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- Nicole Tomczak-Jaegermann 1945-2022
- UBC Campus Vision 2050, in a word, lacks vision
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- Shiny, happy, oblivious science
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Tag Archives: Mathematics
Nicole Tomczak-Jaegermann 1945-2022
My friend and fellow mathematician, Nicole Tomczak-Jaegermann, passed away peacefully on the 17th of June. She had been suffering from Parkinson disease since 2007. Nicole received her Master’s (1968) and Ph.D. (1974) degrees from Warsaw University, where she held … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends
Tagged Mathematics
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A research community at the mercy of a leaderless NSERC
The bureaucrats of a leaderless NSERC have extended the 5-year grants of three research institutes by two years. This amounts to assigning awards exceeding $7,500,000. They have done so without peer review and against the wishes of one of their … Continue reading
NSERC corrects a mistake, but many remain unaddressed
No, I am not talking about the sudden and probably more consequential recent change in NSERC’s leadership, but about an accounting mistake. Yes, it looks minor, but it speaks volume. As I mentioned in a previous post, I resigned last … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy, Uncategorized
Tagged AARMS, BIRS, CRM, CTRMS, EG, Fields, LRP, Mathematics, MSLC, NSERC Discovery, PIMS, research, science, Statistics
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Overhauling NSERC is a long overdue national priority (I)
With an annual budget of $1.1 billion, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the agency through which the federal government funds advanced post-secondary research in science and engineering. Thousands of Canadian researchers rely on it, … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged AARMS, BIRS, CANSSI, CRM, Fields, Innovation, Mathematics, Mexico, NSERC, NSF, Oaxaca, PIMS, research, science, Statistics
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Fettering unfettered research funding: The NSERC ways
Last week, I resigned from a committee that is supposed to liaise between NSERC and Canada’s Mathematics and Statistics communities. The reason? An unsettling lack of transparency, shoddy consultation, and poor decision-making by NSERC’s management in handling recent government budget … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Harper-Goodyear, Mario Pinto, Mathematics, Naylor report, NSERC, research, Trudeau, Unfettered Research Funding
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Interview with a mathematician: Nassif Ghoussoub
Originally posted on The Intrepid Mathematician:
Nassif Ghoussoub is the founder and current director of the Banff International Research Station, the founding director of the Pacific Institute of Mathematics, and the co-founder of MITACS NCE. On top of all that,…
Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends, R&D Policy
Tagged Arvind Gupta, Beit Chebab, BIRS, CFREF, CMO, Conacyt, Mathematics, Mitacs, Nigel Lloyd, NSERC, NSF, Oaxaca, Ono, Order of Canada, PIMS, Riemann Hypothesis, science, Tom Brzustowski, UBC
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UBC’s new president is not a mathematician, but …
The last time I saw the fabulous Frances Bula, she said that she liked my tweets whenever I commented on mathematics and mathematicians. I think she really meant for me to leave the rest of the news and analysis to her … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, UBC Presidential Search
Tagged Arvind Gupta, Diversity, Ken Ono, Mathematics, Mental wellbeing, Ramanujan, Santa Ono, Stuart Belkin, UBC
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An activist you are!
The letter from the president of The University of Victoria informing me about my honorary doctorate was a complete surprise. “My former graduate students and postdocs, who are now on the faculty at UVic, must have been behind this nomination,” I … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Basic research, BIRS, Diversity, Honorary Doctor of Science, Mathematics, Mitacs, PIMS, The University of Victoria
2 Comments
Artists, Philanthropists, Politicians join mathematicians in celebrating BIRS-affiliate research facility in Oaxaca
Today, I am in Oaxaca, Mexico, partying (literally) with the Director General of the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT), Dr. Enrique Cabrero Mendoza, the Governor of the State of Oaxaca, Gabino Cué Monteagudo, Billionaire Philanthropist Harp Helú, several senior representatives of … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station
Tagged Banff, BIRS, Conacyt, Mathematics, Mexico, Oaxaca, UNAM
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It takes more than talent and hard work to win academic awards
Upon seeing the announcement by NSERC of its “Top Researchers,” I couldn’t help myself from tweeting, “UBC a no-show! Get off your comfortable arse and start nominating your colleagues.” I was surprised by how many non-UBCers retweeted my scream. I then remembered a … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Administrative interference, Mathematics, prizes and awards, representation, Royal Society, Sloan
1 Comment
“Mathematics is alive and well, but living under different names”
That was the assessment of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) back in 1996. “This comment is still apropos,” they wrote in their latest report of 2012. “Although the mathematical sciences are pervasive, they are often invoked without an explicit awareness … Continue reading
Will BIRS bring CIFAR and the mathematical sciences together?
My inbox started filling up at an unusual speed. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) had just announced a partnership with The Banff Centre (TBC). “The two institutions are teaming up to create a physical home for CIFAR, with the … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy
Tagged Alan Bernstein, BIRS, CalgaryHerald, CIFAR, Darwin, Mathematics, TBC
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Sixty already?!
For some, it is hard to believe: It is the hair! exclaimed once Shing-Tung Yau. I cannot believe it either, though for different reasons. And now that super-natural and sub-natural forces have failed to stop me from (almost) getting there, I am … Continue reading
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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With the women of the “Laplacian”, who needs diversity tsars?
“Wherever my travels may lead, paradise is where I am.” ~Voltaire In case you have been wondering why I haven’t been blogging lately, I am presently in Rome having too much fun working, lecturing, and enjoying life with my friends … Continue reading
In memoriam: Richard Kane, 1944 – 2010
Richard Kane passed away on October 1, 2010. He was a very dear friend, a friendship that was based on a common purpose of making Canadian Mathematics a major player on the international scene. His distinguished research career, his incredible … Continue reading
Piece of Mind 