PIMS: Partnering with Canada and France

PIMS 10th Anniversary Distinguished Lecturers in Mathematics:

Kari Astala, University of Helsinki

Carlos Kenig, University of Chicago

Frances Kirwan, University of Oxford

Shrawan Kumar, University of North Carolina

Gregory Lawler, University of Chicago

Peter Lax, Courant Institute

Klaus Schmidt, University of Vienna

Richard Schoen, Stanford University

Peter Winkler, Dartmouth College

The Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) was created in 1996 by a consortium of five universities in western Canada to foster the development of mathematics at all levels. The University of Washington joined as an affiliate in 2000 and became a full member in 2005, thus opening up a new era of scientific collaboration between the USA and Canada. Membership in PIMS enables the Departments of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics at the UW to participate in PIMS activities such as the formation of collaborative research groups and the planning and execution of conferences at the Banff International Research Station.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, PIMS sponsored a program of lectures by distinguished mathematicians from all over the world at its member universities in 2006-07. Nine such lectures were held in the Department of Mathematics, plus seven more in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, making a valuable contribution to the intellectual life of the mathematical community here. A complete list of the lectures can be found on the web page: http://www.math.washington.edu/Seminars/PIMS10th.php.

The second decade at PIMS has started very successfully. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has renewed its grant to PIMS for the period 2008-13, and the Alberta government has doubled the size of its grant to PIMS. The most important development of the past year, which will have long-term benefits for UW and all the PIMS universities, is the establishment of an agreement between PIMS and the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). It has the purpose of advancing research and education in the mathematical sciences and developing international cooperation in science, industry, and education. Under the agreement, PIMS will become a “Unité Mixte Internationale” of the CNRS, the only one in North America.

PIMS and CNRS see the training of highly qualified personnel as an essential component of this mission. During the academic year 2007-08, the CNRS has sent two young mathematicians to PIMS, and PIMS has awarded a postdoctoral fellowship to a French mathematician. Yuxin Ge of the University of Paris will spend the year at UW working with Dan Pollack and other differential geometers.

Gunther Uhlmann