BIRS Board Member named UBC’s 13th President
Arvind Gupta, current chief executive officer and scientific director of Mitacs and member of the BIRS Scientific Advisory Board has been appointment the 13th President and Vice Chancellor of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Gupta will become president on July 1 for a five-year term, while retaining his position at UBC as professor of computer science.
Gupta is a renowned expert in research and innovation policy whose relentless efforts toward ground-breaking initiatives and research lead toward a goal of building Canada’s capacity and reputation as a world leader and a major international hub for research excellence, experiential learning, advanced training, and knowledge-based innovation.
In collaboration with Nassif Ghoussoub, BIRS Director, and others, Gupta was instrumental in the founding of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), on the launch of the MITACS Network of Centers of Excellence (now Mprime), and on the creation of BIRS. These three highly acclaimed institutions reflect Gupta’s dedication to enhancing the research and learning capacity of Canadian universities.
“UBC has chosen to appoint a man of vision… [and] action, with considerable experience in conceiving, implementing and delivering innovative programs for advanced research, university-industry synergies, academic training, and job placement for university graduates.” says Ghoussoub.
Read more at www.ubc.ca/newpresident
Read the A Piece of Mind blogpost by Nassif Ghoussoub entitled, UBC appoints a doer as its 13th President
What the Mexican press is saying about BIRS-CMO
UNAM press release
What the Mexican national press is saying about the BIRS-CMO partnership:
El Universal
Inician construcción de la Casa Matemática para impulsar la ciencia
El Economista
Casa Matemática Oaxaca, con apoyo del arte y Canadá
Comienzan construcción de la Casa Matemática Oaxaca
La Jornada
Francisco Toledo pone la primera piedra para unir ciencia y arte
Radio Fórmula
Registra Oaxaca bajos niveles en desarrollo científico y tecnológico: Conacyt
What the regional press in Oaxaca is saying
Diario Oaxaca
En Oaxaca, el más importante Centro de Investigación Matemática de México
Artists, Philanthropists, Politicians join mathematicians in celebrating BIRS-affiliate research facility in Oaxaca
Mexico announces major funding for BIRS-affiliate research facility in Oaxaca
Today, the Governor of the Mexican State of Oaxaca, Lic. Gabino Cué Monteagudo, and the Director General of the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT), Dr. Enrique Cabrero Mendoza, announced an infrastructure grant of 43-million pesos towards funding the construction and the operations of Casa Matematica Oaxaca (CMO), a research facility affiliated with the Banff International Research Station (BIRS).
The research facility will be built on a lot adjacent to El Centro de las Artes (CASA) that was generously donated by the eminent Mexican artist, Francisco Toledo. The Center is located in San Agustín Etla, a town that lies in a picturesque canyon in the foothills of the Sierra de San Felipe seventeen miles north of the city of Oaxaca.
Twenty-five BIRS workshops have already been selected to run at CMO in 2015. These will be in addition to the 52 workshops that will be hosted at Banff. For the remaining part of the year, CMO will be hosting summer schools and math education workshops for high schools teachers and students.
We would like to thank our Mexican colleagues, who have been working tirelessly towards making this exciting initiative a reality, in particular, Dr. José Antonio De la Peña, Director of CIMAT, Dr. Carlos Arámburo, vice-rector for research at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), as well as UNAM’s Professor of Mathematics, Dr. Maria Emilia Caballero. Special thanks also go to members of the BIRS Board, Dr. Javier Bracho, Director of Instituto de Matemáticas, (UNAM), and former Mexican Cabinet minister, Dr. Juan Ramón de la Fuente.
We are greatly indebted to Dr. Enrique Cabrero Mendoza, and to Dr. Elias Micha (Deputy Director of Regional Development at CONACyT), whose commitment to a pan-American vision for science and technology, made this North-American collaborative effort possible. Special thanks go to Governor Lic. Gabino Cué Monteagudo and to Mtro. Fr Francisco Toledo for bringing this international initiative to the state of Oaxaca. The world’s scientific community owes them all a great deal of gratitude.
Doug Mitchell, Chair of the Board of BIRS
Nassif Ghoussoub, BIRS Scientific Director
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http://www.birs.ca
