WelcomeThe New Zealand Mathematical Society (Inc.) is the representative body of professional mathematicians in New Zealand, and was founded in 1974. Its aims include promotion of research in the mathematical sciences, the development, application and dissemination of mathematical knowledge within New Zealand, and effective cooperation and collaboration between mathematicians and their colleagues in New Zealand and in other countries. Notices and newsNZMS Research Award7 December 2011 Congratulations to Shaun Cooper of Massey University (Albany), the 2011 recipient of the NZMS Research Award. The award recognises Shaun's sustained generation of significant and original contributions to number theory, particularly in the areas of elliptic functions, theta functions, and modular forms. NZMS Early Career Award7 December 2011 Congratulations to Claire Postlethwaite of the University of Auckland, the 2011 recipient of the NZMS Early Career Award. The award recognises Claire's enormous progress in applying mathematics to the study of animal movement, and for her development of fundamental ideas in applied dynamical systems. NZMS Aitken Prize7 December 2011 Congratulations to Edoardo Persichetti of the University of Auckland, the 2011 recipient of the NZMS Aitken Prize for the best contributed talk by a student at the annual New Zealand Mathematical Society Colloquium. Hector Medal to Rod Downey16 November 2011 Rod Downey of Victoria University of Wellington was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand's Hector Medal for 2011 “for his outstanding, internationally acclaimed work in recursion theory, computational complexity, and other aspects of mathematical logic and combinatorics.” Rod Downey is internationally recognised for his influential and innovative work in mathematical logic and computer science. He is acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost experts in recursion theory, a technically difficult branch of mathematical logic dealing with the fundamental limits of computation. He inaugurated research in parameterised complexity, which includes the input size as one of the parameters in the analysis of the complexity of computation. This work attracted the attention and involvement of several leading complexity theorists worldwide, and culminated in the publication of a large monograph in 1999. In recent years, Rod and his collaborators have made very significant advances in the study of algorithmic randomness and complexity, again culminating in a large monograph, published in 2010. In addition to these two books, he has published more than 220 research articles in leading journals and conference proceedings. His international standing is highlighted by his invitation to give an address at the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians, the first New Zealand based mathematician invited to do so. In addition, he has presented invited talks at numerous high-level, international meetings around the world; organised several such meetings himself; supervised many excellent doctoral students; and attracted many outstanding young mathematicians from around the world to work with him as postdoctoral research fellows (19). Professor Rod Glover elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand3 November 2011 Professor Rod Gover from the Department of Mathematics at The University of Auckland has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. “Rod is internationally renowned for his work in differential geometry, and is one of the jewels in the crown of The University of Auckland. It's an honour and a pleasure to have him as our colleague,” says Head of Department of Mathematics Professor James Sneyd. “Being elected as a Fellow is an honour given to our top researchers for showing distinction in research or in the advancement of science, technology or the humanities,” said Dr Stephen Goldson, chair of the Society’s Academy, in announcing the news. Professor Gover is an internationally recognised expert in geometry and its applications to analysis, differential equations and theoretical physics. His research not only tackles fascinating mathematical problems but is of direct relevance to other fields of science. For instance conformal geometry, one of the geometries that he studies, can be used to explain how light behaves as it travels through space, how cells organise themselves into tissues, and the properties of materials used in construction. Many people use these geometries to some degree in their work, and Professor Gover says that he enjoys the exposure to a wide variety of fields that this affords him. For instance, he is currently collaborating with a physicist who studies the fundamental physics of the universe, looking at questions which arise in string theory and quantum gravity. The Royal Society of New Zealand now has 376 Fellows. Fellows are involved in providing expert advice, promoting best research practice and disseminating science and humanities information. 2011 Hatherton Award made to mathematician Dr Adam Richard Day27 October 2011 The Hatherton Award for 2011 has been awarded to the pure mathematician Dr Adam Richard Day for his paper entitled Increasing the Gap between Descriptional Complexity and Algorithmic Probability which was published in the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society in October 2011. Dr Day was the single author of the paper and worked from the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Operations Research, Victoria University of Wellington. The paper is published in one of the world's top pure mathematics journals and reports a fundamental contribution to the area of algorithmic information theory, concerned with the relationship between the a priori probability of an event and the event's shortest descriptional length. The author has solved a 26 year old question in the area and the result is regarded by the referees as a tour de force of lasting value and considered a most significant result in algorithmic information theory. Dr Day completed his undergraduate and PhD degrees at Victoria University and has now received a Miller Fellowship to further his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. The Hatherton Award is awarded annually for the best paper in physical, earth or maths and information sciences by a New Zealand University PhD student. It was established in memory of Trevor Hatherton FRSNZ, President of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1985-89, and awarded for the first time in 1997. 2012 Maclaurin Lecturer1 September 2011 Professor Marston Conder from The University of Auckland is the first (outgoing) Maclaurin Lecturer. His lecture tour of the United States in 2012/13 includes a plenary address to the American Mathematical Society. Professor Conder is an international leader in his field. He specialises in the development and use of combinatorial group theory and computational methods to study the symmetries of discrete structures. These structures occur in a wide range of fields, including many other branches of mathematics as well as molecular chemistry and the design of computer architectures and efficient distribution networks. The Maclaurin Lectureship is a new reciprocal exchange between the New Zealand Mathematical Society and American Mathematical Society. A New Zealand and a United States-based mathematician will tour each other’s countries on alternate years, with the lecturers to be chosen by both societies. The lectureship is named after Richard Cockburn Maclaurin (1870 – 1920), who studied at Auckland University College – now The University of Auckland – and Cambridge University, and won the Smith Prize in Mathematics and Yorke Prize in Law. He was Foundation Professor of Mathematics at Victoria University College, as well as Dean of Law and Professor of Astronomy. In 1908 he became President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and helped transform that institution into a world-class research-based technological university. Summary of the Society’s activitiesPromotion of researchEach year the Society awards both a Research Award and an Early Career Award to mark and reward outstanding research activity. OrganizationThe Forder Lectureship brings noted mathematicians to speak in New Zealand every two years and is organized jointly by the Society and the London Mathematical Society. The NZMS Visiting Lectureship allows a visiting mathematician to spend two to three days at each of the six main university centres; the Society coordinates and provides some financial assistance for this tour. PublicationsThe Newsletter, published three times a year, is the official organ of the Society, and contains news from around the country, featured opinion articles, featured mathematicians, official notices and minutes, and application forms. The Society also co-publishes the New Zealand Journal of Mathematics. OtherThe Aitken Prize is awarded annually for the best contributed student talk at the NZ Mathematics Colloquium. Information is maintained of mathematical visitors to New Zealand. Financial assistance is made available in the form of grants to support attendance of mathematical conferences in Australasia, postgraduate student travel, mathematics in the South Pacific, and miscellaneous research activities. Main contact:New Zealand Mathematical Society
C/- Dr Alex James (NZMS Secretary, a.james@math.canterbury.ac.nz)
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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