PIMS and IMA Launch International Partnership

The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) launched its first major international partnership this month with a new agreement with the The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS). The IMA is based at the University of Minnesota and serves the mathematical sciences community and related fields throughout the United States and abroad. PIMS is a consortium established by eight universities in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Washington State serving the Canadian and international mathematical communities, with close ties to the Pacific Rim. The agreement provides travel funds for faculty members at any IMA member institutions to participate in programs offered by PIMS, and vice versa.

"This agreement makes a lot of sense because of the similar missions of IMA and PIMS. We hope that it will increase collaboration between mathematical scientists in Canada and the US, and lead to further future cooperation between the two institutes," said Fadil Santosa, IMA director.

Alejandro Adem, the Director of PIMS, observed that "this agreement will enable our two communities to participate in a broad range of complementary activities, and to facilitate joint access to the superb mathematical activities at both IMA and PIMS, which are two highly dynamic institutes. This will surely have a significant impact on mathematical collaborations between Canada and the U.S."

The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) was founded at the University of Minnesota in 1982 as a result of a competitive national process. It fosters interdisciplinary research between mathematics, other science disciplines, and industry in order to find solutions to important scientific and technological problems. The IMA is funded primarily by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

PIMS was created in 1996 to promote research in and applications of the mathematical sciences, to facilitate the training of highly qualified personnel, to enrich public awareness of and education in the mathematical sciences, and to create mathematical partnerships with similar organizations in other countries. PIMS is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada as well as by its member universities and provincial governments.