Math Changes Everything -- The Importance of Mathematics to the U.S.: An Industry Perspective
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics (IPAM) jointly hosted a Congressional briefing titled “Math Changes Everything -- The Importance of Mathematics to the U.S.: An Industry Perspective” on December 6, 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The briefing was given by Alan Lee, Chief Technology Officer at Analog Devices, Inc.
The AMS holds annual congressional briefings as a means to communicate information to policymakers. Speakers bring science directly to Capitol Hill decision-makers and offer stories of how federal investment in basic research in math and science pays off for American taxpayers and helps the nation remain a world leader in innovation.
Beginning in 2023, each briefing will highlight work connected to one of the NSF-funded Mathematical Sciences Institutes. The 2023 briefing is in partnership with the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM).
Alan Lee’s talk hit the mark very well. He started with his personal story of his start in math, and quickly moved to a broad survey of how mathematics is fundamental in a very wide variety of applications. He introduced the audience to the work of mathematicians—Julia Robinson; Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman; Terry Tao and Emmanuel Candès; Karen Uhlenbeck—and how their mathematics have advanced technologies and improved our understanding of the universe.
He then connected specific mathematics to topics that Congress is currently concerned with—AI; financial systems; networks, cybersecurity, and the modern defense ecosystem; humans’ health; the health of our planet; and manufacturing, transport, and infrastructure. Pointing to the fact that other countries are investing more in mathematics education, Lee gave direction for opportunities for the nation to grow domestic talent and simultaneously attract top talent from abroad.
Lee gave a very compelling argument for strategic federal investment in mathematics research, highlighting the role that the NSF-funded Mathematical Sciences Research Institutes play in advancing this research and supporting the math community at large.
It was a beautiful presentation, the audience was very attentive, and congressional staff asked great questions.
See slides from this presentation HERE.
All photos courtesy of Scavone Photography.
Other Congressional Briefings:
Beginning in 2017, the AMS is partnering with MSRI to organize and host bi-annual briefings; prior to 2017, the AMS hosted annual briefings.
- December 2019, "Cryptography in the Quantum Era" presented by Jill Pipher, Brown University.
- June 2019, "Addressing Threats and Vulnerabilities in Critical Interconnected Systems: Common Principles in Disease Outbreaks, Internet Malware, and Bank Failures" presented by Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University.
- December 2018, "From the Color of Birds to Nanomaterials and New Technology" presented by Rodolfo Torres, University of Kansas.
- May 2018, "Origami Meets Math, Science, and Engineering" presented by Erik Demaine, MIT.
- December 2017, "Cryptography: How to Enable Privacy in a Data-Driven World" presented by Dr. Shafi Goldwasser, MIT.
- June 2017, "Blackboard to bedside: How high-dimensional geometry is transforming the MRI industry" presented by David Donoho, Stanford University.
- December 2016, "How Mathematical Models Predict Emerging Epidemics," presented by Mac Hyman, Tulane University.
- December 2015, "From right triangles to modern cryptography" presented by Ken Ribet, University of California-Berkeley.
- December 2014, "The Future of Mathematics: Education & Innovation" presented by Robert Ghrist, Andrea Mitchell University Professor of Mathematics and Electrical/Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
- December 2013, "How Math Fuels the Knowledge Economy" presented by Mark L. Green, professor emeritus at the University of California-Los Angeles.
- December 2012, "Chaos and Avalanches in Science and Socio-Political Systems" presented by James A. Yorke, professor of mathematics and physics at the University of Maryland.
- December 2011, "Mathematics: Leading the Way for New Options in the Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease" presented by Suncica Canic, professor of mathematics at the University of Houston.
- October 2010, "The Gulf Oil Spill: How Can We Protect our Beaches in the Future?" presented by Andrea Bertozzi, professor of mathematics at UCLA.
- October 2009, "The Movies, the Markets and Mathematics", presented by Stuart Geman, professor of applied mathematics at Brown University.
- September 2008, "Can Mathematics Cure Leukemia?" presented by Doron Levy, associate professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, College Park.
- September 2007, "Mathematics of Ice to Aid Global Warming Forecasts", presented by Ken Golden, professor of mathematics at the University of Utah.
- November 2006, "The Necessity of Mathematics: From Google to Counterterrorism to Sudoku", presented by Amy Langville, professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston.
- November 2005, "From Katrina Forward: How Mathematics Helps Predict Storm Surges", presented by Clint Dawson, professor at the University of Texas and a member of the Center for Subsurface Modeling in the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences; and James Westerink, associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame.
- September 2004, "Homeland Security: What Can Mathematics Do?" presented by Fred Roberts, professor of mathematics and director of the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) at Rutgers University.
- July 2003, "Mathematics is Biology's Next Microscope, Only Better; Biology is Mathematics' Next Physics, Only Better" presented by Joel E. Cohen, Laboratory of Populations, Rockefeller and Columbia Universities.
- February 2002, "Mathematics, Patterns and Homeland Security", presented by Ingrid Daubechies, Princeton University.
- July 2001, "Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics", a briefing on this National Research Council Report presented by Deborah Loewenberg Ball and Hyman Bass, University of Michigan and by Roger Howe, Yale University.
- Other previous briefings include:
- What Does Water Know About Mathematics, by Mary Fannett Wheeler, The University of Texas at Austin
- Calculating the Secrets of Life: Mathematics in Medicine by DeWitt Sumners, Florida State University
- Eavesdropping on the Internet: Mathematics and Policy by Carl Pomerance, University of Georgia
- Mathematical Transcriptions of the Real World: Fingerprints, Magnetic Resonance and Video by Ronald Coifman, Yale University