HECTOR MEDAL FOR JOHN BUTCHER
Professor John Butcher has been awarded the Hector Memorial Medal in Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science by the Royal Society of New Zealand for his work on numerical analysis (ordinary differential equations). This medal is New Zealand's premier scientific honour and is awarded annually, in rotation amongst various sciences. It was named in memory of Sir James Hector FRS (1834-1907) a Scottish doctor who became a geologist and explorer, finding the route for the Canadian Pacific Railway to cross the Rocky Mountains. In 1862 he was appointed as Provincial Geologist for Otago, and subsequently he became director of all governmental scientific activity in New Zealand. Amongst its recipients is Ernest Rutherford (1916).
The Hector Memorial Medal and Prize was founded in 1910 by the New Zealand Institute, in honour of Hector, and it remains the major prize awarded by the Royal Society of New Zealand.
The bronze Medal and the Prize (of $500) are awarded each year to that investigator, working in New Zealand, who has done most to advance a
specified branch of science, consisting of Plant Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Human Sciences, Solid Earth Sciences, Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, and Animal Sciences, in cyclic order.
The Hector Memorial Medal and Prize has previously been awarded to the eminent mathematicians Duncan McLaren Young Sommerville in 1928, Henry George Forder in 1946, Keith Edward Bullen in 1952, Derek Frank Lawden in 1964 and Roy Patrick Kerr in 1982. John Butcher has now been honoured for his achievements in mathematics, particularly in the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations. His monograph on "The Numerical Analysis of Ordinary Differential Equations: Runge-Kutta and General Linear Methods" (Chichester & New York: J. Wiley, 1987) is a standard major reference work. Indeed, "Butcher trees" are now household words for every mathematician concerned with such problems.
The award of the Hector medal this year is regarded by John as a recognition of the importance of numerical analysis.
Garry J. Tee
BRUNEI CONNECTION
Professor Wilfred Malcolm, previously Professor of Pure Mathematics at Victoria University of Wellington and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato 1984-1994 has accepted the position of Visiting Professor of Mathematics at the University of Brunei Darussalam for 1997. There has been a substantial degree of contact between New Zealand and Brunei in the Applied Mathematics area since 1991 when Professor Graeme Wake was appointed as External Examiner in Mathematics to the then newly formed University of Brunei in Negara Begawan Darussalam.
Subsequent to this New Zealand had a strong role of leadership in the International Conference on Mathematical Modelling in 1995. Professor Wake was the Scientific Director of this conference.
The Mathematics Department at the University of Brunei Darussalam has 2 staff members with New Zealand Masterates from Massey University and
is seeking external advice as it develops as a major University in the region.
Professor Malcolm's appointment serves as a further signal of New Zealand's committment to help the region and the return of one of New Zealand's most respected teachers of mathematics to the centre-stage...at the chalk-face.!! We applaud this appointment and wish Wilf and Ruth Malcolm a rewarding time in Brunei.
Recently ANZIAM, which I have the privilege to Chair, has made an approach to seek wider involvement in the South East Asian Region and some further joint ventures are being investigated.
Graeme Wake
NOTICE TO STUDENTS PLANNING TO ATTEND THE
1997 NZ MATHEMATICS COLLOQUIUM
(1) The 1997 New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium will be held at The University of Auckland during the week 7-11 July 1997. Students who wish to apply for financial assistance to attend this Colloquium should do so when they send in their registration form. The Colloquium organisers are empowered to distribute funds on behalf of the NZMS.
(2) The NZMS offers a prize for the best contributed talk by a student at the annual
New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium. Known as the Aitken prize. it consists of a cheque for NZ$250, accompanied by a certificate. Entrants for the prize should clearly indicate their willingness to be considered for the award when they register their intention to contribute a talk at the Colloquium. Further information about the Aitken prize will published in the April 1997 issue of the NZMS Newsletter.
NZMS ACCREDITATION
The Society has decided that there will now be Graduate Members, Accredited Members and Fellows of the NZMS. Next year the Accreditation Committee which has been set up by Council will consider the first applications. The deadline is Monday March 3rd, 1997. If you would like to be considered or would like to nominate someone could you send for applications forms to
The Accreditation Secretary
C/- Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Otago
P O Box 56
DUNEDIN.
To help you understand better what each of the categories of membership are, I have added a copy of Article IV of the Constitution.
Article IV: Optional Accreditation
An ordinary Member (or Reciprocity Member) may apply to the Council to become a Graduate Member, Accredited Member, or Fellow. The Council shall make and issue, and may revise from time to time, Rules which shall give effect to the following requirements.
(1) A Graduate Member shall have completed a degree or diploma at a recognised university or other tertiary institution, the studies for which shall include mathematics as a major component, and shall be currently employed or occupied in the development, application or teaching of mathematics.
(2) An Accredited Member shall have completed a postgraduate degree in mathematics at a recognised university or other tertiary institution, or shall have equivalent qualifications and shall have been employed for the preceding three years in a position requiring the development, application or teaching of mathematics.
(3) A Fellow shall be a person who currently has or previously has had the qualifications of an Accredited Member and who, in addition, is deemed by the Accreditation Committee (see paragraph below) to have demonstrated a high level of attainment or responsibility in mathematics and to have made a substantial contribution to mathematics or to the profession of mathematician or to the teaching or application of mathematics.
An Honorary Member shall have the right to become a Fellow immediately upon application to the Council and without payment of a fee.
The Council shall establish an Accreditation Committee to consider applications for designation as a Graduate Member, Accredited Member or Fellow, and to administer the Rules described in the first paragraph of this Article. In its determinations, the Accreditation Committee shall discount interruptions to employment such as temporary unemployment and parental leave.
A Graduate Member may use the abbreviation GNZMS, an Accredited Member may use the abbreviation MNZMS, and a Fellow may use the abbreviation FNZMS. These designations and the corresponding abbreviations are the rights of that class of Member only while the member remains a financial member of the Society and while the occupational requirements outlined in the first paragraph of this Article continue to be satisfied. The occupational requirements shall be deemed to be satisfied by Honorary Members and in the case of interruptions to employment such as temporary unemployment and parental leave, and they shall not be applied in the case of retirement or promotion to an administrative or other position.
A fee shall accompany each application to the Accreditation Committee. The fee shall be additional to the annual subscription charged by the Society and shall be the only charge for accreditation. The fees are: Fellow $100, Accredited member $75, and Graduate member $40. These are one off fees.
If you have any queries could you please direct them to me at the above address or by email (dholton@maths.otago.ac.nz).
Derek Holton, Chair, Accreditation Committee
ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND
Sub-committee for Mathematical and Information Sciences
December 1996 Update
As my term as Convener of this Committee is due to end this month, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Societies for your support during our formative years. I have enjoyed the opportunity of being on the Board of RSNZ as the re-structuring was completed. I trust the legislation will get through parliament once the new government is formed.
1. Elections for Convener
This process should be underway and completed in time for the first meeting (teleconference?) in 1997 February.
2. Member Bodies Representative
The five member bodies (NZMS, NZSA, ORSNZ, NZCS - Information Group, NZAMT) and the Academy Group should confirm with RSNZ their nominees for 1997 onwards. The sub-committee now functions as a National Committee for two ICSU organisations to which New Zealand belongs: the International Mathematics Union (IMU) and the International Union for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM). One or two members of the committee will act in the portfolios for these areas.
3. MORST Review of the Mathematical Sciences
This is to managed through RSNZ in 1997 after completion of the all discipline coverage of the knowledge base project in 1996. A small group is to help (Professors Conder, Hunter and Wake) formulate the terms of reference of the review. Some MORST support is available for this project. I am hopeful we can succeed in demonstrating the key role the Mathematical Sciences has in the science fabric in New Zealand and overseas.
4. Coordination of Conferences
Member societies are encouraged to liaise with the Sub-committee so as to avoid clashes of subject conferences. Joint/parallel conferences are encouraged so as to support interdisciplinary cooperation which is very important for the growth of our subject.
5. Unit Standards
The dialogue between NZQA and RSNZ continues. The RSNZ is preparing a discussion paper on the matter. Clearly this will continue into 1997.
Graeme Wake
NZAMT CONFERENCE 1997
The New Zealand Association of Mathematics Teachers' fifth biennial conference: Get in the Know is to be held at Palmerston North Girls' High School from Sunday 5 to Wednesday 8 October, 1997.
Get in the Know will be the major forum for mathematics teachers in New Zealand during 1997. It will provide an opportunity for all
interested in mathematics education from early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary levels to share common experiences, insights and research, and to plan a positive way forward for mathematics education in New Zealand. A wide range of invited speakers from both New Zealand and overseas will contribute to forums, workshops and plenary addresses.
Enquiries can be forwarded to Glenda Anthony (Conference Convenor) at G.J.Anthony@massey.ac.nz
ANZIAM (NZ) Notes
COMING MEETINGS
Reminders that the following meetings are coming up: Mathematics in Industry Study Group (MISG 1997). This will be the 13th and last of these problem solving workshops to be held at the University of Melbourne in the near future. It is free of charge to mathematical participants, and runs from January 27-31, 1997.
Email misg@maths.mu.oz.au.
WWW:http://macserver.maths.mu.oz.au/misg/Defaut.html.
The 33rd ANZIAM Applied Maths Conference (ANZIAM `97) will be held at Lorne, Victoria, from 2-6 February 1997, and as usual will span a
wide range of topics in industrial and applied mathematics being studied by New Zealand and Australian mathematicians. Further information is available from amc97@deakin.edu.au.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership of ANZIAM is available to interested NZMS members for a fee of NZ$10 to be paid to the treasurer (Adrian Swift, Department of Mathematics, Massey University, anziam@massey.ac.nz). 1997 fees are due now!
Simon Woodward
HEAT PIPE SYMPOSIUM
Mark McGuinness went to the Fifth International Heat Pipe Symposium in Melbourne in November, thanks partly to a grant from NZMS, Mark presented a talk including a 4-minute video of computer animations. One of the papers at the symposium was from Russian scientist who spoke about the heat pipes he had helped put into
the Russian satellite that was crashing into the sea near Chile at about the same time. All in all, the symposium was a good source of applied maths problems, in fluid flow, heat transfer, boiling, capillary effects, and other areas.
Tian Yong