Monthly Archives: May 2011

Time to clean up the mess at the Discovery Grants program

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

NSERC’s President Suzanne Fortier will be making a presentation on June 03 at the Edmonton meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society. The unexpected visit is undoubtedly related to the public letter by 16 members of the Evaluation Group 1508, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 1 Comment

Top 40 …pieces of mind

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

… in case you are wondering how many are following this blog and what are its most popular topics. It is somewhat depressing but understandable to see that our posts on NSERC’s new ways have been  the most viewed (The most … Continue reading →

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16 NSERC panelists write to Suzanne Fortier about the 2011 Discovery Grants Competition

Posted on May 19, 2011 by

16 out of the 28 members of Evaluation Group 1508  (for Mathematics and Statistics) wrote the following letter to NSERC’s President Suzanne Fortier to “draw (her) attention to the distressing results of the 2011 Discovery Grants Program”.  It is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 11 Comments

Why is the 2011 data on NSERC’s Discovery Grants so radioactive?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by

Two months after the end of the 2011 competition for Discovery Grants, NSERC is yet to release the full data on its outcome. The reason given is that there is a gov’t-wide hold on releasing data/making announcements. However, colleagues who … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 4 Comments

From MITACS to Mprime: Where do we go from here?

Posted on May 12, 2011 by

Canada’s mathematical sciences community currently faces many challenges. One that stands out particularly is the imminent elapse of the federal funding (about $5.4-million per year) for the MITACS Network of Centres of Excellence. This NCE currently supports 377 Canadian academic … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy | 4 Comments

A “Successful” NSERC Discovery Grant applicant replies to Isabelle Blain

Posted on May 6, 2011 by

Here is the reply of fellow mathematician, Greg Martin, to Isabelle Blain’s letter to the 2011 Discovery Grants applicants in mathematics and statistics (See below). There is also the open letter of Frithjof Lutscher.

Posted in Op-eds | 4 Comments

How Alzheimer’s stole the things he loved: Mathematics and Music

Posted on May 2, 2011 by

Fields medalist Daniel Quillen died yesterday at the age of 70. Known for his role in developing higher algebraic K-theory, Quillen was, until 2006, a Professor of Pure Mathematics at Oxford. His wife of 50 years, Jean Quillen, sent this … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment