1998
Canadian Mathematical Society
Annual Report
to Members

• A Word from the President
• Executive Director's Report
• Treasurer's Report
• Committee Reports
• Education
• Electronic Services
• Finance
• Fund Raising
• Government Policy
• Human Rights
• International Affairs
• Mathematical Olympiads
• Nominating
• Publications
• Research
• Women in Mathematics
• Editorial Boards
• Contributors
• CMS Executive Committee
• CMS Board of Directors
• CMS Executive Office

The past year was certainly a very successful one for all of Canadian Mathematics. At the international level, 1998 witnessed the elevation of Canadian Mathematics to Group Five, the highest ranking, in the International Mathematical Union (IMU). At the national level, the 1998 NSERC Reallocation process recognized the effectiveness of all the mathematical sciences, including Mathematics. It also provided significant new funding for the Mathematical Institutes. As a consequence, the configuration of Mathematical Institutes continued to evolve, with the Pacific Institute joining the Centre de Recherches Mathematiques and the Fields Institute as a third permanent Institute. Most recently, the successfully funded "Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems" (MITACS) project, which was organized by the Institutes, offers the opportunity for a large group of Canadian mathematicians to build research bridges with the private sector. The above successes culminate four years of effort and initiatives by Canadian mathematicians in response to their situation after the 1994 NSERC Reallocation process.

When one looks at the CMS for 1998, the most striking new development was the establishment of the Endowment Grants Program. This culminates years of effort in building up the Endowment Fund and will provide roughly $60K in funding per year to partly support.a variety of mathematics projects across Canada In general, much of what happened within the CMS could be described as a continued evolution in which existing trends were reinforced and planning was also underway for future developments. Perhaps our most crucial decision of the year, the reappointment of Graham Wright as Executive Director for a further term (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002), is representative of both these trends. This is not a new decision in that we have done this many times (and are happy to have done it again). But we are planning to partly refocus the position of Executive Director by removing the task of Managing Editor from Graham's responsibilities and have him spend more time on fund raising and promotional activities. These changes are connected with the emerging issue of the future directions of the CMS and how we will eventually structure the Executive Director's position, notably will the CMS need to move to a full time Executive Director. The future of the CMS will certainly be a major topic in the CMS during 1999. The Strategic Planning document was approved in 1998 and resulted in four task forces being established which are scheduled to report in 1999. Planning for the future of a different sort is also underway, as regards WMY 2000. Besides helping to celebrate the World Math Year 2000 (WMY 2000) by funding a number of projects, the CMS is also actively involved in planning a major joint meeting to be held at McMaster in June 2000. Current participating Societies, besides the CMS, are: the Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society (CAIMS), the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS), the Canadian Symposium on Fluid Dynamics (CSFD), the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) and the Canadian Undergraduate Mathematics Conference (CUMC).

All the major areas of CMS activity witnessed significant accomplishments in 1998. The following is an effort to pick out several which were particularly striking or indicative of future change. Our two semi-annual meetings held in 1998 were very successful with large attendance and a very broad range of sessions. They represent models for our evolving meeting format designed to encourage participation. One particular new arrangement, which we hope will further strengthen our meetings, is one being worked out with the three Mathematical Institutes whereby each will participate in a semi-annual meeting by organizing some sessions. The Mathematical Olympiads Committee continued to expand its already impressive high school enrichment program. The core of the program is its hierarchy of competitions (Open, CMO, IMO). The Open, now in its third year, is evolving into a significant national competition, despite experiencing difficulties due to labour disruptions in various provincial high school systems. The CMS also continues to expand its high school resource material via its new ATOM book series. And the Society has begun to develop a system of regional and national math camps. The Education Committee finalized the format for its outreach activities via a program for Grants to Promote Public Appreciation of Mathematics.

The CMS has continued to expand its electronic presence. The Publications Committee and Electronic Services Committees collaborated in providing online publication of the Journal, the Bulletin, CRUX with MAYHEM, as well as the Notes. In general, the CMS website, Camel, is proving an increasingly valuable window on the world. An ad-hoc Committee established in 1998 will, hopefully, tell us how to best utilize it, and how best to utilize the ever-expanding electronic services and how best to fund them. The Notes are providing increasingly broad coverage of mathematical activity in Canada.

The organizational structure of the CMS is continuing to evolve. Fund raising has been re-organized and a new format has been developed for the pursuit of corporate sponsors. This has meet with considerable initial success. It will be another year before we can make a realistic appraisal of this initiative. This is an important initiative. It seems fair to say that the ability of the CMS to sponsor a wider range of activities is contingent on our ability to access new funding. Our current budget is fully committed. The renewal and expansion of membership also remains a goal and concern. It is hoped that our new membership reciprocity agreement with the AMS, to take effect in 2000, will be effective in this regards.

CMS financial operations, while perhaps less visible than other activities, are crucial and we continue to make significant changes. Notably, 1998 was the first year in which we used the calender year as our budget year. After extensive discussion, the Finance Committee adapted a "passive investment" policy regarding our, now extensive, segregated Investment Funds (Endowment Fund and Mathematical Olympiads Fund). The articulation of an investment policy is a considerable achievement and one which has taken a long time to evolve.

The growing involvement of students in the CMS has been a major trend of the past few years. The above mentioned CUMC, while independent of the CMS , has been developing closer links. For the next two years it will be held in conjunction with the CMS Summer Meeting, and we hope that this pattern will continue. A new student committee, in part to serve as a liaison between students and the CMS, is in the process of being organized. At the graduate level, a growing emphasis on industrial training is emerging. The first CMS "Job Fair" is being planned for the 1999 Winter Meeting in Montreal and it is hoped that, with the collaboration of the Institutes and MITACS, this will become a regular event.

Executive Director's Report

Graham P. Wright (University of Ottawa)

Words that well describe 1998 are change, activity and progress.

Change, activity and progress have certainly been part of the past and also, they will be very much an aspect of the future. A number of initiatives are currently underway: the various task forces that will be reviewing all of our activities and operations; the establishment of an Endowment Grants Selection Committee and a Student Committee; the new management for the Society's Restricted (Investment) Funds; the recently approved new reciprocal agreement between the CMS and the AMS; and the activities connected with the World Math Year 2000. Along with these initiatives, we are experiencing an expansion in our research activities (more sessions, job fairs and increased linkages with the research institutes and other societies), in our publishing activities (printed and electronic), and in our educational activities (math camps, competitions and other activities to encourage the public appreciation of mathematics). All these factors will make the future interesting, challenging and exciting.

During the past year, the change in the financial year-end to December 31, not only resulted in new time-frames for all of the financial operations but also necessitated changes to a number of related administrative operations. For example, the Annual General Meeting of members will now take place at the Summer Meeting and not the Winter Meeting.

The Operations Fund is divided into four divisions General, Research, Education and Publishing and every effort is made to be as accurate as possible with the many budget estimates. There are always, however, unforeseen circumstances which impact on the actual final numbers. Overall, the Operations Fund surplus for 1998 was projected to be approximately $62,500. Fortunately, the actual surplus in the Operations Fund is higher than projected at approximately $90,000.

Expenses in all divisions were well controlled and this resulted in the actual totals for expenditures being very close to projected amounts. In the Research Activities Division, due to highly successful meetings at Saint John, New Brunswick (June 1998) and at Kingston, Ontario (December 1998), a small surplus rather then a budgeted deficit was achieved. The difference between the Canadian dollar and the US dollar resulted in higher revenues from foreign exchange and, consequently, the actual surplus in Publishing Activites was about $12,000 more than projected.

On a cautionary note, the 1998 surplus must be balanced with the deficit of $10,439 for 1997 and a budgeted deficit of just under $39,000 for 1999. Clearly, the ability for the Society to support a wide array of activities will be severely limited unless additional revenue sources can be found.

During 1998, a number of administrative changes were made, including a number of changes in existing staff positions. The current Executive Office staff - Monique Bouchard (Operations Manager), Caroline Baskerville (Assitant to the Executive Director), Chantal Stevenson (Membership and Publications Agent), Suzanne Lalonde (Executive Office Clerk), Alan Kelm (Site Manager - Camel East), Claire Ryan (Financial Assitant), and Diane Ellis (Comptroller) -- have helped implement the many changes during 1998 and still provided the members, subscribers and others with a proper level of service.

With the help of all of those involved in our electronic services, numerous changes, re-designs and developments were made to the CMS web site (Camel). Major changes were made to the publications and competitions pages and also significant improvements were made to the bilingualism of each CMS page. Significant efforts were also made to make CMS documents available on the web site in a timely and efficient manner. Wherever possible, the process is automated so as to minimize the amount of additional staff time required.

In 1998, there were significant strides in the area of fund raising. Promotional and other fund raising materials were developed and an extensive campaign begun to obtain a greater level of support from both the private and public sectors. Once again, good media exposure was received for the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge, the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad and the Canadian team to the International Mathematical Olympiad. Although a good foundation has been established and, although some successses have already been achieved, considerable work remains if the CMS is to obtain the required level of support for its educational, research and publishing activities.

The Society continues to provide an extensive range of periodicals and other publications and, in 1998, much progress took place with regard to our publishing activities.

A new format for the CMS Notes was released with the February/March issue and this new format was well received. In 1998, with the inclusion of the CMS Notes, all of the Society's periodicals were available on-line at the CMS web site (http://cms.math.ca/). The 1998 CMS Membership Directory was published in the fall and is now also available on-line to CMS members. The on-line version is updated regulary and, therefore, provides members with more current and accurate information.

Thanks to the efforts of all of those involved, particularly the editors-in-chief and the other editors, the Canadian Journal of Mathematics (CJM), the Canadian Mathematical Bulletin (CMB), CRUX with MAYHEM and the CMS Notes were produced on or ahead of schedule. The high quality and timeliness of each of these periodicals is much appreciated by the many subscribers and others. Although there are some unavoidable delays with the mail (both nationally and internationally) that are outside the Society's control, efforts continue to try and bring about improvements in the mailing of the issues.

For many years, the CMS Series of Advanced Books in Mathematics has been published as part of the Wiley Interscience Series. Following a review of several factors pertaining to the series, the Board of Directors regretfully agreed to terminate the current publishing agreement effective July 1, 1998. The CMS has entered into a new agreement with Springer Verlag which should result in greater benefits to both authors and the CMS.

During 1998, four volumes in the CMS Conference Proceedings Series (co-published with the American Mathematical Society) were released. In the new series of booklets for high school students - ATOM (A Taste of Mathematics) - several booklets are in various stages of production and some of these should be released in 1999.

The Society's extensive programme of activities would not be possible without the tremendous help of the members, meeting organizers, volunteers, the staff in the various satellite offices across Canada, as well as those corporations, governments, foundations and others that provide such crucial support. In June 1998, Katherine Heinrich ended her term as President of the CMS and was succeeded by Richard Kane. I extend my sincere thanks to her for her leadership, guidance and assistance and I look forward to working with Richard Kane over the next two years. My gratitude and thanks go to all of those who helped make 1998 a most successful and productive year.

Treasurer's Report

Arthur Sherk

1998 was the first full year of our new fiscal year, coinciding with the calendar year. While having the potential for a problem year, it has in fact turned out quite favourably.

The Operations Fund, consisting of the General, Publishing, Research, and Education Divisions, shows a favourable balance for the year of $89,500, and brings the cumulative total to $120,259, exclusive of $23,057 in Capital Assets. Following the approved procedure of keeping no more than $75,000 in the cumulative total of revenues over expenses, $45,259 has been transferred to the Endowment Fund.

A closer look at the actual revenue and expenditures, compared to the budgeted amounts, shows how the unexpectedly high balance was reached. The greatest single revenue increase was in Foreign Exchange; the high US Dollar (or low Canadian Dollar) works in our favour. In terms of expenses, there are a great number of relatively small (but cumulatively very important) savings in administrative and committee budgets, which have also helped. My thanks to the administrative offices and committee chairs for their sensitivity in this regard.

There are matters for concern in the Operations Fund report. Revenue from Membership fees did not come up to expectation, and although revenue from publications is up over the previous year, the number of subscriptions is down. For a variety of reasons the Education Division operated at a deficit, and we continue to struggle with the problem of adequate revenue to support the CAMEL activities. Most of these problems are agenda items for the various Task Forces which are now in operation.

On a brighter note, the Endowment Fund yielded good returns, and now has a market value in excess of $1.5 million. 1999 will be the first year in which we implement the recommendations of the Endowment Fund Task Force, and use a portion of the annual income for various approved projects.

Canadian Mathematical Society

Balance Sheetas at December 31, 1998

Budget 1999 - Operations Fund Summary

Budget 1999 - General and Education Divisions

Budget 1999 - Research and Publications Divisions

Education

The CMS was also involved in several other national events. Of note was the CMS/Fields Panel at Mathfest98 (Toronto, July 98) on Concurrent Models - Teaching Mathematics While Developing Teaching Skills. The CMS also helped sponsor the 1998 Canadian Undergraduate Mathematics Conference at UBC. The Education Committee oversaw this support.

The CMS, working through the Education Committee, helped support six provincial or regional high school mathematics contests in 1998 (in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, the Maritimes, and Newfoundland).

The Education Committee was also involved in CMS sponsorship of mathematics prizes, and in the judging and presentation associated to them, at the Canada Wide Science Fair of the Youth Science Foundation. The 1998 event was in Timmins, Ontario.

The CMS provides modest matching grants for public lecturers and for raising public awareness of mathematics. These are adjudicated by the Education Committee. In 1998 the CMS helped fund events organized at SFU, UNBC, and at the 1998 meeting of the Ontario Association for Mathematics Education. The latter meeting, at North Bay, featured an invited reprise of an OAME'97 workshop on web resources for teachers organized through the CMS Education Committee.

The Education Committee acts on behalf of the CMS in selecting recipients for the Adrien Pouliot Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to mathematics education. The committee had the pleasure of choosing Bernard Hodgson as the recipient of the 1998 award.

Electronic Services