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Recent Posts
- Head of UBC Mathematics: The end of an era
- Nicole Tomczak-Jaegermann 1945-2022
- UBC Campus Vision 2050, in a word, lacks vision
- Louis Nirenberg (1925-2020)
- UBC: The ill-fated revolt of those who ought to know better
- Shiny, happy, oblivious science
- NSERC has lost its bearings … again
- The Learning & Research of the UBC Board of Governors (II)
- The Learning & Research committee of the UBC Board: What a difference a year makes (I)
- UBC: Failures in governance are slowing down the pace of academic renewal
- A research community at the mercy of a leaderless NSERC
- A busy first four months on the UBC Board of Governors
- Academic publishing in the time of sanctions and boycotts
- Maurice Sion: 1927 – 2018
- Robert M. Miura: 1938 – 2018
- When the Walls of Governance Come Crumbling Down
- Why I am voting against the tuition increases for domestic students
- Resignation of the director of the Wall Institute: The reaction
- Why I am resigning from the directorship of the Wall institute
- Accountability and Governance at UBC: Budget
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Author Archives: Ghoussoub
NSERC has lost its bearings, but who is responsible?
Canada’s “Natural Science and Engineering Research Council” has grown uncomfortable with the rapidly dwindling success rate in its postdoctoral fellowship programme, the latest having clocked in at 7.8%. So, it has decided to artificially inflate these rates by limiting the number of times young Canadian scholars … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged AUCC, David Naylor, Gary Goodyear, NSERC, postdoctoral fellowships, Research capacity, Success rates
16 Comments
R&D front: Signs that government may be starting to get it
And no, I am not sending out a public bouquet to government à la Naylor-Toope. I am talking about a government that is starting to realize that it’s more important to tune into the dreams and aspirations of Canada’s research community than to … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Budget 2012, cihr, Death of evidence, Gary Goodyear, NSERC, research
5 Comments
University governance: From UBC to the University of Virginia and back
“What’s happening at the University of Virginia is surreal, a real estate developer is now running the place,” wrote Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at NYU. At the same time, UBC, normally at the receiving end of this kind of statement, was being commended … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
Tagged Board of Governors, Helen Dragas, Kris Olds, Teresa Sullivan, U. Virginia, UBC
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Canada’s Mathematical “Dream Team”
Back on July 2nd, I received a report that four members of Canada’s International Math Olympiad team were stuck for more than an hour in the elevator, while training at the Banff International Research Station. Well, it doesn’t look like this time … Continue reading
The business community to the rescue of the research community
Tuesday’s UBC Board of Governors meeting was the best I’ve witnessed in my last four years on the Board. A worthwhile agenda loaded with potentially transformational items, a great display of sound “governing” by the Governors, a magnificent presentation by … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors
Tagged BIRS, Board of Governors, Brad Bennett, Innovation, Karen Prentice, Mitacs, Stephen Toope
2 Comments
Obsession
“His character is full of flaws, flittering from one obsessive behaviour to another, and he does this effortlessly.” Mathematics is back with a vengeance, taking up all of my mental space. The same obsessive behaviour that got me to write … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Uncategorized
Tagged economics, Kantorovich, Mathematics, research
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Goodyear: “This is a moratorium for one year as we seek counsel from the scientific community”
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 … Continue reading
Finally, media and Parliament pick up on research funding crisis
“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, … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged 2012 federal budget, AUCC, Elizabeth May, EPSRC, Gary Goodyear, NSERC, Ted Hsu
1 Comment
NSERC’s Discovery Program: Let it bleed?
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 … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged 2012 federal budget, Basic research, NSERC Discovery, postdoctoral fellowships
11 Comments
“To promote a deeper understanding of our world”, Canada may need a Jim Simons
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,” … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged BIRS, David Eisenbud, Lazaridis, Roger Martin, rotman school of management, Simons Foundation, Theory of Computing
2 Comments
Elsevier: The beginning of the end?
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Elsevier, Harvard, Technical University of Munich, Tim Gowers, Wellcome Trust
1 Comment
First reactions to the NSERC cuts
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 … Continue reading
Joram Lindenstrauss 1936-2012
“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 … Continue reading
Posted in Honouring friends
3 Comments
Anyone for a Canadian “Golden Goose Award”?
Are you old enough to remember the heyday of the late Senator William Proxmire “Golden Fleece awards” given to so called “wasteful” science in the US system? Well, luckily my science policy soulmate, Paul Dufour, claims that he is, and he … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged AAAS, Golden Fleece awards, Golden Goose Award, Lie Theory, NSERC Discovery, senator william proxmire
3 Comments
Computer Science in the world of Gatorade and Disney
“Math and computer science are hard. Why bother?” read the caption, which appeared in the latest Forbes Magazine. The article entitled, “University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department, Increases Athletic Budgets. Hmm,” describes Dean Abernathy’s restructuring plan for the College of Engineering. “Any faculty … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Budget cuts, Computer science, education, politics, research, University of Florida, University of Rochester
1 Comment
Tri-council: Beyond the press releases of their presidents
The press releases of the presidents of CIHR and NSERC regarding their 2012 budget allocations are out. They are almost identical. Are they also trying to save on communication? NSERC’s is entitled “Economic action plan 2012”, yet the meeting of Friday the 13th … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
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US republicans more supportive of science than …
…. their counterparts in the democratic party! I know, I know, you have all been eagerly awaiting “the deficit reduction action plan” of Canada’s three research councils. You will surely not get it from the “rosy” picture portrayed in the messages of … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged cihr, House and Senate CJS subcommittee, NSERC, NSF, Science funding, sshrc
2 Comments
Call your VP-Research before Friday the 13th at the Tri-council!
“My Mathematics” is going well lately. It is not always the case, so blogging has taken the backseat. It is unfortunate because much needs to be communicated before tomorrow’s meeting in Ottawa between the VPs-Research of Canada’s universities and Tri-council officials. … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged academic partnerships, discovery grants, operational efficiencies, research, science
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Turmoil at the Tri-council?
The VPs-Research of all universities across Canada have been invited to a Tri-Council meeting “around Research and Innovation” in Ottawa. Officials are being very tight-lipped about the content of the meeting, which is scheduled for April 13th. What is it … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged Budget 2012, cihr, Goodyear, IRAP, NRC, NSERC, sshrc, Tri-council
10 Comments
Another milestone in scientific communication
The Banff International Research Station (BIRS) has announced that its new physical meeting space at the beautiful TransCanada Pipelines Pavilion in Banff Canada, is now accessible to the scientific community in virtual space, via live video streaming and high quality video … Continue reading
Piece of Mind 