AMS News

Mathematics Research Communities 2013 Conferences

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

The conferences for this year's Mathematics Research Communities (MRC) have begun at the Snowbird Resort in Utah. The MRC is an AMS program supported by an NSF grant that builds social and collaborative networks to inspire and sustain mathematicians just beginning their research careers. (Photo of participants from the first week of conferences.) This year's topics are: "Complex Dynamics," "Tropical and Nonarchimedean Analytic Geometry, " "Geometric Group Theory," and "Regularity Problems for Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations Modeling Fluids and Complex Fluids." The atmosphere at the conferences, which are taking place through July 1, is comparable to the collegial gatherings at Oberwolfach, combining peaceful natural ambience with stimulating meetings.

Congressman Speaks of Advancement in Mathematics

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-9), a Ph.D. mathematician, spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 12 describing work on the Boltzmann Equation by Philip T. Gressman and Robert M. Strain of the University of Pennsylvania. See McNerney's speech. The NSF-funded work by Gressman and Strain was presented at an AMS-sponsored exhibit booth at the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Exhibition on Capitol Hill held in early May.

Beal Conjecture Prize Increased to $1 Million

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

The prize for the solution to the Beal Conjecture, a number theory problem, has been increased to US$1 million. The prize and conjecture are named for D. Andrew “Andy” Beal, a Dallas banker who has a strong interest in number theory and who provided the funds for the Beal Prize. Read more about the conjecture and about rules for the prize.

2013 Shaw Prize to Donoho

Wed, 29 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

The 2013 Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences, worth US$1 million dollars, is awarded to David L. Donoho (Stanford University) "for his profound contributions to modern mathematical statistics and in particular the development of optimal algorithms for statistical estimation in the presence of noise and of efficient techniques for sparse representation and recovery in large data-sets." (Photo of David Donoho courtesy of Stanford University Department of Statistics.) Donoho has made fundamental contributions to signal processing and image analysis, including the relatively new field of compressed sensing. He won the AMS-SIAM Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics in 2010, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Shaw Prize, first awarded in 2004, consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences.

AMS Sponsors Capitol Hill Exhibit

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

The AMS sponsored an exhibit entitled The Boltzmann Equation: Where Mathematics and Science Collide at the 19th annual Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Exhibition & Reception on Capitol Hill held May 7, 2013. Prof. Philip T. Gressman, University of Pennsylvania, presented work on the Boltzmann Equation to over 285 attendees, including ten Members of Congress. More information ...

Bounded Gaps Between Primes

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

That is the title of a paper by Yitang Zhang (University of New Hampshire) that shows that there are infinitely many pairs of consecutive prime numbers that differ by a finite distance. The paper, now posted on the Annals of Mathematics web site, represents progress on settling the Twin Prime Conjecture, which states that there are infinitely many prime numbers that differ by 2. Zhang's paper (available to subscribers) shows that there are an infinite number of consecutive primes that differ by less than 70 million. See later improvements on this bound. In an article in New Scientist, Henry Iwaniec (Rutgers University) said that the result is "beautiful." Nature also has an article about Zhang's result. Read Evelyn Lamb's post about the proof and about a proof of the Weak Goldbach Conjecture by Harald Helfgott (École Normale Supérieure) in "This Week in Number Theory" in the new AMS Blog on Math Blogs.

Haensch Receives AMS-AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Anna Haensch has been awarded the 2013 American Mathematical Society Mass Media Fellowship. Anna earns her PhD in mathematics from Wesleyan University in the coming weeks and she will spend 10 weeks this summer working at National Public Radio.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) organizes the Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship program. It is a very competitive program designed to improve public understanding of science and technology by placing graduate and post-graduate science, mathematics and engineering students in news media outlets nationwide. Fellows work with media professionals to improve their communication skills and increase their understanding of the editorial process by which events and ideas become news.

Fellows have worked as reporters, editors, researchers and production assistants at such media outlets as Scientific American, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Voice of America and National Public Radio. Read more about the fellowship, including a list of previous fellows with links to descriptions of their experiences.

AMS Selects Congressional Fellow

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

The American Mathematical Society is pleased to announce Karen Saxe as its 2013-14 Congressional Fellow. Professor Saxe is currently chair of the Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science department at Macalester College. She received her PhD in mathematics from the University of Oregon.

The AMS Congressional Fellowship provides a unique public policy learning experience to demonstrate the value of science-government interaction and to bring a technical background and external perspective to the decision making process in Congress. The fellowship is year-long and runs from September through August.

The Congressional Fellowship is one of several fellowships offered through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellowships program. This fellowship allows the recipient an opportunity to work on the staff of a member of Congress or a congressional committee, working as a special legislative assistant in legislative and policy areas requiring scientific and technical input. The fellowship includes an orientation on congressional and executive branch operations and a year-long seminar series on issues involving science, technology and public policy. Learn more about the AMS Congressional Fellowship and read about some fellowship experiences.

National Academy Elects New Members

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Twelve people in the mathematical sciences are among the 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Elected as members are: Manjul Bhargava (Princeton University), S. James Gates, Jr. (University of Maryland, College Park), Juris Hartmanis (Cornell University), Victor Kac (MIT), Gregory F. Lawler (University of Chicago), Juan Maldacena (Institute for Advanced Study), James A. Sethian (University of California, Berkeley), Éva Tardos (Cornell University), David A. Vogan, Jr. (MIT and AMS president), Avi Wigderson (Institute for Advanced Study), and Horng-Tzer Yau (Harvard University). Peter G. Hall, University of Melbourne (Australia), was elected as a foreign associate. See the entire list of this year's elected members and associates in the NAS press release. Celebrating its 150th year, the NAS is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology.

2014 Joint Mathematics Meetings

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

January 15-18, Baltimore, Maryland. The largest mathematics meeting in the world includes a broad scientific program, prize session, courses, activities for students, exhibits, employment center, art exhibition and more.