MEDIA RELEASE — May 29, 2008

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Canadian Mathematical Society

Montreal, Quebec - Canada's leading math organizations are taking part in an international conference in Montréal where mathematical scientists from Canada and France will share the latest developments in key research areas including network security, financial and risk management and biomedical sciences. The CMS (Canadian Mathematical Society), MITACS (the Mathematics of Information Technology & Complex Systems), and CAIMS (Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society) are partnering with CRM (le Centre de recherches mathématiques), the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, ISM (Institute des sciences mathématiques), PIMS (Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences), UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal), SMAI (Société de Mathématique Appliquées & Industrielles), and SMF (Société Mathématique de France) to host the Second Canada-France Congress.

The Congress will include 28 scientific sessions where over 400 speakers will speak on their area of expertise. Session topics will include pure mathematics, nonlinear dynamics in life sciences, set theory and its applications, scientific computing, probability, industrial fluid mechanics, and financial mathematics.

In recognition of the leading scientific research taking place in Canada and France, the congress will feature a number of major award presentations including the CMS research and education prizes, the CAIMS Research Prize and the MITACS Student Awards. More than 100 graduate students will also present research posters on June 1st with judges awarding the best presenters with prizes.

Over 800 delegates from Canada, France and other countries around the world will be attending the Congress, making this one of the largest mathematical meetings in the world this year. Among these attendees, more than 250 will be graduate students.

A highlight of the Congress is a public lecture entitled "Disorder and Beauty" by Dr. Yvan Saint-Aubin, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at l'Université de Montréal. Dr. Saint-Aubin will share cases where math was used to find patterns where only disorder appeared to exist. The lecture is taking place on Wednesday, June 4th from 6:30 - 7:30pm in l' Amphithéâtre in the Pavillon Sherbrooke at UQAM (200, rue Sherbrooke Ouest).

"The CMS is pleased and proud to be a partner in this event, which spans the breadth of mathematics and its applications. This congress demonstrates the dynamism of the mathematical communities in France and Canada, as well as the many research partnerships between the two countries. We are delighted at the large number students who will participate in the congress. The CMS is very grateful to the scientific directors of the congress and to the scientific committee, for arranging a truly exceptional scientific program, and to UQAM for hosting the event." said Dr. Thomas Salisbury, President of the Canadian Mathematical Society.

"MITACS is delighted to be partnering up with so many world-class organizations within the mathematics community," said Dr. Arvind Gupta, Scientific Director of MITACS. "These collaborations are a great way for researchers and industry to share information about key issues facing the world."

"CAIMS members are pleased that our Annual Meeting is a part of this exciting international congress. All congress delegates are welcome to the CAIMS events. We wish to congratulate Dr. Alysson M. Costa, winner of the CAIMS Cecil Graham Doctoral Dissertation Award and Professor J. Alan George, University of Waterloo, who will receive the CAIMS Research Prize in recognition of his fundamental work in numerical linear algebra. We thank all of the hard-working scientific program and local organizers, and express our deep appreciation to UQAM for hosting this outstanding congress." said Dr. Robert Russell, President of CAIMS.

The CMS will be holding their Summer Meeting and MITACS and CAIMS will be holding their annual conferences during the Second Canada-France Congress.

About CMS

Founded in 1945, the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is the main national organization whose goal is to promote and advance the discovery, learning, and application of mathematics. The Society's activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics: scientific meetings and publishing of research material, education at all levels, popularization of mathematics. The education activities include competitions, mathematics camps in all provinces, outreach activities, meetings, etc. The CMS organizes national Fora in mathematical education. For more details: www.cms.math.ca.

About MITACS

MITACS (www.mitacs.ca) is a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) for the mathematical sciences hosted by Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. The only Canadian organization of its kind, it focuses on developing mathematical solutions in five of the economy's fastest growing sectors: biomedical and health, environment and natural resources, information processing, risk and finance and communication, networks and security. Each MITACS research project partners academic scientists and their graduate students from universities across the country with Canadian organizations.

About CAIMS

The Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society (CAIMS) represents the community of applied mathematicians in academia, industry and government in Canada. It organizes national and international events and its annual meetings provide an important forum for research and networking in Canada. The Doctoral Dissertation Award, Research Prize and Distinguished Service Award recognize outstanding contributions to Canadian applied mathematics. See www.caims.ca.

For more information, contact:

CMS
Dr. Christiane Rousseau
Chair - CMS International Affairs Committee
Phone: 514-343-7729
rousseac@DMS.UMontreal.ca

MITACS
Ms. Megan Airton
Director, Communications
Phone: 778.233.6344
mairton@mitacs.ca

CAIMS Dr. William Langford
Past President, CAIMS
Phone: 519-824-7702
wlangfor@uoguelph.ca