Abstract

The Institute for Mathematical Sciences (IMS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is a university-level research institute. Established on 1 July 2000 with startup funding from the Ministry of Education and NUS, the Institute was officially opened by the Minister for Education, RAdm Teo Chee Hean on 17 July 2001. Currently, it is primarily funded by the University. The mission of the Institute is to foster mathematical research, both fundamental and multidisciplinary, in particular, research that links mathematics to other disciplines, to nurture the growth of mathematical expertise among research scientists, to train talent for research in the mathematical sciences, and to serve as a platform for research interaction between the scientific community in Singapore and the wider international community. A Scientific Advisory Board advises the Director on the scientific development of the Institute and assists in the evaluation and selection of pre-proposals and proposals for its research programs. A Management Board oversees the running of the Institute. In carrying out its mission, IMS organizes research programs which incorporate workshops and tutorial sessions. The theme or themes of a program, which lasts from one to six months, are generally of a multidisciplinary nature, chosen from areas at the forefront of current research in the mathematical sciences and their applications. The purpose of a program is: (i) to bring together mathematical scientists and researchers from different disciplines in activity around common themes; (ii) to bring to Singapore leading researchers in selected fields to interact and do joint research with local scientists; (iii) to provide training of graduate students and young scientists through tutorial sessions. For training of graduate students, IMS also conducts summer schools every year. Each summer school will last from three weeks to a month. Some of the summer schools will be associated with thematic programs and held during the respective program periods. The Institute also organizes conferences, stand-alone workshops, colloquium lectures and ad-hoc seminars. These workshops and seminars are normally focused on specific topics with the objective of attracting smaller groups of participants and encouraging intensive interaction among them. IMS produces a Lecture Notes Series published by the World Scientific Publishing Company. The main objective of the Lecture Notes Series is to make available to a wider audience the original or revised notes of the tutorial lectures given during the Institute-s programs. The Institute also publishes, two to three times a year, a newsletter called "Imprints" which reports on IMS- programs and activities and features interviews with distinguished visitors to the Institute. In addition, IMS maintains a preprint series of research papers by visitors that were either initiated or written fully or in part during their participation in the Institute-s programs. As part of its outreach program, the Institute organizes public lectures, school lectures and math camps. Through these means and the interview articles in the newsletter, the Institute seeks to raise public awareness and understanding of the role of mathematics in science, engineering, technology and industry, and to encourage talented students in the study of mathematics leading to the pursuit of careers in research in the mathematical sciences.