Inauguration speech of Yau* On August 7, 2016, a large group of Chinese mathematicians gathered in Beijing to announce the establishment of a new organization called the International Consortium of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM). The charter of this new organization is published in this issue of ICCM Notices. This organization consists of mathematicians of Chinese descent who are spread all around the world. The organization’s major function is to promote and advance mathematics within the extended Chinese community and to build good relationships between Chinese mathematicians and other mathematicians throughout the world. * The idea of forming such an organization dates back to 1998 when the first International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians (also called ICCM) was held in Beijing. We have since held this congress once every three years in locations that rotate from session to session. So far the congress has been held in Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Beijing, Taipei, and again in Beijing. * Over the years, the number of participants has grown from 250 to over 2000 people. Besides the fundamental support of the local organizers, we also have strong support from the Morningside Foundation of Hong Kong. The foundation has sponsored the opening ceremonies, which are held in prestigious places within the city that is hosting the conference. Morningside Gold and Silver Medals have been given out each time. We have added a few more awards, which include the Chern award and the International Cooperation Award. The recipients of all these awards were mathematicians with great achievements. In the case of the Chern award, we also award this medal to non-mathematicians who have made serious contributions to the development of mathematics. The most notable cases were the awards to President Lee of Taiwan University and to Mr. Ronnie Chan, one of the founders of the Morningside Foundation. * In general, there are more than 150 mathematicians who come from all over the world to give talks in mathematics. Some of the speakers are not Chinese. The Morningside Lecturers are mathematicians with outstanding achievements. We are glad to see that the ICCM will bring mathematicians from all over the world to come together. Not only are important ideas communicated but friendships are built among participants who may not otherwise have had the chance to meet each other. * After the success of these meetings, we decided to expand their function in order to better serve the Chinese mathematics community. After all, the growth of the Chinese economy has facilitated the growth in investments into research and education. We have since seen a rapid increase in the number of young Chinese mathematicians spread all over the world. We needed to form the ICCM in order to organize meetings and publish magazines, books, and journals. When I first proposed the idea of forming ICCM, we saw great enthusiasm among our fellow Chinese mathematicians. The organization has no interest in anything other than scholarly work and promoting mathematics-related activities. Our motivation is simple: We like to see and work with our mathematics friends who are scattered throughout other countries. * The establishment of the ICCM has enabled us to create many more activities than we could have handled before. For example, we have formed a consortium of applied mathematicians, running one conference for them each year within China. We also started an archive called MathSciDoc, which intends to put all papers related to mathematics online. We also intend to have an annual meeting to meet and give out awards of various kinds. * I believe that the formation of the ICCM will greatly strengthen the research and education of mathematics among researchers of Chinese descent. I also hope that the ICCM will promote friendship between Chinese mathematicians and mathematicians of different heritages, based elsewhere in the world. Vision and Mission● Vision* to strengthen the research and education of mathematics among researchers of Chinese descent; and * to promote friendship between Chinese mathematicians and mathematicians of different heritages, based elsewhere in the world. ● Mission* to convene the International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians; * to organize academic conferences; * to publish ICCM Notices, mathematics journals and other publications; * to participate in and promoting international academic exchanges; and * to establish awards for encouraging outstanding mathematicians. Organization● OfficersPresidentShing-Tung Yau(丘成桐)
Lo Yang(杨乐)
Jing Yu(于靖)
Raymond Hon Fu Chan(陈汉夫)
● Committees2019 ICCM Meetings Committee Academic Committee Editorial Committee Publicity Committee Membership Committee |
