National Center for Mathematics to come up in IIT Bombay campus; TIFR to be a partner
September 17th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindustan Times.
Two premier research institutes from the country – the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) — have come together to set up the India’s first mathematics centre. Located in the IIT-B campus, the National Centre for Mathematics will be modelled on the world’s first mathematics centre — the Oberwolfach Mathematics Research Institute in Germany.
“The centre will cater to all mathematicians. While there are conferences for mathematicians, there is no organised platform for them to come together. Mathematics centres are already established across the world in countries like China, France and Canada,” said JK Verma from the department of mathematics, IIT-B.
The centre will conduct research-level workshops, national and international seminars, foundation courses, instruction schools for teachers and facilitate research collaborations among scientists.
On a related note, Simons foundation in the US is trying to establish a new institute in theory of computing in the US. It aims to fund $6 Million/year for 10 years and may follow up with a renewal or an endowment.
Entry Filed under: India,Learning from others
2 Writeup
1. Debi P. Sarangi | September 17th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Is there any chance of making Institute of Mathematics, Bhubaneswar a eastern centre of the proposed institute?
2. R.K. Ghosh | September 20th, 2010 at 10:28 am
There is a need to develop good institutions in mathematics. Most depts of mathematics had problem of attracting good students so many of them decided to open courses in computer science and application and other areas such finance and insurance. This approach was self-defeating. It has resulted in India losing clout as a land of Archyabatta, Lilabati and Shakuntala. I believe there is hardly any institute of mathematics in India which have a good UG program. So, it will be a welcome move if Govt of Orissa puts its effort to upgrade IMB as suggested. However, I am not sure if IITs can be roped in for this exercise. Because, most IITs are engaged in application oriented research in maths.