applications, can of the CRM – CAP Prize. draw its inspiration from the experimental sciences. During the 2009 – 2010 academic year the Grandes In the discovery process, number theorists are mak- Conférences program, introduced in 2006, continued ing greater and greater use of powerful soware such to develop. Four Grandes Conférences were organized as in order to conduct genuine experiments for in 2009 – 2010. e topic of the lecture by Michel Wald- verifying or falsifying conjectures that are unlikely to schmidt (from Université Pierre et Marie Curie) was in- be proved or disproved soon. ese experiments al- teger sequences that are defined recursively. e topic low researchers to formulate beer and sound conjec- of Jean Mawhin (from the Université catholique de tures. It is a subtle art, as shown by Professor Jean- Louvain) was the fixed point theorem. Jeffrey Rosen- Marie De Koninck in the very first Grande Conférence thal, from the University of Toronto, delivered a lecture du CRM: some conjectures that have been verified for on probability and Ivars Peterson, from the Mathemat- billions of prime numbers are nonetheless false. As ical Association of America, a lecture on Geometreks. 6 P A R 2009 – 2010 e Séminaire de mathématiques supérieures (SMS), In all, 1,126 people took part in the activities of the organized by the CRM nearly every year,