OPINION > YOUTH VIEWS

The Math Mardi Gras, the accomplishments of local math students and various math clubs were the focus of last month's article. This month's article will focus on The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM), the sponsor of the Math Mardi Gras, and its impact beyond the boundaries of Morgan Hill.

AIM was founded in 1994 as a nonprofit organization by John Fry and Steve Sorenson, longtime supporters of mathematical research. Over the years it has acquired funding from numerous sources, most importantly from Fry's Electronics and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Today it is among seven math institutes funded by the NSF.

Presently AIM makes its home in Palo Alto, but during the next few years the institute plans to move to a permanent home in Morgan Hill. The AIM Research Conference Center, once completed, will sponsor week-long workshops in all areas of the mathematical sciences. Previous workshops, in pure and applied mathematics, have been held in Palo Alto.

The Morgan Hill City Council, in a unanimous vote in 2005, approved the ambitious project of an Alhambra-style castle that would host mathematicians from many nations as they participate in up to 20 focused workshops per year at the Morgan Hill facility.

The research center also will house a math library available to researchers and a collection of rare math books and documents, which will be the core of its permanent and revolving exhibitions.

AIM has sponsored more than 100 workshops during the past decade. Topics have ranged from Modeling of Cancer Progression and Immunotherapy to How to Run a Math Circle to complex topics in pure mathematics and applied mathematics.

Our LCD screens, for instance, are made possible because of math. The AIM style of collaboration with fellow mathematicians has been recognized as an excellent model to promote research and to solve math problems.

Dr. Brian Conrey, executive director of AIM, has shepherded the organization's evolution and its promise. AIM sponsors mathematicians for five-year fellowships as well as the innovative Math Teachers' Circles (MTC), designed for middle school teachers. AIM launched its first MTC in 2006, thanks to the efforts of educators from Santa Clara Valley.

Now, AIM plans to organize 100 MTCs nationwide by 2014. The MTC mission is to enrich the teachers' experience of mathematical problem solving and to enable them (and their students) to tackle open-ended problems with confidence.

AIM's energy and vision seem limitless. Perhaps the most prestigious international mathematics organization is the International Mathematical Union (IMU), founded in 1919 and which meets every four years for the International Congress of Mathematicians.

The location of this congress varies according to the country of the current president of the IMU; it has been held in international cities such as Brussels, Paris, Berkeley and New York. However, the IMU is considering a permanent home.

Currently, there are several communities bidding for this honor: Morgan Hill, another city in North America and cities in South America, Switzerland and Germany.

The next IMU congress, scheduled for 2010, will be held in India, the land that conceived "zero" and created Arabic numerals. (Arab traders spread the word; Indians conceived the numerals.)

The IMU also presides over one of the most coveted prizes in the mathematical world - the Fields Medal - often described as the "Nobel Prize of mathematics" for the prestige it carries. It is awarded every four years to two, three or four young mathematicians younger than 40.

Often overlooked is the IMU's commitment to supporting research in mathematics in developing countries.

Support takes the form of Ph.D. scholarships, funding for mathematical meetings, software, books, various prizes and grants. An educated global population is important to all of us.

Whatever the IMU's selection of its permanent home, Morgan Hill can enjoy its place on the map as a wonderful rural residential community and the future home of a Moorish castle nestled in the eastern foothills - AIM's Research and Conference Center.

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Catherine Connor

Catherine Connor Catherine Connor is a senior at Ann Sobrato High School. She writes a monthly youth column for the Morgan Hill Times. She can be reached at cthrnpm@aol.com.

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