Dr. Raj Shree Dhar
The Earth has now been explored. It no longer promises new continents or lost lands but the Mathematical approach now permits us to leave our planet, to venture into space, and to explore other worlds. After having left the Earth we are now able to view it from above to see its solid spherical shape and the outlines of its continents. What a serene view!
It was around 300 B.C. , that the mathematicians began the intellectual adventure that has led us to the shores of space but the greatest marvels were the institutes and libraries where they worked and gained knowledge. There was a community of scholars, who explored Physics, Literature, Medicine, Astronomy, Geography, Philosophy, Biology and Mathematics. These institutes brought numerous brains and hence glory on this planet.
In these institutes, the students first collected systematically and then studied the knowledge of the world. Initially books were very expensive; some were copied by hand.
Alexandria was the greatest city as people of all nations came there to live and learn. It was there that the citizens of Cosmos exchanged their ideas. But alas! One day the mob burnt the Library down as there was nobody to stop them. The glory of the Alexandrian Library was destroyed and most of its discoveries and ideas became extinct. The heart of the library was its collection of books of the cultures and the languages of the world.
Time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden and discoveries which are reserved for ages to come. Whatever road we take, our fate is indissolubly bound with Mathematics and Science. It is essential as a matter of simple survival for us to understand mathematical sciences and those who understand are more likely to survive. Because Mathematical sciences are inseparable from the rest of the human endeavor; it cannot be discussed without making contact with a number of social, political, religious, and philosophical issues.
The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (Cambridge University) is a national and international visitor research institute. It runs research programmes on selected themes in mathematics and the mathematical sciences with applications over a wide range of science and technology. During each scientific programme new collaborations are made and ideas and expertise are exchanged and catalyzed through lectures, seminars and informal interaction, which the institute building has been designed specifically to encourage. Since the Institute opened, 27 Fields Medalists, 9 Nobel Laureates, 23 winners of a Wolf Prize and 12 winners of the Abel Prize have attended Institute programmes.
The under graduate program in Mathematics at Brown university is designed to prepare students for careers in mathematical sciences.
Chennai Mathematical Institute is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in the mathematical sciences. CMI occupies a unique position in Indian academia, attracting substantial funding from both corporate and government sources. Students who have graduated from CMI have pursued higher studies at the most prestigious institutions around the world: Caltech, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Princeton, Rutgers and Yale in USA, the Ecole Normale Superieure, the Ecole Polytechnique, the University of Paris-Sud and the University of Bordeaux in France, the Max Planck Institutes in Saarbruecken and Bonn in Germany, ETH in Zurich, not to mention CMI, IMSc, HRI, TIFR, IITs, ISI and other institutions in India.
Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore has become the premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education in India. Beginning with 2 departments and 21 students in 1911, today IISc has 39 departments, units, or centres, 3500 students, and about 500 academic and scientific staff, supported by 600 administrative personnel. Out of this population of students, about 2200 are in various PhD programs, almost 900 are enrolled for various Masters degrees, whereas about 400 are registered in the newly established, research oriented, four-year Bachelor of Science (Research) programme, of which the first batch graduated in 2015.
We have to build structures to facilitate interaction between applied Mathematicians and Industry, and create awareness of the uses of Mathematics for Industry. Here Mathematicians have to be proactive and reach out to Industry, especially in a country like ours where Industry does not seem to be aware of (or willing to use) the uses of Mathematics. Public sector industries should take a pioneering role in applying Mathematics to solve some of the problems. We should set up (say, a group of experts) who would actively interact with industry and advise potential users.
The Jammu and Kashmir Institute of Mathematical sciences has been established by Department of Higher Education, J & K Government and with the constant dynamic efforts of the Department of Higher Education; it has been registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act VI of 1998 recently in December 2016.
The institute’s vision is to develop into a well-rounded academic center of excellence. It intends to start B.Sc. And M.Sc. integrated programs in Mathematical sciences after selecting students and intends to have active research programme with vibrant visiting scientists’ schemes and professional expertise has to be drawn through NBHM, DST Etc. for training the students. It proposes to have an outstanding Library, fastest academic computers, and other infrastructures.
To have the courage to use your own intelligence is the motto of the enlightenment.-Immanuel Kant.
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