Goodyear: “This is a moratorium for one year as we seek counsel from the scientific community”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

I talked to Dr. Ted Hsu, listened to Minister Goodyear, and missed Madame Hélène LeBlanc who has been “promoted” to Industry. I liked what I heard, which reminded me of my long-held view, that it is often more rewarding to deal directly with accountable politicians than with entrenched bureaucrats. My conversation with Dr. Ted Hsu, freshman MP for Kingston and the Islands, and Liberal Party critic for Science and Technology, was delightful and heartening. I also liked most of what Gary Goodyear had to say here, especially his respectful attitude and his constructive response to the reaction of the scientific community to the termination of certain Tri-council programs. Continue reading →

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Finally, media and Parliament pick up on research funding crisis

Posted on May 15, 2012 by

“Dr. Hsu has been made aware of your blog and is interested in knowing your thoughts on the federal government’s science and technology policy.” I Googled Dr. Ted Hsu, who turned out to be the MP for Kingston and the Islands, and Liberal Party critic for Science and Technology. But more importantly, the guy is a Physicist, a Princeton graduate, who knows first hand about scientific research. The only (natural) scientist in our House of Commons. Take a look at the British counterpart, which even elects mathematicians (at least seven of them scattered around the 3 parties). More on the UK later in this post, after this news round-up on Canada’s reaction to the 2012 federal  budget impact on advanced academic research. Continue reading →

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NSERC’s Discovery Program: Let it bleed?

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Is the NSERC leadership bleeding its Discovery program even more than what the government is asking them to? Some say that the termination of the Major Resources Support (MRS) and the Research Tools and Instrument (RTI) programs alone translate into a 20% hit on the Discovery program envelope. Others point to a 60% decline in the numbers of academic NSERC postgraduate scholarships in the past 2 years as another re-allocation away from basic research and advanced academic training. The published figures do show a trend, but what is the true extent of the policy shift, and why is it never clearly spelled out in official press releases? The next step is to figure out what the Tri-council presidents will be doing with the reallocated cash. But whatever they do, we surely hope that they will at least level with the research community. Continue reading →

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“To promote a deeper understanding of our world”, Canada may need a Jim Simons

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

The news may come as a shock to the Dean of U. Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, Roger Martin, and all those who have been preaching to the Canadian government that “what makes a country prosperous is not investment in science and technology,” but “businesses having unique products and processes that a customer needs.” Jim Simons has done it again, and has donated $60 million for the establishment of an Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC-Berkeley. And guess what! Google, IBM, Yahoo and Microsoft have all expressed interest in collaborating. Neither the donation, nor the interest of these corporate leaders come as a surprise to the world’s mathematical sciences community. Indeed, these corporations never hid their addiction to mathematical advances nor their dependence on mathematical talent, and the donation is but a drop in the bucket of what Jim Simons had already contributed intellectually and financially to advanced basic research. Continue reading →

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Elsevier: The beginning of the end?

Posted on May 5, 2012 by

I’ll admit, I got some satisfaction out of telling the editor of the “Journal of Functional Analysis” last week that I will not referee the paper he had sent me because I am boycotting everything Elsevier. I was less thrilled by his non-reaction. Actually, very few editors of Elsevier-exploited math journals have resigned their editorial positions so far. Their argument as to why they haven’t is well rehearsed, but their invariably defensive attitude betrays an acute awareness of this historical juncture. “BTW, 66 faculty members from UBC have already signed the boycott at the Cost of Knowledge page,” wrote our head librarian for Science & Engineering. Yes, and only six from Math, I noted to myself, disappointed. But all this may not matter anymore, since things are starting to unravel at an astonishing speed. Continue reading →

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First reactions to the NSERC cuts

Posted on May 2, 2012 by

On the heels of the cheery press releases of the presidents of NSERC and CIHR regarding the 2012 federal budget, announcements about the fate of various programs are now coming out. They all start with, “As part of the Government of Canada’s efforts to return to balanced budgets, NSERC’s …  Program will not be accepting new applications.” These –less cheery– measures illustrate the true impact of the budget decisions on the Tri-council. They could explain the silence of SSHRC’s president on their implications for his council, which is somewhat appreciated. The jubilant media releases from various university administrators are not. But their constituents are starting to show signs of  life. Last week, I was forwarded the following letter, which is being signed by the leaders of various research facilities and labs. We are told that the “letter will also be sent to appropriate members of government and members of parliament.” It wouldn’t hurt if it also lands on the desks of Canada’s university presidents and VP-Rs. Continue reading →

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Joram Lindenstrauss 1936-2012

Posted on April 29, 2012 by

“I am very sad to tell you that my father Joram died this morning, the 29th of April, in his home”, wrote Elon. I knew that Joram had been seriously ill for some time now, but the cryptic email brought more than its share of extreme sadness. Both my professional and my personal lives had been deeply touched by Joram Lindenstrauss and his family. I am still wondering, even as I write this, whether I will be able to explain.

I will not elaborate here on Joram’s mathematical contributions. They are numerous and will surely be described by many, hopefully also by myself, in the next few months. You can already read Gilles Pisier’s account in the latest Bulletin of the AMS, on Joram’s defining role (with Alexander Pelczynski) in uncovering the true impact and depth of Grothendick’s “Résumé”. I have also worked with Joram on several projects, and hearing that he is also gone only a few months after another friend and co-author, William J. Davis, passed away, could only be a bad dream. Continue reading →

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