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LMS ITEMS
Click on a title in the alphabetical list below, Earlier LMS Items can be found in the Published Issues. LMS GRANT SCHEMES
Published online 13 August 2012
Grants news – more funding available. Following a review of the LMS Grants Schemes, the Society is pleased to announce an increase in the maximum grant awards for the following grant schemes:
For full details on each scheme, please visit the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/grants The maximum awards for the following grant schemes remain the same:
Next Closing Date for Research Grant Applications 15 September 2012 Applications are invited for the following grants:
For full details of these grant schemes, and to download application forms, visit the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants
Queries regarding applications can be addressed to the Grants Administrators or the Programme Secretary (see below) who will be pleased to discuss proposals informally with potential applicants and give advice on the submission of an application.
Joint Research Groups – Renewal grants (Scheme 3) We would like to draw your attention to the following: ALL renewal applications MUST be accompanied by a Financial and Academic Report for the previous year’s activities. Please note that full reports should always be submitted (‘light touch’ refers to the application procedure only). Grant holders wishing to renew their application may use the Light Touch Application Form if: The original or last full renewal application was made in the last TWO years, and NONE of the following have changed:
* Please note that with the increased maximum awards, grant holders may still apply using the Light Touch scheme and request the increased award per meeting (£500), provided that no other details have changed and that the number of meetings has not changed. Grant holders MUST use the Full Renewal Application Form if: The original or last full renewal application was made THREE years ago, and/or ANY of the following have changed:
If a renewal application is unsuccessful, normally the grant will be terminated at the end of the calendar year. A supplementary grant will be available to cover actual expenditure for a meeting held during the autumn term. This will normally be the equivalent of the grant awarded for one meeting, eg £500, and will not usually exceed one third of the previous year’s grant. Other LMS Grants and Funding Computer Science Small Grants (Scheme 7) Childcare Supplementary Grants Small Grants for Education LMS-EPSRC Short Courses Research Workshop Grants Spitalfields Days Young British and Russian Mathematicians Scheme Visits to Russia The LMS is offering grants of up to £500 to meet the travel costs, while the host should apply to the Russian Academy of Sciences for funding towards local expenses for accommodation and subsistence. Please contact Sylvia Daly (grants@lms.ac.uk) for information before contacting the Russian Academy of Sciences for funding. Applications to the LMS should include the following: 1. A brief academic case for the visit, including a description of your current research interests, and an outline of your planned work during the visit (no more than one side of A4). Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. In exceptional circumstances, applications may be considered from strong research students who are close to finishing their doctorates. Applications should include a strong case and the student should obtain a letter of recommendation from his/her supervisor. Visits to Britain The LMS is offering grants to the host institution to meet the visitor’s actual travel and accommodation costs of up to £1,500. Applications should include the following: 1. Name and brief CV of the visitor. Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. Further details of the Scheme can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/ international-grants#YBR. Applications received by 15 September 2012 will be considered at a meeting in October. Enquiries should be made to the Grants Administrators: Sylvia Daly, Elizabeth Fisher and Barbara Graczyk (tel: 020 7291 9971/3, and 0207 927 0808, email: grants@lms.ac.uk). Sylvia Daly and Elizabeth Fisher
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP 2012
Published online 13 August 2012
The London Mathematical Society has elected Dr James Simons of Renaissance Technologies, US and Professor Claire Voisin of the Institute de Mathématiques de Jussieu at the University of Paris VI: Pierre et Marie Curie, France to Honorary Membership of the Society. Dr James Simons is not only a distinguished mathematician but is one of the greatest worldwide benefactors of mathematics. His early work in differential geometry with his teacher Chern led to the famous ‘Chern-Simons action’ of quantum field theory. Subsequently, with his student Cheeger, he invented cohomology. In the 1970s he left mathematics for the financial world where his success enabled him to set up the Simons Foundation, which funds mathematical research worldwide and has made large contributions to the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, MSRI at Berkeley, and the IHES in France, among other bodies. He has also endowed the new Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook University. Professor Claire Voisin works in complex algebraic geometry, using a mixture of algebraic and analytical methods. She is a leader in Hodge theory and the theory of algebraic cycles. She constructed the first examples of compact Kähler manifolds, which are not homotopy equivalent to any projective variety. She proved many of the strongest known results of the Hodge conjecture, and on Green’s conjecture on algebraic curves. She is well known as the author of several books, including Mirror Symmetry and Hodge Theory and Complex Algebraic Geometry.
LMS HANDBOOK AND LIST OF MEMBERS 2013
Published online 02 August 2012
A new edition of the Society’s Handbook and List of Members will be published in 2013. The Society’s Handbook and List of Members contains information about the Society’s activities including publications, grants and events as well as a list of its members and their details. The Handbook and List of Members will be available to all members, both in print and online via the LMS website. The online version will also be available to the general public but the printed version will be available to members only. The Society is seeking members’ permission to include their personal details in the Handbook and List of Members. Members have the opportunity to choose which information they would like to be published (if any) when renewing their subscription to the Society by selecting the options given on the subscription form for 2012-13, which is enclosed with this Newsletter. Members may also choose whether their details may be published in the printed version and/or online via the LMS website. The Society would like to include as many members as possible in the Handbook and List of Members and asks that all members return the subscription form with their current details and permission to publish by 8 December 2012. (Any returns after this date may not be included in the printed edition). The Handbook and List of Members will be available in early 2013. Any queries regarding the Handbook and List of Members should be directed to membership@lms.ac.uk. Elizabeth Fisher
LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 12 July 2012
25 May 2012 A personal view One of the delights of attending Council meetings is hearing first-hand from the President about the many and diverse mathematical events that he attends on behalf of the Society. Hot off the press this month was Graeme’s report of the Abel prize award ceremony – the prize being awarded to Endre Szemerédi – which had taken place in Oslo only three days before the Council meeting. Amongst other events Graeme had attended was the opening of Intersections: Henry Moore and Stringed Surfaces, an exhibition being held at the Royal Society as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Isaac Newton Institute (and I thoroughly recommend the catalogue which can be found on the INI website www.newton.ac.uk/events/2012/anniversary/). Graeme also reported on two very successful LMS meetings. In April he had been at the Women in Mathematics Day, a meeting he had found full of exciting mathematics and good spirit. And last week he had been at the Poincaré anniversary meeting. The latter had played to a full house and had received a message of support from Cédric Villani, who is inter alia Director of the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris. In addition, Graeme told us the very good news that at the end of June the Clay Mathematics Institute will move the office of its president from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Oxford, and that Nicholas Woodhouse, our former Treasurer, will be the Institute’s new president. June Barrow-Green LMS PRIZES 2012 Published online 12 July 2012
The winners of the LMS prizes for 2012 were announced at the Society Meeting on 29 June. The Society extends its congratulations to these winners, and its thanks to all the nominators, referees and members of the Prizes Committee for their contributions to the Committee’s work this year. PROFESSOR DAN SEGAL, of the University of Oxford, is awarded the Pólya Prize for his major contributions to group theory. PROFESSOR TREVOR WOOLEY, FRS, of the University of Bristol, is awarded the Fröhlich Prize for his work in analytic number theory, and in particular his spectacular advances in the study of Waring’s problem on representing integers as a sum of kth powers. PROFESSOR IAN AGOL, of University of California, Berkeley, is awarded the Senior Berwick Prize in recognition of the paper Criteria for virtual fibering published in volume 2 of the Journal of Topology, 2008. DR TOBY GEE, of Imperial College London, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for his work in number theory, and in particular his many contributions to the theory of automorphic forms. DR EUGEN VĂRVĂRUCĂ, of Reading University, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for ground-breaking analysis of free boundary problems for linear and nonlinear elliptic equations, with important applications, in arbitrary dimensions. DR SARAH WATERS, of the University of Oxford, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for her contributions to the fields of physiological fluid mechanics and the biomechanics of artificially engineered tissues. DR ANDREAS WINTER, of the University of Bristol, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for his major contributions to key areas of quantum information theory. LMS GRANT SCHEMES Published online 12 July 2012
Next Closing Dates for Applications 31 August 2012 Small Grants for Education 15 September 2012 Conferences and postgraduate research conferences held in the UK (Schemes 1 and 8)
For full details of these grant schemes, and to download application forms, visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants). Joint Research Groups – Renewal grants (Scheme 3) ALL renewal applications MUST be accompanied by a Financial and Academic Report for the previous year’s activities. Please note that full reports should always be submitted (‘light touch’ refers to the application procedure only). Grant holders wishing to renew their application may use the Light Touch the original or last full renewal application was made in the last TWO years, and NONE of the following have changed:
Grant holders MUST use the Full Renewal Application Form if the original or last full renewal application was made THREE years ago, and/or ANY of the following have changed:
If a renewal application is unsuccessful, normally the grant will be terminated at the end of the calendar year. A supplementary grant will be available to cover actual expenditure for a meeting held during the autumn term. This will normally be the equivalent of the grant awarded for one meeting, e.g. £350, and will not usually exceed one third of the previous year’s grant. Young British and Russian Mathematicians Scheme Visits to Russia
Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. Visits to Britain
Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. Grants News We would like to draw your attention to the following: Computer Science Small Grants (Scheme 7) Childcare Supplementary Grants Sylvia Daly and Elizabeth Fisher GOOD PRACTICE SCHEME Published online 12 July 2012
The London Mathematical Society (LMS) has developed a Good Practice Scheme with the aim of helping departments of mathematics to take practical actions to improve the participation of women and to share examples of good practice with other departments. The Scheme will also offer support in applying for an Athena SWAN award for those departments seeking recognition for their work in this area. Further information is available at www.lms.ac.uk/content/good-practice-scheme. As part of the Scheme the LMS has commissioned Oxford Research and Policy to run a survey of UK mathematics departments. The survey began in early June 2012. The purpose of this survey is to collect examples of good practice in mathematics and to benchmark departments on their working practices, processes and procedures. This exercise will identify the current strengths and weaknesses across the UK and will enable departments to assess themselves in relation to the national picture. To enable the resulting report to be as comprehensive and useful as possible it is important that most mathematics departments submit a return. There is currently no information of this kind either being collected or in existence for mathematics in the UK and the LMS is pleased to both manage and fund such an important exercise on behalf of the community. This has the support of the Heads of Departments of Mathematical Sciences (HoDoMS) and the Council for the Mathematical Sciences. Readers are asked to encourage their departments to submit a return by the deadline of 16 July 2012. OPEN HOUSE LONDON 2012 Published online 12 July 2012
After the success of last year’s event, which attracted over 300 visitors to De Morgan House, the LMS is once again taking part in Open House London. De Morgan House will be open from 11 am till 4 pm on Saturday 22 September 2012. Visitors will be able to enjoy a guided tour of De Morgan House and there will also be an exhibition celebrating the life and work of Alan Turing on the centenary of his birth. GENERAL MEETING Published online 8 June 2012
There will be a General Meeting of the Society on Friday 29 June 2012, to be held at the Wilkins Old Refectory, University College London at 3.30 pm. The business shall be: 1) the appointment of scrutineers The General Meeting will be followed by the Hardy Lecture. I hope that as many members as possible will be able to attend. Fiona Nixon 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LMS Published online 14 May 2012 On the 16th of January 1865 the London Mathematical Society held its first meeting. Last autumn, Council agreed to set up a small group to start planning our 150th anniversary celebrations, and we are in the process of dreaming up and working on as many original ideas as we can. 2015 is not very far away, and quite soon we will have to make some firm decisions about which ideas to use. There is still time for you to suggest new ideas, though; the more unusual the better. Please send them to me at s.huggett@plymouth.ac.uk. The LMS is one of the oldest mathematical societies in the world, and an anniversary such as this is a very good opportunity for us to strengthen our community and raise our profile. Stephen Huggett LMS RESEARCH WORKSHOPS 2012 Published online 14 May 2012 In 2012, the LMS Research Meetings Committee has supported two research workshops:
Research workshops can be held anywhere in the UK, and are an opportunity for a small group of active researchers to work together for a concentrated period, on a specialised topic. Applications for Future Research Workshops The LMS Research Meetings Committee considers requests for either full or partial support (for travel and subsistence of participants, and reasonable associated costs) in the range £1,000–£10,000. Applications should be made via email to the Chair of the Research Meetings Committee, Professor Ulrike Tillmann (rmc.chair@lms.ac.uk) normally at least 12 months prior to the proposed workshop. There is no application form but proposals should be no longer than five pages. Proposals in PDF or Word format should contain:
Applicants may consult Professor Ulrike Tillmann (tillmann@lms.ac.uk) informally about their proposed workshop before making an application.
Young British and Russian Mathematicians Scheme Visits to Russia Applications are invited from young British postdoctoral mathematicians who wish to spend a few weeks in Russia giving a series of survey lectures on the work of their school. The LMS is offering grants of up to £500 to meet the travel costs, while the host should apply to the Russian Academy of Sciences for funding towards local expenses for accommodation and subsistence. Applications to the LMS should include the following:
In exceptional circumstances, applications may be considered from strong research students who are close to finishing their doctorates. Applications should include a strong case and the student should obtain a letter of recommendation from his/her supervisor. Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. Visits to Britain Under this Scheme, applications may also be made by any mathematician in Britain wishing to host a visit by a young Russian postdoctoral mathematician who wishes to spend a few weeks in Britain giving a series of survey lectures on the work of their Russian seminar. The LMS is offering grants to the host institution to meet the visitor’s actual travel and accommodation costs of up to £1,500. Applications should include the following:
Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. Further details of the Scheme can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/international-grants#YBR. Enquiries should be made to the Grants Administrators: Sylvia Daly and Elizabeth Fisher (tel: 020 7291 9971/3, email: grants@lms.ac.uk). Grants News We would like to draw your attention to the following: Computer Science Small Grants (Scheme 7) Funding for grants up to £500 is available to support a visit for collaborative research at the interface of Mathematics and Computer Science either by the grant holder to another institution within the UK or abroad, or by a named mathematician from within the UK or abroad to the home base of the grant holder. The next deadline for applications is 15 May 2012 – please see the website for further details: www.lms.ac.uk/content/computer-science-small-grants-scheme-7. Childcare Grants The Society believes that all parents working in mathematics should be able to attend conferences and research meetings without being hindered by childcare costs. Institutions are expected to make provision for childcare costs and parents are encouraged to make enquiries. However, where this is not available, the Society administers a Childcare Supplementary Grants Scheme. Further details can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/childcare-supplementary-grants. Spitalfields Days Grants of up to £500 are available to support an LMS Spitalfields Day, which have been run since 1987 and are in honour of the Society’s predecessor, the Spitalfields Mathematical Society (1717–1845). A Spitalfields Day is a one-day meeting, which is usually associated with a long-term symposium on a specialist topic at a UK university. Selected participants, often distinguished experts from overseas, give survey lectures (or other types of lecture accessible to a general mathematical audience) on topics in the field of the symposium. Further details can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/spitalfields-days#applications. Sylvia Daly and
Elizabeth Fisher LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 11 May 2012 30 March 2012 A personal view We began the meeting by confirming and welcoming Chris Mulvey as the new Member-at-Large on Council. Chris, whose term will last until November 2012, is filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Marco Marletta. Under President’s business, Graeme reported on the successful seminar Mathematics Matters – A Crucial Contribution to the Country’s Economy held as part of the National Science and Engineering Week, and arranged by the Council for Mathematical Sciences (CMS) in collaboration with the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. This is the first time that the mathematical community has had such an event in Parliament and it was attended by a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds. The full programme together with rather good photographs (including one of Graeme) can be found on the CMS website. Graeme also reported on the Christopher Zeeman lecture given by Professor John Barrow at the Royal Society. Professor Barrow chose a topical theme – Maths, Sports and the Olympics – and there was a full house with a gratifying number of young mathematicians in the audience. Much of the morning was taken up with financial matters. Having considered the half-year financial review, and approved various items of expenditure, including a grant of £2,500 to The Archive Trust for Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy for the archiving of recordings of talks and lectures by leading British mathematicians, we were given an extremely informative report by the Treasurer, Rob Curtis, on the past performance of the Society’s investments. Moving from the past to thefuture, we next discussed the strategic directions and priorities for each of the main committees of Council. While most of these were centred on concrete proposals, one did allow us to indulge in a certain flight offancy: the proposal to investigate the viability of having an LMS research retreat. While this is, to quote the Treasurer, a "pipe dream" at the present time, the idea of an ’Oberwolfach’ in, say, the Peak District was, not surprisingly, agreed to be an immensely attractive one, and one that we should at the very least explore. There were two important items for discussion. The first concerned criteria for LMS membership, the subject arising in the context of the Society’simpending membership drive, and it generated some lively exchanges. While remaining firm that the core aims of the Society – the promotion and extension of mathe-matical knowledge – must be upheld, we agreed in principle that all criteria for membership should be extended, including those for Associate Membership. Since this would be rather a major change for the Society, we further agreed that the membership would be consulted before any changes are implemented. The second of the items for discussion was the introduction of an LMS Undergraduate Research Bursaries Scheme (URBS) to succeed the very successful scheme currently managed by the Nuffield Foundation but from which Nuffield is withdrawing inorder to concentrate on other (younger) constituencies. As a transitional arrangement for 2013, Nuffield have agreed to providematched funding with a new sponsor for mathematics bursaries, with all branding in the name of the new sponsor. Several members of Council reported very positive experiences with the Nuffield Scheme and we were in no doubt that the LMS would be the most appropriate new sponsor. We therefore readily agreed to the introduction of an LMS URBS of 15 bursaries per annum over the next two years, providing Nuffield come up with the matched funding. We also agreed to fund 20 bursaries (LMS alone) in the third year, with the position then being reviewed. Last month I reported that a letter was in the process of being written to the EPSRC expressing the concerns of pure mathematicians. I can now report that the letter has been sent and a copy is available to read on the LMS website. June Barrow-Green ANNUAL ELECTIONS TO LMS COUNCIL Published online 1 April 2012 The normal way in which nominations to Council are made is via the Nominating Committee, but there is also provision for all members of the Society to make nominations directly. Anyone who wishes to suggest someone for a position as an Officer of the Society or as a Member of Council is invited to inform Professor Caroline Series, who is the current Chair of the Nominating Committee (c.m.series@warwick.ac.uk). Nominations should be received by Friday 25 May 2012 in order to be considered by the Nominating Committee. Direct nominations, together with standard biographies, should be sent to the Executive Secretary’s office (nominations@lms.ac.uk) to arrive before noon on 1 September 2012. Such nominations must bear the signatures of the nominator and three seconders and of the nominee. A letter with the relevant names and signatures is sufficient, alternatively a form on which to make such nominations is available from the office on request. Nominating Committee seeks to maintain a balance in gender, subject area and geographical location when drawing up its list of prospective nominees, and LMS members should bear in mind that it is to the benefit of Council if a wide spread of subject areas are represented. The slate proposed by Nominating Committee together with other direct nominations received up to that time will be posted on the LMS website in early August for members to see before deciding whether they wish to make any further direct nominations. Further nominations will be posted as they are received. LMS ANNUAL REVIEW 2010–2011 Published online 30 March 2012 The LMS Annual Review 2010–2011 is now available and contains highlights of LMS activities during 2010–2011, principally in Funding the Advancement of Mathematical Knowledge, Celebrating Mathematical Achievements, Publishing and Disseminating Mathematical Knowledge, and Advancing and Promoting Mathematics. The Society has continued to develop areas of strategic priority with the beginnings of a new membership drive, funding to encourage independent activities by young researchers, and a major investment to develop the Society’s new website, which provides an invaluable communication tool for LMS members and the wider mathematics community. Several major issues have affected both research and higher education in 2010–2011 including the International Review of the Mathematical Sciences 2010, Impact and the 2014 REF, cuts in science funding and changes to EPSRC policy. The Society has been prominent in engaging with the relevant organisations on these issues both in its own right and as part of the Council for the Mathematical Sciences (CMS). The Annual Review will also be available via the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk). LMS DURHAM RESEARCH SYMPOSIA 2012 Published online 30 March 2012 In 2012 there will be two LMS Durham Research Symposia, both supported by EPSRC:
LMS Durham Research Symposia have been held at the University of Durham each year in July and August since 1974. The Symposia cover a wide range of mathematical disciplines and recent symposia include: 2011
2010
The Durham website www.maths.dur.ac.uk/events/Meetings/LMS contains information on all previous and forthcoming symposia including, in many cases, a list of participants, abstracts of talks, a symposium photograph (the earliest surviving photograph is from 1976), lecture notes and, for more recent symposia, videos of the talks. Proposals for Future Durham Symposia – deadline 1 September 2012 The LMS Research Meetings Committee (RMC), which is responsible for planning the LMS Durham Symposia, welcomes ideas for symposia for 2013 and later, from potential organisers and others. (EPSRC support has yet to be secured for 2014 and later.) Outline proposals for 2013 should be submitted to John Parker, Principal Investigator (j.r.parker@durham.ac.uk) by 1 September 2012. For further information regarding preparing and submitting proposals for Durham Symposia, please visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/durham-symposia). LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 29 February 2012 27 January 2012 A personal view This was the first Council meeting of the year and the first with our new President, Dr Graeme Segal, in the chair. Graeme began by welcoming the new Council Officers and members-at-large: Robert Curtis (Treasurer), Tony Gardiner (Education Secretary), Elizabeth Mansfield and John Hunton; and thanking Robert Wilson for taking on the position of Programme Secretary. Then Graeme gave us the wonderful news that Council member Simon Donaldson had received a knighthood in the New Year Honours, and the Hardy Room rang out with enthusiastic applause as we all joined in with our congratulations to Simon. Under President’s business, Graeme provided Council with spirited descriptions of the functions he had attended while wearing his Presidential hat, including the presentation of the Légion d’honneur to Sir Michael Atiyah at the French Embassy. Graeme also set out his Presidential stall, saying that he hoped Council would be able to direct itself towards matters that it would wish to achieve rather than concentrating too much on process. The most substantial item for discussion concerned the activities of the Joint Mathematical Council (JMC). Former Council member and LMS representative on JMC, Elizabeth Winstanley, who is also member of the JMC Executive, gave us a clear presentation of the structure and remit of JMC. From Elizabeth we learnt that since JMC acts only when there is a feeling of consensus, responses to consultations happen very rarely and that, more generally, JMC collates responses from member organizations. Council voiced its concern about communication between JMC and the LMS and improvements will be sought in this respect. Don Collins reported on the work of the Scrutineers of the LMS elections in 2011. This was the first year in which ordered lists showing the ranking of all candidates had been presented at the AGM and published on the LMS website. Although this had been done with the best intentions and in the interest of openness, several Council members expressed unease and in particular felt that such a practice might deter younger members from standing for election. After a vigorous discussion, Council agreed that in future the published list would show only the successful candidates and in alphabetical order. Council also agreed that any candidate could, in confidence, ask for more detailed information about the election results but that any information released would have all names bar that of the candidate making the enquiry blanked out. Ken Brown, one of our two Vice-Presidents, reported on the EPSRC Pure Mathematics Workshop held in Bath from 19 to 20 January. It was clear that he and his fellow mathematicians had found it a profoundly depressing experience. Nothing of substance was discussed, with Shaping Capability and Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships not even appearing on the Agenda. All in all, the Workshop was judged to be a wasted opportunity by EPSRC to grapple with the real issues affecting pure mathematics. Ken told us that a joint letter from the mathematicians attending expressing their concerns was in the process of being written to the EPSRC. The MathsCareers website was discussed. The site was developed and is maintained by the IMA, with funding contributions from the DfE and HE-STEM, as well as from the IMA itself. The LMS supports the site by contributing annually towards the running costs. The site is a useful careers resource for those interested in pursuing mathematics. Having been informed by the IMA of an intent to increase the IMA branding on the site we agreed that it would be appropriate for the LMS to explore with the IMA the possibility of increased LMS involvement. Any members with ideas for content for the site should get in touch with Tony Gardiner, Education Secretary. Unfortunately we did not receive good news from the Website Working Group. Despite strenuous efforts, they have yet to find a developer to implement Phase 2 of the website but are searching hard. On a brighter note, Council agreed the Group’s recommendation that, in a return to previous practice, a printed Members’ Handbook should be prepared every two years, and it is expected that one will appear not long after the end-of-year membership renewal. Finally, Martin Hyland, the General Secretary, brought to our attention that nowhere among all our paperwork do we appear to have any statement on the quorum required for decisions taken at Council meetings or indeed for decisions taken at meetings of any of the Society’s Committees. Since it is important that we as Trustees act collectively and take decisions only when there is a healthy majority of Council members present, Martin recommended that we should set the quorum at two thirds and rounded down. After some discussion, Council agreed Martin’s recommendation, an alternative recommendation of one half and rounded up being rejected. June Barrow-Green THREE DECADES OF POPULAR LECTURES 1982–2012 Published online 29 February 2012 The annual LMS Popular Lectures, delivered in London and held in some other centre, are entering a fourth decade. The lecture series started almost by chance after a small piece of coverage in The Daily Telegraph of a lecture to be given by Professor Enrico Bombieri resulted in a significant number of people contacting the Society asking to attend the lecture, which was intended for a quite different audience. Given the interest, the LMS in 1982 decided to host genuinely popular lectures aimed at a lay audience. Thirty years on, the event is still as strong as ever. New Scientist (see http://tinyurl.com/7rtewsb) covered the first Popular Lectures in 1982, given by Professor Keith Devlin and Sir James Lighthill. Since then, a wide range of mathematical topics have been covered. The lectures now attract audiences of hundreds each year to venues in London and Birmingham. To mark the 2012 event, Roger Penrose and Tim Gowers have agreed to give this year’s Lectures. Advertising and details will follow in the next edition of the Newsletter, however members might like to note that the dates will be 26 June (London) and 26 September (Birmingham). We hope to welcome as many people as possible. Tony Gardiner LMS PUBLICATIONS CATALOGUE Published online 31 January 2012 Correction The Publications Catalogue for 2012, which was distributed to readers with the January Newsletter, contains an error: the year appears as ’2011’ on the front cover of the printed copies. We apologize for this mistake. The catalogue with the blue-grey cover is indeed the 2012 catalogue, and contains the latest information and prices. The corrected catalogue can be viewed online via www.lms.ac.uk/content/pubcat. RETIRING OFFICERS Published online 9 January 2012 PROFESSOR ANGUS MACINTYRE (President) After two years in office Professor Angus Macintyre handed over the LMS Presidency at the AGM in November 2011. Professor Macintyre has had a long and distinguished academic career and his broad vision of mathematics has been enormously valuable to the Society. During his tenure as LMS President he has been committed to increasing openness and greater involvement of the membership, and a number of new initiatives have resulted: the development of the Society’s new website providing invaluable means of communication for LMS members and the wider mathematics community; the funding of independent activities by young researchers in mathematics, and moves towards a new membership initiative to help ensure the Society’s future. The past two years have been a time of challenge for the mathematical sciences in the UK. Professor Macintyre has led the Society in dealing with a range of very important issues – including the International Review of the Mathematical Sciences to which the Society made significant submissions, the issue of impact and the 2014 REF, the consequences of cuts in science funding announced in the 2010 comprehensive spending review, the position of mathematics within the National Curriculum Review and the recent changes in EPSRC funding policy. He has had a busy Presidency. Professor Macintyre has represented the Society with enormous distinction not only in the UK and but also abroad. He led the LMS delegation to the 2010 International Congress and has been very active internationally. He has actively promoted all areas of interest to the Society and provided inspiring leadership to the Society in a difficult period. The LMS would like to thank him for his tireless service and wish him well in his future endeavours. PROFESSOR CHRIS BUDD (Education Secretary) Professor Chris Budd stood down as Education Secretary at the 2011 AGM. He served the LMS as Education Secretary since 2006 and during that time he has been instrumental in making education one of the most important activities within the LMS. Professor Budd personally has been a passionate and enthusiastic advocate for mathematics education, and also the popularisation of mathematics. At Professor Budd’s last Education Committee meeting, Professor Martin Hyland, the LMS General Secretary, placed on record the LMS’s gratitude to Professor Budd for his considerable efforts and enormous commitment, not only to the LMS but also to the mathematics community as a whole. In early 2012, Professor Budd will take up a new post as the Vice-President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications with responsibility for communications and outreach. He will also serve on the REF panel. DR STEPHEN HUGGETT (Programme Secretary) The LMS regulations mandate that no-one may serve more than ten consecutive years on Council, and for that reason Dr Huggett did not stand for re-election in the November elections. For almost twenty years Dr Huggett has served the LMS in an exceptionally broad range of positions. These include: 1992–2001 Member
of Education Committee In addition, Dr Huggett is very active in the European Mathematical Society, as Secretary and Member of the Executive Committee. At the October meeting of Programme Committee, the LMS President, Angus Macintyre, paid tribute to Dr Huggett’s work for the LMS and for the national and international communities of mathematicians. Dr Huggett has travelled more than anyone on behalf of the Society, to Regional Meetings, to BMCs and BAMCs and to ICMs and ECMs. Because of this and because of his meticulous work on the Society’s Research Grants Schemes (more and more important these days, and more and more appreciated) he has probably had more direct contact with the membership than any other Officer. He has been deeply involved with the Society’s solidarity efforts, in particular with African mathematicians. DR BRIAN STEWART (Treasurer) Dr Brian Stewart served as Education Secretary from 2002 to 2005. In the summer of 2009 he agreed to take on the position of Treasurer at a particularly difficult time. Over the last two years Dr Stewart has guided Council with a pragmatic and prudent approach. He exemplifies virtues of social responsibility, unsparing honesty, dry humour, hard work and commitment to the mathematical community, and has steered the finances of the Society in a sound and secure manner. Chair of Research Meetings Committee< Council would also like to recognise the work of Professor Nick Manton, FRS. Nick has been chair of the LMS Research Meetings Committee since 2008 and is now stepping down to due to other commitments. The Society would like to thank Nick for the time and effort he has committed to the Society and its charitable aims. Committee members In addition to the foregoing the Society thanks all those who have served as members of its various committees and who are now standing down. Without such dedicated volunteers the Society would be unable to support and represent mathematics and the mathematical community as it does. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PAPER ON GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNITS Published online 9 January 2012 The LMS–KTN Knowledge Transfer Reports are an initiative coordinated jointly by the IM–KTN and the Computer Science Committee of the LMS. The latest report The GPU Computing Revolution: From Multi-Core CPUs to Many-Core Graphics Processors was launched at the recent computer science colloquium hosted by the Computer Science Committee of the LMS. This report, written by Simon McIntosh-Smith, was distributed at the Innovate ’11 conference and has already attracted some interest from industry. The paper itself is available at www.lms.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/reports/GPU-KT-report-screen.pdf. The Computer Science Committee hopes that members with an interest in the interface of computer science and mathematics will look at the paper and pass it to others with an interest in the technology. The reports are produced as an occasional series, each one addressing an area where mathematics and computing have come together to provide high-impact significant new capability, ready for mainstream industrial uptake. They are written by senior researchers in each area, for a mixed audience in business and government. The Computer Science Committee looks forward to developing the series of KTPs, producing more papers for publication in the near future. Tom Melham LONG-STANDING MEMBERS Published online 9 January 2012 The following is a list of mathematicians who have completed fifty years or more of membership of the London Mathematical Society, with their date of election.
LMS INVITED LECTURES 2013 Published online 9 January 2012 Proposals for the 2013 lectures are sought from any member who, in addition to suggesting a topic and lecturer, would be prepared to organise the meeting at their own institution or a suitable conference centre. The annual Invited Lectures series consists of meetings at which a single speaker gives a course of about ten expository lectures, examining some subject in depth, over a five-day period (Monday to Friday) during a University vacation. The meetings are residential and open to all interested. It is intended that the texts of the lectures given in the series shall be published. In addition to full expenses, the lecturer is offered an honorarium for giving the course. A grant is also given to the host department to support attendance at the lectures. Enquiries about the Invited Lectures should be directed to the Programme Secretary at the Society (grants@lms.ac.uk). The deadline for the submission of proposals is 13 February 2012. Recent previous lecturers have been: 2008 A.
Okounkov (Princeton) * See poster under ’Meetings’. SPITALFIELDS DAYS Published online 9 January 2012 In 1987, the London Mathematical Society instituted a series of occasional meetings called ’Spitalfields Days’. The name honours our predecessor, the Spitalfields Mathematical Society, which flourished from 1717 to 1845. A Spitalfields Day is usually associated with a long-term symposium on some specialist topic at a UK university. One of the symposium organizers is asked to arrange a one-day meeting at which selected participants, often distinguished experts from overseas, will give survey lectures on topics in the field of the symposium or other types of lecture accessible to a general mathematical audience. These meetings are publicized in the Newsletter and all members are invited to attend. The standard grant towards the organization of a Spitalfields Day is £500, and is intended to meet actual supplementary costs associated with the event (for example, cost of a subsidy for a lunch for participants and administrative costs). We would also encourage grant holders to make some of it available in the form of small (£50) travel grants to enable LMS members and research students to attend the event. Anyone involved in running a symposium who would be interested in organizing a Spitalfields Day is invited to write to Dr R.A. Wilson, Programme Secretary at the Society (grants@lms.ac.uk). The format need not be precisely as described, but should be in a similar spirit. SIXTH EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF MATHEMATICS Published online 9 January 2012 The London Mathematical Society has set aside funds to be used for making grants to support the attendance of UK-based mathematicians at the Sixth European Congress of Mathematics, Kraków, 2–7 July 2012 (www.6ecm.pl). The Society would particularly like to support those mathematicians at an early stage in their career, including postdocs. You do not need to be an LMS member to apply. Please contact Elizabeth Fisher for an application form (lmsmeetings@lms.ac.uk, tel. 020 7291 9973) or download one from the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk). Applications should be submitted by 16 March 2012 and applicants will be informed of the outcome by early April. SOCIETY PRIZES DEADLINE Published online 9 January 2012 Readers are reminded that the deadline for receipt of nominations for the 2012 Society Prizes is Friday 13 January 2012. Prizes available in 2012 include the Pólya Prize, Fröhlich Prize, Senior Berwick Prize and up to four Whitehead Prizes. A nomination form can be downloaded from www.lms.ac.uk/content/nominations-lms-prizes. For full details of all these prizes please see this article published in the Society’s November Newsletter (No. 408) or email prizes@lms.ac.uk. 2011–12 COUNCIL Published online 9 January 2012 As a result of the annual election, membership of the Council is the following:
* Members continuing the second year of their two-year election in 2010 Nominating Committee Also at the AGM, Frances Kirwan, FRS (University of Oxford) and Michael Prest (University of Manchester) were elected to the Nominating Committee for three-year terms of office. Continuing members of the Nominating Committee are Alison M. Etheridge, Martin Liebeck, Caroline Series (Chair), Michael A. Singer and Andrew M. Stuart. Council will also appoint a representative. LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 9 January 2012 18 November 2011 A personal view The November Council meeting is a relatively short one, as it is immediately followed by the AGM. Once the routine but essential business is dealt with, there is not much time to devote to matters of serious debate or controversy. As usual, a fair proportion of the time available was devoted to policy matters, including a revised discussion document on Masters Degrees prepared by Marco Marletta for the Research Policy Committee. While the funding of Masters Degrees in mathematical sciences has been unsatisfactory for many years, our current focus cannot be on improving matters, but rather on trying to ensure that they do not get catastrophically worse. The LMS is also preparing a response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee inquiry on HE in STEM subjects, which we hope will be endorsed by the CMS (Council for Mathematical Sciences). The CMS will also respond to EPSRC’s ’Action Plan’ in response to the International Review of Mathematics. (An update on CMS activities can be found in the ’News’ section.) It remains to be seen whether this ’Action Plan’, or its implementation, will do anything to dispel the widespread perception that EPSRC is simply not listening to the mathematical community. There are three standing committees of Council which are chaired by people who are not currently members of Council (the Women in Mathematics Committee, the Computer Science Committee, and the Research Meetings Committee). This can lead to a certain feeling of disconnection, which we are seeking to reduce by re-introducing a system of annual reports from committees to Council. At this meeting, Gwyneth Stallard, Chair of WiMC, reported on the work of that committee. This led to a discussion of the future of the Good Practice Award/Scheme for mathematics departments in HE. Likely changes in the external environment suggest that it makes more sense for the LMS to encourage take-up of the Athena Swan Award (run under the auspices of the Royal Society), rather than implement our own award. Council agreed an increased budget for the WiMC for the current financial year, to enable them to prepare background materials for the scheme. There was also a written report from the Computer Science Committee, which had been asked to review its role and activities. Changes recommended were some widening of the remit of the committee, and small changes to its constitution. The outgoing President, Angus Macintyre, thanked the outgoing Officers, Brian Stewart (Treasurer), Stephen Huggett (Programme Secretary) and Chris Budd (Education Secretary) for their enormous contributions to the Society over many years, and wrapped up the meeting in good time to prepare for the AGM. Robert Wilson LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 30 November 2011 7 October 2011 A personal view In these turbulent times there is always plenty to discuss in Council meetings. It will not be news to LMS members that the EPSRC Shaping Capability agenda is one matter which worries us greatly. While individual reactions probably range from outrage to despair, and individual comments from condemnatory to unprintable, the LMS Council is keenly aware of the need, through CMS, to keep open lines of communication with EPSRC, even if our representations appear to be achieving little at present. Our hopes rest mainly with The Royal Society, which is the only body with the breadth and the clout to be able to stand up to EPSRC. Another recurring problem is the frequent refusal of visas for short-term visitors on some of our grant schemes. While on the one hand we are making high-level representations to the UK Border Agency, at a practical level Marco Marletta explained to us some of the words that need to be used, or avoided, in visa applications and letters of invitation. For example, the applicant must be an ’academic visitor’ (not a ’visiting researcher’, which requires a work permit), and must not be giving a ’lecture’ (which is interpreted as teaching students, and therefore ’working’), but a ’scientific presentation’ (which is not). We approved the Annual Accounts, and the draft Trustees’ Report (subject to a few minor amendments), for presentation to the AGM in November. The Society is in a strong financial position, mainly due to a significant increase in publishing income. We considered a draft Strategic Plan prepared by the Executive Secretary, Fiona Nixon, but recognised that this requires more thought outside the meeting, before bringing a revised version to the new Council in January. We considered briefly how to respond to the Education Select Committee inquiry on ’How should examinations for 15–19 year olds in England be run?’. The Education Committee will prepare a draft response and circulate it to Council in the near future. So far our main recommendation is the obvious one of separating the running of examinations from the writing and publishing of textbooks. If this is implemented, of course, there will suddenly be a big hole in the textbook market, and we discussed ways in which we might help to ensure that such a hole would be filled with good quality teaching materials. Members of the Education Committee will be developing ideas in this direction. Another issue being actively considered by Education Committee is that of training of lecturers. With the likely demise of the MSOR network of the Higher Education Academy, the suggestion was made for the LMS to take over the running of the induction day for new lecturers. This will be investigated. An outline bid for a two-year extension to the LMS–EPSRC short courses was successful, and work is going on to finalise details of the contract. We agreed in principle to support the annual Prospects in Mathematics meeting for final-year undergraduates thinking of doing a PhD. Details of the scheme are still to be worked out, and it would of course be subject to review after a few years. Another possible new venture is in Undergraduate Research Bursaries, currently funded by the Nuffield Foundation, who are withdrawing from the scheme in order to concentrate their funding at school level. We made no decision on this, as it would cost a significant amount of money, and we need time to weigh this up against other ways this money could be used. There was bad news from the Website Working Group, who unanimously recommended parting company with the developers we had been using until now. This was agreed, but we now need to come up with a Plan B. Robert Wilson LMS SUBSCRIPTION Published online 30 November 2011 Reminder Members are reminded that their annual subscription, including payment for publications, for the period November 2011 – October 2012 was due on 1 November 2011, and should be paid by 31 December 2011 at the latest. In the case of members who already have a direct debit set up, no action need be taken. All members should now have received a reminder via email or letter, detailing how to pay their subscription. If you have not received a reminder please contact the Membership Department (email: membership@lms.ac.uk; tel. 020 7291 9973 or 020 7927 0808). To view the subscription rates, follow this link. Subscription forms, direct debit mandate forms and further information can be downloaded from the LMS website at www.lms.ac.uk/content/paying-your-subscription. FIRST AITKEN LECTURER VISITS THE UK Published online 30 November 2011 In 2009, the London Mathematical Society and the New Zealand Mathematical Society agreed to set up a new lectureship named after Professor A. Aitken, one of New Zealand’s great mathematicians. The Aitken Lectureship takes place every two years (in odd-numbered years) when a mathematician from New Zealand is invited by both Societies to give lectures at different universities around the UK. Professor Geoff Whittle is the first holder of the Aitken Lectureship and he visited the UK in October to give a series of talks at the universities of St Andrews, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford and QMUL. Whittle is professor in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Operations Research at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. After graduating, Whittle began his career teaching in high school but soon returned to the University of Tasmania to study for his PhD and he has now been an academic mathematician for over 20 years. During his career Whittle has developed an interest in matroids. As he says, "during the late 1980s and early 1990s matroid theory was stagnating to some extent but during the 1990s I started to make significant progress on some long-standing problems. This led to a collaboration with Jim Geelan and Bert Gerards, with the recent work on the so-called Matroid Minors project being the most significant achievement". Whittle is no stranger to the UK, having visited on many occasions and frequently worked with ’the inspirational’ Dominic Welsh at Oxford. During his visit as Aitken Lecturer, Whittle gave two presentations entitled Well-quasi-ordering binary matroids and Matroid representation over infinite fields. The lectures were well attended, with a significant number of graduate students. Whittle was very enthusiastic about his visit to the UK. "The lectureship is a good arrangement and provides a fantastic opportunity for mathematicians to interact and learn from each other. I hadn’t ventured north of Cambridge on my previous visits to the UK and the opportunity afforded me by the Aitken Lectureship has certainly been an enriching experience." John Johnston |
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LMS GRANTS AWARDED 2010–11 Published online 1 December 2011 The Society is pleased to report that in 2010–11 the Programme Committee awarded a total of £59,021 for the following research visits: Visitors to the UK
Research in Pairs
International Short Visits
LMS POPULAR LECTURES DVDs Published online 1 December 2011 The LMS Popular Lectures present stimulating topics in mathematics and its applications to a broad audience. They are designed to be intelligible to a non-specialist audience, although A-levels are useful. The lecturers are always chosen for their mathematical distinction and their ability to communicate. There are two lectures and the event is held annually, given at two venues in the UK. The Popular Lectures are recorded each year for release on DVD. The DVDs contain extra material which includes, for example, copies of the graphics and suggestions for further reading. For further details and prices, click on the image below.
THE BOOK OF PRESIDENTS, 1865–1965 Published online 1 December 2011 The London Mathematical Society was established during the energetic and confident heyday of Victorian Britain. With over eighty photographs of previous presidents and De Morgan Medal winners, The Book of Presidents 1865–1965 looks at the first 100 years of the Society’s existence. As the book traces the Society’s evolution through its Presidents and De Morgan Medallists, we learn which branches of mathematics were in vogue at any particular time, and come to appreciate the Society’s rich history. "This lovely little book is one of the best the London Mathematical Society has published… This is a book that can – and should – both be read from cover to cover and dipped into… Dipping into it randomly one sees some of the quirks and oddities that make an important institution human." Peter M. Neumann, Queen’s College, Oxford. The Book of Presidents is available from the London Mathematical Society.
Christmas Offer: Free P&P (Normally Europe £3, rest of the world £5) Quote: "Christmas Offer". Valid for orders received by 31 December 2011. Order by 14 December in time for Christmas. Please note any orders received after 14 December will be dispatched by 15 January due to the holiday season. To order a copy, please email membership@lms.ac.uk, or download an order form from the LMS website: http://www.lms.ac.uk/content/history. LMS PRIZES 2012 Published online 2 November 2011 Call for Nominations The London Mathematical Society welcomes nominations for the 2012 prizes to recognise and celebrate the achievements in and contributions to all aspects of mathematics, including applied mathematics, mathematical physics and mathematical aspects of computer science. In 2012 the LMS Council expects to award: The Pólya Prize in recognition of outstanding creativity in, imaginative exposition of, or distinguished contribution to, mathematics within the United Kingdom The Senior Berwick Prize in recognition of a piece of mathematical research of the highest quality actually published by the Society during the last eight years (i.e. between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2011 for the 2012 award) The Fröhlich Prize for original and extremely innovative work in any branch of mathematics The Whitehead Prizes for work in and influence on mathematics The Prizes Committee is keen to increase the number of nominations it receives and, in particular, the number of nominations for women, which are disproportionately low each year. The prize regulations refer to the concept of ’academic age’ – rather than date of birth – in order to take account more fully of broken career patterns. For further information and nomination forms, please visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/nominations-lms-prizes) or contact Elizabeth Fisher, Secretary to the Prizes Committee at the Society (tel: 020 7291 9973, email: prizes@lms.ac.uk). The closing date for nominations is Friday 13 January 2012. LMS BERWICK PRIZE AND SENIOR BERWICK PRIZES Published online 2 November 2011 Changes to Regulations Since the 1940s, the Society has offered Berwick Prizes in recognition of a piece of research actually published by the LMS. The prize itself was named after Professor W.E.H. Berwick, who donated money to the LMS for the purpose. The Berwick Prize is specifically for younger mathematician(s), whilst the Senior Berwick Prize has no restrictions on age and is intended for established mathematicians. Following the terms of the bequest, the prize has previously been open only to members of the Society and has usually been interpreted as being open only to a single mathematician. Whilst the terms of the prize were not unusual many years ago, Prizes Committee has found that changes in publishing have had the effect of substantially reducing the field of eligible nominees, particularly for the prize aimed at younger researchers. In 2011, the pool was so narrow that Prizes Committee was not able to make any award. Council has been concerned to ensure that the LMS prizes are open to a strong field and, having taken advice from the Charity Commission, has agreed to new regulations for the Berwick Prizes, effective from 2012. These seek to retain the spirit of the original Berwick bequest, whilst recognising changing conditions. The most significant changes are:
Council understands the need for its prizes to be open to wide pools in order to recognise research of the highest standard, and hopes that members will use these changes to the fullest and nominate author(s) who have produced articles in LMS publications. The first prize to be awarded under the new regulations will be the 2012 Senior Berwick Prize. Full regulations and nomination forms are on the Society website, www.lms.ac.uk/content/lms-prizes. OPEN HOUSE SUCCESS FOR LMS Published online 2 November 2011 The LMS opened its doors to the public on Saturday 17 September 2011 as part of the London Open House weekend. It is the first time the LMS has participated and the event was a huge success, with over 300 people visiting De Morgan House. The visitors enjoyed a tour of the building and a presentation on mathematics through the years. The first surprise of the day was arriving at De Morgan House to find that a number of Open House visitors had arrived an hour in advance of the doors opening and that the queue was growing fast. As an Open House volunteer I had offered to help at the LMS as a guide, and ten days earlier had had a very friendly welcome, a tour of the building and a clear briefing on the plans for the day. So with this background and with notes in hand, I set off with the first group of visitors at 11.00 am and with a constant flow of new arrivals didn’t stop until the doors shut at 4.00 pm. Open House visitors are enthusiastic and curious to learn about both the buildings and the Society. They enjoyed moving through the two houses to appreciate the scale and layout of the rooms and welcomed the information about the LMS particularly that on display in the Verblunsky Room and, of course, the superb collection of photographs of the past Presidents. But they are also a very knowledgeable group and a further pleasure was to learn from them on a surprisingly wide range of topics pertinent to the tour. The age range of visitors encompassed students and pensioners; there were Londoners and out-of-towners and quite a number of foreign tourists and the feedback we got from them was overwhelmingly positive. It was an extremely enjoyable day for me and it seems for your visitors too. Annie Edge |
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SOCIETY CONFERENCE GRANTS Published online 3 November 2011 The Society is pleased to report that in 2010–11 awards totalling £134,948 were made in the support of mathematics conferences. Funds are granted to the organisers of conferences to be held in the United Kingdom, and may be used to cover the expenses of principal speakers, and to provide support for research students and for participants from Scheme 5 or former Soviet Union countries. For Postgraduate Research Conferences funds are granted to support participants. Applicants wishing to apply for funding for a conference will find further details on the Society’s website at www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants. Conference grants awarded during 2010–11
Postgraduate Research Conference grants awarded during 2010–11
EDITORIAL ADVISERS’ MEETING Published online 3 November 2011 A biennial meeting of the Editorial Advisory Board for the LMS Bulletin, Journal and Proceedings took place at De Morgan House on Friday 9 September 2011. The meeting was well attended and some participants had travelled a great distance. A large part of the meeting was spent discussing the new online submission and paper management system, EditFlow, which is in use for all LMS journals. The system is still undergoing fine-tuning, but there are early signs that the new system will speed up the editorial process, as it allows everyone involved to see at any time what is happening to papers. Ola Törnkvist |
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2011 ELECTIONS TO COUNCIL AND NOMINATING COMMITTEE Published online 30 September 2011, revised 19 October 2011 The ballot papers for the November elections to Council and Nominating Committee were circulated with the October Newsletter. Nominating Committee put forward names for each Officer post; in addition members proposed a further candidate for the Education Secretary post. There are six vacancies for Members-at-Large of Council, for which a total of ten candidates have been proposed (nine by Nominating Committee, one by members). Four names have been proposed (all by Nominating Committee) for two vacancies in the membership of the Nominating Committee. Please note that completed ballot papers must be returned by Thursday 10 November 2011. Members should have received the following:
If you are missing any of these items please contact Duncan Turton at DMH (nominations@lms.ac.uk). A separate form for suggesting names to the Nominating Committee for potential candidates for the 2012 elections was also included with the October Newsletter. Members will still be able to make direct nominations for which details will be given in the April and May Newsletters next year. ANNUAL DINNER Published online 30 September 2011 The 2011 Annual Dinner will be held after the Annual General Meeting at 7.30 pm on Friday 18 November 2011 at The Russell Hotel, London WC1. The cost for members and their guests is £45 per person, which is for a three-course meal and wine. Members wishing to attend should make cheques payable to ’London Mathematical Society’ and also indicate if they have any dietary requirements and send to: Leanne Marshall, London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HS. Payment should arrive by Monday 7 November. Any queries should be sent to leanne.marshall@lms.ac.uk. LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 2 September 2011 1 July 2011 A personal view The Council Meeting on 1 July preceded the Society Meeting at which Robert McCann and Cédric Villani spoke, and thus we were under even more time pressure than usual. Nevertheless, by imposing a tight discipline on discussion, and on the length of our lunch-break, the President, Angus Macintyre, steered us through the full agenda. The first substantial item was setting the budget for 2011–12, and planning figures for 2012–14. This is too important to be rushed, so the Treasurer, Brian Stewart, took us through the figures in some detail to enable us to approve the budget with full knowledge of what we were doing. The point was well made that if we approve a certain item of expenditure then ipso facto we approve the activity which this pays for, and therefore careful scrutiny is essential. As far as this year’s income and expenditure is concerned, there is likely to be a significant underspend on grants, not because the Programme Committee is being mean, but because the number of grant applications has been lower than usual. Also, the budget for publications is conservative, and the actual figures are likely to be better than the estimates. However, later in the meeting, Susan Hezlet, the LMS Publisher, warned us of the serious risk of complete collapse of publications income in the next few years if Government-mandated open access policies have the impact that many in publishing fear they will. Of course, LMS Trustees feel only too keenly the conflict of interest between the LMS making money from publications to plough back into mathematics, and our own institutions wanting to reduce library budgets. As usual, we spent a lot of time discussing external relations, beginning with an update on the National Curriculum Review. John Greenlees (Vice-President) had attended the speech by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, at The Royal Society on 29 June, and reported back some of the relevant headlines, such as ’mathematics to 18’ and ’calculus for everyone’. He also reported on preparations by the mathematics subpanel for the REF, including input from the LMS blog. Guidance on submissions will have been published by the time this Newsletter appears, as will a consultation on subpanel working methods. Next came a report from a meeting of the Council for Mathematical Sciences (CMS) with the EPSRC Mathematical Sciences Strategic Advisory Team (SAT). There was a view, strongly expressed in the International Review of Mathematics, that our attempts to get the opinions of mathematicians across to EPSRC have not been very successful in recent years. The report of this meeting did not encourage the view that this situation has significantly changed. Some more positive news came in the form of the first-time involvement of mathematics (through the CMS) in a Parliamentary Links Day held on 28 June, and in next year’s National Science and Engineering Week Seminar for the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. In the last few minutes of the meeting, Council must have decided that writing the Council Diary is too small a job for one person, and added the newly invented job of Council Webmaster to my responsibilities. We also approved the Website Control Policy which had been drawn up by the Website Working Group over three meetings and a great deal of homework, and noted that security of the website was likely to be a growing issue. This was therefore added to the official Risk Register, along with the increased risk to publications income from open access policies. Robert Wilson |
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ANNUAL
LMS SUBSCRIPTION 2011–12 Published online 2 September 2011 Members are reminded that their annual subscription, including payment for publications, for the period November 2011 – October 2012 is due on 1 November 2011. By the second week of October Members will be sent reminders via email or letter, detailing how to pay their subscription. In the case of Members who already have a Direct Debit set up and do not wish to alter their subscription, no action need be taken. Rates The annual subscription to the London Mathematical Society for 2011–12 is:
Members also have the option to pay their European Mathematical Society subscription via the LMS (£23) and subscribe to the Journal of the EMS (£94). ERROR CORRECTED The member prices of the Society’s journals for 2012 are:
(*inclusive of VAT) Please note that for online subscriptions it is essential that we have an up-to-date email address. Elizabeth Fisher LMS GRANT SCHEMES Published online 2 September 2011 Next Closing Date for Applications: 15 September 2011 Applications are invited for the following grants:
For full details of these grant schemes, and to download application forms, visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants).
Queries regarding applications can be addressed to the Grants Administrators or the Programme Secretary (see below) who will be pleased to discuss proposals informally with potential applicants and give advice on the submission of an application.
Computer Science Small Grants (Scheme 7) Funding for grants up to £500 is available to support a visit for collaborative research at the interface of Mathematics and Computer Science either by the grant holder to another institution within the UK or abroad, or by a named mathematician from within the UK or abroad to the home base of the grant holder. The next deadline for applications is 15 September 2011 – please see the website for further details: www.lms.ac.uk/content/computer-science-small-grants-scheme-7. Grants News We would like to draw your attention to the following: Joint Research Groups – Renewal grants (Scheme 3) ALL renewal applications MUST be accompanied by a financial and academic report for the previous year’s activities. Please note that full reports should always be submitted (’light touch’ refers to the application procedure only). Grant holders wishing to renew their application may use the Light Touch Application Form if the original or last full renewal application was made in the last TWO years, and NONE of the following have changed:
Grant holders MUST use the Full Renewal Application Form if the original or last full renewal application was made THREE years ago, and/or ANY of the following have changed:
If a renewal application is unsuccessful, normally the grant will be terminated at the end of the calendar year. A supplementary grant will be available to cover actual expenditure for a meeting held during the autumn term. This will normally be the equivalent of the grant awarded for one meeting, e.g. £350, and will not usually exceed one third of the previous year’s grant. Childcare Grants The Society believes that all parents working in mathematics should be able to attend conferences and research meetings without being hindered by childcare costs. Institutions are expected to make provision for childcare costs and parents are encouraged to make enquiries. However, where this is not available, the Society administers a Childcare Supplementary Grants Scheme. Further details can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/childcare-supplementary-grants. Young British and Russian Mathematicians Scheme Visits to Russia Applications are invited from young British postdoctoral mathematicians who wish to spend a few weeks in Russia giving a series of survey lectures on the work of their school. The LMS is offering grants of up to £500 to meet the travel costs, while the host should apply to the Russian Academy of Sciences for funding towards local expenses for accommodation and subsistence. Applications to the LMS should include the following:
You will be required to provide financial and academic reports after the visit. In exceptional circumstances, applications may be considered from strong research students who are close to finishing their doctorates. Applications should include a strong case and a recommendation from your supervisor. Visits to Britain Under this Scheme, applications may also be made by any mathematician in Britain wishing to host a visit by a young Russian postdoctoral mathematician who wishes to spend a few weeks in Britain giving a series of survey lectures on the work of their Russian seminar. The LMS is offering grants to the host institution to meet the visitor’s actual travel and accommodation costs of up to £1500. Applications should include the following:
Financial and academic reports will be required after the visit. Further details of the Scheme can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/international-grants#YBR. Enquiries should be made to the Grants Administrators: Sylvia Daly and Elizabeth Fisher (tel: 020 7291 9971/3, email: grants@lms.ac.uk) who both work Wednesday–Friday. SAMS–AMS CONGRESS 2011 Published online 2 September 2011 Travel Bursaries The London Mathematical Society has donated funds to support research students in mathematics from Africa (excluding South Africa) to enable them to attend the Joint International Congress of the South African and American Mathematical Societies, which is taking place from 29 November to 3 December 2011 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. For more information on the Congress see www.nmmu.ac.za/sams-ams2011 or contact Margot Collett (margot.collett@nmmu.ac.za). LMS PRIZES 2011 Published online 1 July 2011 The winners of the LMS prizes for 2011 were announced at the Society Meeting on 1 July. The Society extends its congratulations to these winners, and its thanks to all nominators, referees and members of the Prizes Committee for their contributions to the Committee’s work this year. PROFESSOR E. BRIAN DAVIES, FRS, of King’s College London, is awarded the Pólya Prize for his remarkable work in spectral theory, including the powerful heat kernel methods that he developed and his work on non-self-adjoint operators. Dr JONATHAN PILA, of the University of Oxford, is awarded the Senior Whitehead Prize in recognition of his startling recent work on the André–Oort and Manin–Mumford conjectures. The approach he has developed, which combines analytic ideas with model theory, is entirely new and shows great promise for further applications. PROFESSOR J. BRYCE McLEOD, FRS, of the University of Oxford, is awarded the Naylor Prize and Lectureship in Applied Mathematics in recognition of his important and versatile achievements in analysis of nonlinear differential equations arising in applications to mechanics, physics and biology. DR JONATHAN BENNETT, of the University of Birmingham, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for his foundational work on multilinear inequalities in harmonic and geometric analysis, and for a number of major results in the theory of oscillatory integrals. DR ALEXANDER GORODNIK, of the University of Bristol, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for his work on homogeneous dynamics, with particular emphasis on his deep applications to diophantine problems. PROFESSOR BARBARA NIETHAMMER, of the University of Oxford, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for her deep and rigorous contributions to material science, especially on the Lifshitz–Sylov–Wagner and Becker–Döring equations. DR ALEXANDER PUSHNITSKI, of King’s College London, is awarded a Whitehead Prize for his contributions to Spectral Theory of Partial Differential Operators and, in particular, to the study of the properties of the discrete and continuous spectrum of Schrödinger operators. LMS GRANT SCHEMES Published online 16 March 2011, revised 30 June 2011 Next Closing Dates for Applications 31 August 2011: Small Grants for Education Funding for grants up to £600 is available to stimulate interest and enable involvement in mathematics from Key Stage 1 (age 5+) to Postgraduate level and beyond. Anyone working in or based in the UK is eligible to apply for a grant. If the applicant is not a member then the application must be countersigned by an LMS member or another suitable person such as a Head Teacher or senior colleague. The next deadline for applications is 31 August 2011. Please see the website for further details: www.lms.ac.uk/content/small-grants-education. 15 September 2011: Applications are invited for the following grants:
For full details of these grant schemes, and to download application forms, visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants).
Queries regarding applications can be addressed to the Grants Administrators or the Programme Secretary (see below) who will be pleased to discuss proposals informally with potential applicants and give advice on the submission of an application.
Computer Science Small Grants (Scheme 7) Funding for grants up to £500 is available to support a visit for collaborative research at the interface of Mathematics and Computer Science either by the grant holder to another institution within the UK or abroad, or by a named mathematician from within the UK or abroad to the home base of the grant holder. The next deadline for applications is 15 September 2011 – please see the website for further details: www.lms.ac.uk/content/computer-science-small-grants-scheme-7. Grants News We would like to draw your attention to the following: Joint Research Groups – Renewal grants (Scheme 3) ALL renewal applications MUST be accompanied by a Financial and Academic Report for the previous year’s activities. Please note that full reports should always be submitted (’light touch’ refers to the application procedure only). Grant holders wishing to renew their application may use the Light Touch Application Form if:
Grant holders MUST use the Full Renewal Application Form if:
If a renewal application is unsuccessful, normally the grant will be terminated at the end of the calendar year. A supplementary grant will be available to cover actual expenditure for a meeting held during the autumn term. This will normally be the equivalent of the grant awarded for one meeting, e.g. £350, and will not usually exceed one third of the previous year’s grant. Childcare Grants The Society believes that all parents working in mathematics should be able to attend conferences and research meetings without being hindered by childcare costs. Institutions are expected to make provision for childcare costs and parents are encouraged to make enquiries. However, where this is not available, the Society administers a Childcare Supplementary Grants Scheme. Further details can be found on the LMS website: www.lms.ac.uk/content/childcare-supplementary-grants. OPEN HOUSE LONDON WEEKEND Published online 30 June 2011 Saturday 17 September 2011, De Morgan House, London Click on the image below to view the poster.  (Opens as a PDF file.)
LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 30 June 2011 20 May 2011 A personal view In an ideal world, the Council of the LMS would have very little to do except formally approve recommendations from its various Officers and Committees. Some of the business at the meeting on 20 May was of this nature. We approved recommendations (a) from Publications Committee via the Finance and General Purposes Committee to commission an external consultant to conduct a long-term review of publishing, (b) from the Prizes Committee for this year’s prizewinners, (c) from F&GPC for putting an option on the membership subscription form to make a donation to MARM (Mentoring African Research in Mathematics), (d) to set up a 2015 Celebration Committee, (e) to participate in the Open House London Weekend by opening up De Morgan House on 17 September to guided tours, and assorted other bits of housekeeping. Another useful ploy is to delegate tricky discussions to subcommittees or working groups. Thus, for example, consideration of the review of (administrative) activities has been delegated to the Personnel Committee. Similarly, matters requiring delicate negotiation are routinely delegated to the General Secretary, Martin Hyland, whose remarkable ability to pour oil on troubled waters is a very valuable asset to the LMS. Of the more substantial items, discussion of impact continues to generate a great deal of heat. While it is undoubtedly clear to most mathematicians that the HEFCE definition of impact for the REF is completely at odds with the way that mathematics achieves its real impact, nevertheless we are forced to work within it. A discussion document was prepared by the Research Policy Committee and put on the website to solicit comments from the mathematical community on ways we might collectively try to mitigate any negative effects of this policy on mathematics. At the same time, there was strong feeling on Council that we should not give up arguing that the whole impact agenda is fundamentally misguided and will cause huge damage right across academia. (Ironically, it seems that Medicine is in the same boat as we, in that a lot of medical research shows that some treatment or other does not work, and therefore it does not satisfy HEFCE requirements for impact!) A particular danger we must guard against is the potential for it to drive a wedge between pure and applied mathematics: the clear message from Council is that we must stick together to defend our subject. A bit of light relief came when Don Collins as Scrutineer presented his suggestions for how we could implement our decision to provide more information on the outcome of Council Elections. While only one member of Council claimed to understand the system for counting votes, nevertheless we were able to agree to report the ranked list of candidates for each election, and to offer each candidate a full breakdown of their own votes at each stage of the counting process (since in any case they are entitled to this information under the Data Protection Act). At lunch, we were treated to a glass of champagne to toast Ken Brown’s 60th birthday, and the President spoke warmly of Ken’s huge contributions to the work of the LMS. After lunch, we discussed the next policy document to come out of the Research Policy Committee, namely on Master’s degrees. Currently this is at an early draft stage, and comments will be sought in due course. The perennial problem of lack of a coherent funding regime is one issue, as is the impossibility of complying with the Bologna agreement until this issue is addressed by the Government. There was some discussion of the relationship between Council and committees. It was emphasised that Nominating Committee is not a committee of Council, as it was set up by a General Meeting, and its business is governed directly by the Bylaws, and not by terms of reference given by Council. It was decided that as a matter of urgency normal communication should be re-established between Council and the Women in Mathematics Committee, which through some oversight appeared not to have reported formally to Council for three years. Finally, Stephen Huggett reported from the website working group that a contract had been signed for the initial scoping for phase 2 of the new website, and that work should start on this soon. Robert Wilson GENERAL MEETING Published online 5 June 2011 There will be a General Meeting of the Society on Friday 1 July 2011, to be held at 3.30 pm at Goodenough College, Large Common Room, London House, Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1N 2AB. The business shall be: 1) the appointment of scrutineers 2) announcement of Council’s recommendation for Election to Honorary Membership 3) announcement of Prize winners for 2011 The General Meeting will be followed by a Society Meeting. I hope that as many members as possible will be able to attend. Fiona Nixon LMS GRANT SCHEMES Published online 16 March 2011, revised 5 May 2011 Next Closing Date for Applications: 15 May 2011 Applications are invited for the following grants:
For full details of these grant schemes, and to download application forms, visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants).
Queries regarding applications can be addressed to the Grants Administrators or the Programme Secretary (see below) who will be pleased to discuss proposals informally with potential applicants and give advice on the submission of an application.
Other Grants News We would like to draw your attention to the following: Conference Grants to Celebrate New Appointments Joint Research Groups Supported by the LMS Scheme 7 – Computer Science Small
Grants Small Grants for Education Childcare Grants LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 5 May 2011 25 March 2011 Despite the relatively short lapse of time since the last meeting, when Council met on 25 March we had a substantial agenda, not all of which I will be able to report on here. After the usual introductory items, most of the morning was spent (no pun intended) on financial matters. We considered the half-year financial review, and noted a large number of small changes to the original budget, but nothing of any great significance. We received a detailed report on investments, and re-affirmed an earlier decision to investigate possibilities for new investment managers. We were presented with a list of the various activities of the Society, together with suggested changes, to inform the budgeting process for next year. But there was no suggestion for any major new expenditure, so we were happy to let the procedures continue without hindrance. Finally we acknowledged an Activities Review document, designed to inform us about what actually goes on in De Morgan House. Some Trustees are concerned that there is a tendency for spending on bureaucracy to increase without limit, while some staff in De Morgan House are concerned that they do not always have the time to do what is asked of them within their contracted hours of work. If we can identify areas where work can be streamlined, then perhaps we can even square this circle. However, it needs detailed consideration off-line. After lunch we agreed to recommendations from the Publications Committee to changes in the wording of the publications pricing policy, to allow more flexibility while continuing to ensure fair prices. We also agreed to the proposal to dissolve the dormant company LMS Publications Ltd, as it costs more to keep it going than it would to start up a new company should we ever need it. We turned next to the work of the Education Committee. First, Chris Budd, the Education Secretary, informed us that he would be standing down at the end of his current term, in order to take up a position as Vice-President, Communications and Outreach, at the IMA. The President spoke warmly of Chris’s contributions to the LMS, and to the Education Committee in particular, over many years. We agreed to the suggestions from the Education Committee for three topics for developing new policy statements. These were ’The value of a mathematics education’, ’HE involvement in A-level mathematics issues’, and ’Lecturer training’. We formally approved the final version of the LMS response to the White Paper The importance of teaching. We considered a draft statement on the use (and mis-use) of Information Communications Technology (ICT) in the teaching of mathematics in HE institutions, and were invited to send comments to Sasha Borovik. However, when it came to the statement on grammar drafted by the British Logic Colloquium, we agreed to disagree. While some Council members supported the statement, others felt we would be going outside our legitimate sphere of interest. In view of the contention, Martin Hyland, who had already declared a conflict of loyalty as President of the BLC, urged us not to consider the matter further. While some more routine matters were summarily despatched, others were postponed to future meetings where we hope they can be given a little more time. These included a proposal to set up a Committee to make plans for our 150th birthday in 2015. Robert Wilson LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 16 March 2011 11 February 2011 The President began the meeting by welcoming the new members of Council, Wilfrid Kendall, Marco Marletta and Colva Roney-Dougal. After the usual review of minutes and matters arising, including a review of the minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 4 February, there were a few financial matters to discuss. One of these was the important matter of applying for new grants to support MARM (Mentoring African Research in Mathematics), which has been supported for the past five years by grants from the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. The LMS and the IMU Commission on Developing Countries have each agreed to provide a small sum to pay a suitable person to prepare bids to various bodies for substantial grants to enable the scheme to continue, and preferably grow substantially. The next item on the agenda was supposedly to make formal decisions on some ’clear outcomes’ from the Retreat which took place the previous week. However, it emerged that the outcomes were not all that clear, and much of the discussion took place again. After a quick lunch, Susan Hezlet, the LMS Publisher, gave us a complete rundown of the Society's publishing activities, partly as induction for new members of Council, but also as a useful reminder for the rest of us. The most substantial item on the Council agenda was on external relations and policy. I think it is fair to say that this covers a number of areas of great current concern to LMS members. First, we discussed the report of the EPSRC International Review of Mathematics. While there was general support for the overall tone and recommendations of the report, it was felt that EPSRC was likely to ignore most of the really important recommendations, as they fly in the face of current EPSRC policy. The Research Policy Committee will doubtless keep the situation under review, and draft appropriate responses when necessary. Next we discussed the draft LMS response to the Government's White Paper The Importance of Teaching. We were all urged to think about this and feed in suggestions. Then there were reports from the CMS (Council for the Mathematical Sciences), in particular its meeting with HEFCE on ’impact’. While the impact of ’impact’ in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) has been reduced from 25% to 20%, we regarded the situation as still ’depressing’. How can a system designed to reward a department for work done perhaps 25 years earlier by people long since retired be regarded as progressive? And how can anyone believe that it is sensible to change current behaviour based on such a system? Finally, after some internal matters were rapidly disposed of, under any other business Ari Laptev brought up the possibility of the 2016 European Congress of Mathematics being held in the UK. It was agreed, however, that the first requirement was to find someone who wanted to organise it, who could then approach the LMS for appropriate support. Anyone interested? Robert Wilson LMS COUNCIL AWAYDAY Published online 16 March 4–5 February 2011 On 4–5 February, Council met informally in London to discuss such matters of policy and strategy as cannot be adequately explored in the regular formal meetings. Although we could not legally take any decisions, on most matters we came to a consensus as to the best way forward. We began on Friday afternoon with a session on policy and consultation. With the model of the three research policy documents recently produced for the EPSRC International Review of Mathematics very much in mind, we agreed that we should over time produce similar policy documents covering other areas of concern to us, especially, of course, higher education. These documents would be produced in consultation with members, regularly reviewed, and used as appropriate in response to consultations and enquiries from Government and other bodies. This led on to a wide-ranging discussion of the role of the LMS, its relationships to other organisations, and what we can do to help the mathematical sciences community rise to the undoubted challenges we currently face. We re-affirmed the role of the CMS in facilitating the LMS making common cause with the IMA and the RSS where this is possible, while firmly asserting our right to make independent statements whenever we want. While relations with EPSRC continue to deteriorate, we were heartened by news of developing high-level contacts with Government. The simplistic view of some in Government that mathematics and English are all that matter in schools may yet be turned to our advantage. The next topic to be discussed was membership, firstly the question of how to make membership of the LMS more attractive. The membership survey produced a number of interesting suggestions which will be followed up. However, we are severely constrained by charity law, which means that (broadly speaking) tangible benefits must be paid for from subscriptions. Thus our only real option is to emphasise, and improve, the intangible benefits. One clear message from the membership survey was that we do not advertise or market ourselves adequately. A significant number of suggestions for LMS activities came from people who are evidently unaware that we already do the things they suggested. It is also clear to us that people will only join the LMS if they see it as relevant to them. To this end we are keen to involve more people, particularly those at the start of their careers, in running LMS activities. An active system of departmental representatives has also been suggested. After ’debriefing’ over dinner and drinks, we resumed on Saturday morning with discussions on opening up membership more broadly, and on simplifying the applications procedure. The latter is specified quite precisely in the Royal Charter and Statutes, so cannot realistically be changed in the short term. Instead, we agreed to consider at a future Council meeting proposals for reduced subscriptions for certain categories of members. There was some sympathy for the idea of broadening the membership in various ways, but only if this could be achieved without losing our focus on research and university-level mathematics. It is noticeable, for example, that while at least one-third of LMS grants go to areas outside pure mathematics (including, besides traditional applied mathematics, also theoretical computer science and mathematical and theoretical physics), a much smaller proportion of LMS members are from this constituency. The penultimate session could have been contentious, but turned out to be a bit of light relief. In view of comments from the membership survey, that the name ’London Mathematical Society’ sounded parochial, we were invited to consider the possibility of changing it. But no-one spoke in favour of this idea, and it was rapidly kicked into touch. The final session after lunch was devoted to matters of education policy and other work of the Education Committee, in particular promotion of mathematics to the wider public. One issue is where to draw the boundaries of the Education Committee's role, particularly in school education. Another is how to disentangle its work on policy from the practical work of organising events, distributing grants, and so on. At least on the latter question we were able to make progress: the suggestion was made to start the next meeting of the Committee earlier, in order to allow an hour or two to be devoted specifically to policy issues. But after ten hours of talking, we were all getting tired, and it was time for the President to bring the proceedings to a close. Robert Wilson LMS GRANT SCHEMES Published online 16 March 2011 Next Closing Date for Applications: 15 May 2011 Applications are invited for the following grants:
For full details of these grant schemes, and to download application forms, visit the LMS website (www.lms.ac.uk/content/research-grants).
Queries regarding applications can be addressed to the Grants Administrators or the Programme Secretary (see below) who will be pleased to discuss proposals informally with potential applicants and give advice on the submission of an application.
Information on other grant schemes operated by the Society, for education, the mathematics–computer science interface, and childcare, is also available at www.lms.ac.uk/content/grants. Other Grants News We would like to draw your attention to the following: Childcare Grants Conference Grants to Celebrate New Appointments Joint Research Groups Supported by the LMS Membership Information Packs 2010–11 COUNCIL Published online 5 January 2011 As a result of the annual election, membership of the Council is the following:
* Members continuing the second year of their two-year election in 2009 LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 5 January 2011 19 November 2010 The Council meeting on 19 November began as usual with President’s Business, but in contrast to the usual tales of wining and dining on the LMS’s behalf, we were treated instead to a ’chronicle of disasters’, to quote the President’s words. First, the announcement of the withdrawal of funding for the Erwin Schrödinger Institute in Vienna, an institution of comparable importance to the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge. Then the news that Adrian Smith’s position in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is to be abolished. Then we heard that funding for the New Zealand Institute of Mathematics and its Applications is to be pulled. Even as we reeled under the impact, and commended the President’s efforts to protest against these measures, we reflected that this is likely to be only the beginning of a long saga. After this, it was something of a relief to get stuck into Society business. We first discussed some recommendations from the Personnel Committee, and then, after lunch, some publications issues. One of the latter was the draft contract with Mathematical Sciences Publishers (MSP) for the new database system for dealing with papers submitted to the LMS journals. We agreed to delegate the final negotiations to the working group, with a view to going live with the new system in January. Another issue concerned the Journal of Group Theory, currently published by de Gruyter. It is by now public knowledge that the entire editorial board has resigned, and Susan Hezlet, the LMS Publisher, invited Council to consider whether the LMS should get involved in some way. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, however, our conclusions must for the moment remain under wraps. Most of the rest of the meeting was taken up with routine and/or technical business which will be of little interest to readers of this Diary. One possible exception was the design of a survey on membership of the LMS, intended to capture some information on (for example) the reasons why people do or do not join the LMS, to help focus our thoughts on these matters in the new year. Personally I am sceptical of the value of such surveys, as when filling them in I invariably find that they ask the wrong questions. However, we shall see. Another item which may be of more general interest was an update from Stephen Huggett on the new website. This is now publically available in a ’beta test’ version (or ’alpha’, as one member of Council quipped). Copying of content from the current website is proceeding apace, with the intention of completing the switch before Christmas. The new website will then be live at www.lms.ac.uk, and feedback from LMS members (and others) is actively encouraged. The development of new content, in particular interactive content, will be our focus thereafter. It is becoming increasingly clear to Council that in the 21st century an effective web presence is not only vital to our existence, but also poses significant risks (for example to our reputation). Therefore we have to think urgently and carefully about a system of devolved editorial control which allows people who have the time and the enthusiasm to develop parts of the site, while ensuring that Council has effective control over what is published in the name of the LMS. As the General Secretary, Martin Hyland, eloquently put it, we want a website which is alive, not one which (like so many) is dead. Robert Wilson INCLUDED IN THE DECEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER: LMS SPECIAL COLLECTIONS PROJECT Published online 1 December 2010 With the help of two Library Science postgraduate students from City University, the Society’s Library Committee has begun a project to catalogue two of the Society’s Special Collections: the Hardy Collection and the Philippa Fawcett Collection. Housed in the Verblunsky Members’ Room at De Morgan House, these collections offer two very different insights into current and past mathematics. The Hardy Collection contains over 300 volumes from G.H. Hardy’s personal library of books, which were used by him at various points throughout his career. As such, one can get a glimpse of the authors who influenced his thinking or caught his attention. Many of these volumes contain Hardy’s signature and in some cases they also contain a dedication.
According to Hardy’s will, the primary recipient of his collection following his death in 1947 was J.E. Littlewood, with the remainder going to New College Oxford. In 1971, a Cambridge book dealer, Galloway & Porter, bought most of the books from the Littlewood collection to sell on to the public. Aston University obtained a large part of the collection and in 1998, the Society bought some 300 volumes from Aston University to house at De Morgan House. Since then, the Hardy Collection has been extended through various generous donations from members and through further acquisitions. However, the collection is not complete and the Society would like to build an overall picture of the whereabouts of as much of it as is possible. We would therefore welcome any further information that members may have on the current location of any books from Hardy’s library (please email Janet Foster at archivist@lms.ac.uk). The Philippa Fawcett Collection was generously donated in 2008 to the Society by Dr A.E.L. Davis. The collection is named in honour of Philippa Fawcett who, in 1890, was the first woman to come top of the final examinations of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge University. This feat would have earned her the title "Senior Wrangler" but as this was reserved for men only, Phillippa Fawcett was instead known as "above the Senior Wrangler". The Philippa Fawcett Collection focuses on the lives and work of female mathematicians. From Hypatia through to Emmy Noether, the collection charts the significant contributions to mathematics made by women throughout the ages. In addition, there are books which examine the role of women in other related disciplines, such as astronomy and physics. The collection also includes a pamphlet by Philippa Fawcett herself which was published by the League of Nations in 1938. Among the more recent works is Caroline Series’ co-authored book with David Mumford and David Wright, Indra’s Pearls: The Vision of Felix Klein. Both collections are important to the history of the LMS, and the project to catalogue them is part of the Library Committee’s wider aim to build a complete database of the Society’s archives and special collections. Elizabeth Fisher LMS SUBSCRIPTION Published online 1 December 2010 Reminder Members are reminded that their annual subscription, including payment for publications, for the period November 2010 – October 2011 was due on 1 November 2010, and should be paid by 31 December 2010 at the latest. In the case of members who already have a Direct Debit set up, no action need be taken. All members should now have received a reminder via email or letter, detailing how to pay their subscription. If you have not received a reminder, please contact the Membership department (email: membership@lms.ac.uk; tel. 020 7291 9973/7). Information about the rates is given in the article below, published on 6 September 2010. IMU VOLUNTEER LECTURER PROGRAM Published online 1 December 2010 The International Mathematical Union’s Volunteer Lecturer Program (VLP) offers intensive 3–4 week courses in mathematics at the advanced undergraduate or master’s level to universities in developing countries. Further details can be found at www.math.ohio-state.edu/~imu.cdc/vlp. The London Mathematical Society has reached an agreement with the IMU whereby an LMS grant for an international short visit (Scheme 5) may be used to fund a Volunteer Lecturer, with matching funding coming from the IMU. This means that mathematicians from the UK may now take part in the VLP. For further details on applying for an international short visit grant, please see the LMS website at www.lms.ac.uk/grants. Dr Stephen Huggett LMS COUNCIL DIARY Published online 1 December 2010 8 October 2010 At its meeting on 8 October, Council noted with regret the resignation from Council with immediate effect of Simon Chandler-Wilde, due to pressure of work in his new role as Head of the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Reading. Thus I am writing this Council Diary in his stead. Among the substantial matters before Council was the job of considering and approving the annual accounts and trustees’ report. This is perhaps our single most important legal duty as trustees, and Brian Stewart, the Treasurer, ably led us through the mass of figures, clearly pointing out to us where to find the real figures in amongst the accounting fictions. The overall picture is that the Society is in a healthy position financially, with a small recovery in invested capital, and a significantly greater profit from publications than expected this year. Nevertheless, the continued economic uncertainty means that constant vigilance is still required. It is one of the jobs of Council to make decisions on policy and strategy, but there is never enough time at ordinary Council meetings to discuss these matters properly. We decided therefore to have a special Strategy Day in February. Among the issues to be discussed are the recommendations from the Membership Working Group led by Garth Dales. In particular, do we want to increase the membership of the LMS, and if so, in what way? How do we make membership of the LMS more attractive while staying within the charity law which states that the overall cost of members’ benefits must not exceed the total subscriptions paid? Since any large change in membership may alter the character of the Society irrevocably, it is important to think carefully before making changes. Ken Brown led a discussion on the three research policy documents (see the next article), which had been substantially updated since they were discussed by Council in July. They were generally agreed to be very helpful in arguing the case for mathematics, and they were formally approved by Council. These documents also fed into the LMS submission to the current International Review of Mathematics being undertaken by EPSRC. The LMS made a strong case that mathematics in the UK is highly successful, despite serious and chronic underfunding relative to both comparator countries and comparator disciplines. John Greenlees reported on the regular meeting between the CMS and EPSRC, which had little cheer for mathematics, as various nightmare scenarios were played out in front of us. In the event, the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review has protected the overall cash spent on research in STEM subjects, but it is too early to say what will happen to the share of this currently allocated to mathematics. We then came to a discussion of policy on school education, which continues to generate great controversy. Numerous bodies with the word ‘mathematics’ in their title have widely differing views. After much discussion, Council decided that in representing its members, the LMS represents university mathematics, and that it was quite legitimate for us to have a different view from other bodies which have different constituencies. We therefore declined to support initiatives which we felt would be detrimental to university mathematics. On a happier note, June Barrow-Green invited us to start thinking about the 150th anniversary of the founding of the LMS, which occurs in 2015. Stephen Huggett reported on the slow progress on the new website, but since the Council meeting there has been more movement, and there are signs that we might actually have at least a skeleton of a brand new website before long. Robert Wilson RESEARCH POLICY COMMITTEE Published online 1 December 2010 The Research Policy Committee, as a part of the LMS input into the International Review of Mathematics, has produced three papers. These are now available on the LMS website at www.lms.ac.uk/activities/research_policy. The statements are:
Initial drafts of these statements were made available during the summer on the LMS website for comment. Seventy responses of a very high quality were received and the committee is grateful for the input provided by individual LMS members, their departments and other organisations in the mathematical sciences. There is no doubt that many people engaged constructively with the debate that the committee’s work prompted. Although these statements were prepared with the IRM panel in mind we hope that they will be of use to anyone concerned with the position of the mathematical sciences in UK higher education. Please feel free to print and distribute copies as you wish (while – of course – giving due acknowledgement to their provenance). The Committee expects to revise the papers in the light of developments, so any comments, corrections, suggestions for updates, etc. are extremely welcome. Moreover, the Committee will be working on further papers in the coming months, and so suggestions for topics to be covered in future are very welcome. All such feedback should be sent to Duncan Turton at the LMS (lmspolicy@lms.ac.uk). Ken Brown INCLUDED IN THE OCTOBER 2010 NEWSLETTER: LMS CONFERENCE GRANTS (SCHEME 1) Published online 28 September 2010 Grants are made to the organisers of conferences to be held in the United Kingdom, and may be used to cover the expenses of principal speakers, and to provide support for research students and for participants from Scheme 5 or former Soviet Union countries. Further information on the Society’s grant schemes is available at www.lms.ac.uk/grants. In 2009–10 grants were awarded to support the following conferences:
ANNUAL
LMS SUBSCRIPTION 2010–11 Published online 6 September 2010, revised 1 November 2010 Members are reminded that their annual subscription, including payment for publications, for the period November 2010 – October 2011 is due on 1 November 2010, and should be paid by 31 December 2010 at the latest. In case of members who already have a Direct Debit set up, no action need be taken. All member should now have received a reminder via email or letter, detailing how to pay their subscription. If you have not received a reminder, please contact the Membership Department (email: membership@lms.ac.uk; tel.: 020 7291 9973/7). Rates The annual subscription to the London Mathematical Society for 2010–11 is:
Members also have the option to pay their European Mathematical Society subscription via the LMS (£23) and subscribe to the Journal of the EMS (£88). The member prices of the Society’s journals for 2011 are:
(*inclusive of VAT) Members now have the choice of taking an electronic subscription to the Bulletin, Journal or Proceedings of the LMS at a discount of 20% on the standard price for a print subscription. Alternatively, members may receive both the print and electronic versions for an additional 20% above the price of the print subscription. Once an order for an electronic version has been processed by the LMS, your email address will be passed to Oxford University Press who will contact you with details on how to access the journals. Isabelle Robinson INCLUDED IN THE SEPTEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER: POSTGRADUATE
RESEARCH CONFERENCES (SCHEME 8) Published online 6 September 2010 Success stories Now in its second year, the Society’s scheme for Postgraduate Research Conferences has supported six conferences, which have been organised by postgraduate students for postgraduate students from across the UK. A typical such conference consists of at least two lectures given by established mathematicians and a series of presentations from postgraduate students. The conferences so far supported by the scheme are:
In addition, although awarding the grant under the Conferences Grant Scheme, the Society also sponsored the Young Researchers in Mathematics meeting, this year held at Cambridge University, which it is hoped will become a regular event. The Society extends its congratulations to the postgraduate organisers on the success of their conferences and looks forward to developing its support for postgraduate research students in mathematics. Elizabeth Fisher LMS NEWSLETTER ONLINE Published online 6 September 2010 Readers are reminded that they may choose to read the LMS Newsletter on screen. A file of the current Newsletter can be accessed at www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter/current_issue.pdf at any time. Remember to add it to your favourites. The current Newsletter and the archive of past Newsletters are also available in html (web-browser) format via www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter/. The html version is conveniently structured according to news categories, with indexes listing the individual articles, making it very easy to navigate to items of particular interest. Commercial adverts and the monthly cartoon are not included in the html version. Anyone who wishes to stop receiving a paper copy can choose to receive instead an email alert at the beginning of each publication month, containing precise links to the current pdf and html versions. To do so, please write to membership@lms.ac.uk.
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