Joint International Meeting of the AMS, European Mathematical Society and Portuguese Mathematical Society The Joint International Meeting of the AMS, European Mathematical Society (EMS) and Portuguese Mathematical Society/Sociedad Portuguesa de Matemática (SPM) was held at the University of Porto in the UNESCO world heritage city of Porto, Portugal, June 10-13, 2015. The meeting coincided with the 25th anniversary of the EMS and 75th anniversary of the SPM, and drew 1103 participants from 59 countries. "The cooperation of the three societies in holding this meeting was exemplary. The EMS, through the EMS Committee for European Solidarity, pledged travel grant money for a number of young mathematicians working in economically less‐favored regions of Europe to attend the meeting. The AMS provided general support including the website for the abstract submission, which was extremely helpful due to the unusually large number of abstracts submitted (831). The SPM handled all aspects of the registration, secretarial and design staff, and the printing of the program. The University of Porto provided the venue, technical staff support, media coverage, some financial support and conference materials through its Centro de Matemática." -- Georgia Benkart, AMS Associate Secretary. The opening ceremony preceded the first invited lecture and included remarks by AMS Associate Secretary Georgia Benkart, EMS President Pavel Exner, SPM President Fernando Pestana da Costa, Vice Dean of the University of Porto José Manuel Martins Ferreira, and the Portuguese Minister of Education and Science Nuno Crato. The invited speakers were:
Marcus du Sautoy, University of Oxford, gave the public lecture, "The Secret Mathematicians," on artists, choreographers, and composers, who often subconsciously incorporate mathematics into their work. The lecture, held in Porto’s renowned Casa da Música, was followed by a concert by the Classical Orchestra of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (and du Sautoy joined the orchestra as one of the trumpet players). A short video tribute to the late Abel Prize Winner John Nash created by the University of Porto preceded the final day’s invited talks. There were 53 Special Sessions, jointly organized by the three societies. See slides of all the invited talks. Slides of many of session talks will also be available, and there will be a special edition of the journal Portugaliae Mathematica featuring contributions by the plenary speakers. There are more details about the scientific program, social events, participants, and location on the website of the local organizers. As Benkart reports, "The Local Organizing Committee expended an enormous effort to ensure the meeting’s success. In particular, the chair of the committee, Professor Samuel Lopes, is to be commended for his exceptional work on every facet of the meeting. The University of Porto was a wonderful setting. Forty student volunteers provided audiovisual support, gave participants their programs, and helped direct them to session rooms." International meetings are a valuable addition to the Society's programs that foster contacts and collaborations: Including the AMS's first joint international meeting with the London Mathematical Society in 1992, the AMS has co-sponsored 32 meetings with sister societies in their host countries and in the U.S. --- Annette Emerson, AMS Public Awareness Officer |