The year long programme on Mathematics in Medicine was an ambitious one, posing serious funding problems because of its markedly interdisciplinary nature. In the event, it was a great success, thanks to generous support from a number of organisations, named later in this Newsletter, and to whom we express our deep gratitude. A little reflection will suggest that it is far from simple to get a viable mix of mathematicians, experimentalists and clinicians. To get together eight workshops on the diverse topics listed in the main text (pages 3 - 10), is a great achievement, due mainly to the efforts of Dr Mark Chaplain (Bath) and Professor Brian Sleeman (Dundee, now Leeds), and shows the important involvement of academics not based in Edinburgh.
As is already traditional, our activity peaks towards Spring Break, overlapping with the Edinburgh International Science Festival. As in 1994, we organised an instructional conference, this time on Several Complex Variables, with a very distinguished list of speakers (the need for such a meeting in the UK has been evident for some time). Simultaneously, organised by Dr Tom Lenagan, there was held an Erasmus Workshop in Algebra, with which we were enthusiastically associated. This brought to Edinburgh, for the first time in many years, Jean- Pierre Serre, one of the most admired of all mathematicians. Adding the British Mathematical Colloquium at Heriot-Watt involving also Serre and another Fields Medallist, Enrico Bombieri, Edinburgh provided in those weeks a feast of mathematics. To cap it all, ICMS sponsored a Science Festival lecture by Roy Anderson, on the relevance of mathematical models to public health policy.
Of course it will be hard to match this every year. But there is clear evidence we are trying. In the same period next year, we will run two major meetings, and sponsor several distinguished lectures. The instructional conference will be on Representation Theory, again with a very distinguished group of speakers including Robert Langlands (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton), recently announced as winner of the Wolf Prize. Simultaneously, we will run a workshop on Curves & Computation, again with a brilliant cast. We will host a Science Festival Lecture by Sir Crispin Tickell and at Stirling a lecture by Dr David Quarmby, Joint Managing Director of Sainsbury plc. Beyond all this, we have, as usual, in our plans for the next years, a wide spread of activities in all branches of mathematics.
Of course I expect to write in a similar vein in future editorials, but I turn now to one of this year's events which was unique. In November UNESCO celebrated its 50th Birthday, and in view of ICMS's explicit commitment to international development in mathematics we sought ways to be involved in the celebrations. With the essential involvement of the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation, contacts were made with UNESCO and plans made. As it turned out, our UNESCO week was probably the major UK celebration of this significant anniversary. It is well known that the UK (not currently in UNESCO) was the country to suggest the "S" (for science) in UNESCO's name.
Throughout the week a workshop took place, organised by John Ball, on New Developments in Fluid Mechanics. Again, a Fields Medallist was prominent, this time Pierre-Louis Lions, and he was supported by eminent speakers from five countries. Participants came from seven countries, including our first visitors from Senegal. The meeting was generously supported by UNESCO.
Wednesday evening was a festive occasion. At the Royal College of Physicians Sir Roger Penrose helped us look beyond "Shadows of the Mind" towards the most basic questions about consciousness. The distinguished audience included the Lord Provost, the Deputy Director General of UNESCO, Dr Albert Sasson, and prominent personalities from academia, business, media and politics. The lecture was followed by a reception, graciously offered by the Lord Provost and the City Council.
We were particularly glad to welcome representatives from sister institutes: Professor Aderemi Kuku from ICTP (Trieste), Professor Jean Pouget from CIMPA (Nice), and Professor Huzihiro Araki (Kyoto). This led to extensive discussions on collaboration and on division of effort in helping mathematicians from the Developing World. We have much to learn from other institutes, and conversely.
A number of other activities relate to our international aims. Professor Mohan C Joshi from IIT Bombay came to ICMS in July for two months, and proved to have many useful ideas for enhancing our activities. In September Elmer Rees attended the African Mathematical Congress in Morocco, thereby much increasing our understanding of how best to interact with this part of the world. After our UNESCO week, Ian Wall went to CIMPA at Nice to represent us at their celebrations.
The ICMS team, which I commended in last year's Newsletter, has worked hard and well this year. My opinion is that we perform well with a very cost effective administrative structure. Small changes in such a structure are difficult to cope with, so I am happy to report this year's transitions in the office have been smooth. Louise Williamson moved on, after exceptionally valuable service. Her replacement Margaret Cook, fitted in quickly, and already seems to have been here ages.
As in earlier years, we have depended on the help, freely given, of experts from outside Edinburgh. Of particular importance has been the work of Professor John Forty, former Principal of Stirling, in organising the basic structures needed to ensure the ultimate success of a major ICMS undertaking, hosting the 1999 International Congress on Industrial & Applied Mathematics. You will be hearing much more about this in future issues.
Professor Angus Macintyre, FRS, Scientific Director