BodyText1
Dr. Tobin Driscoll has recently been elected in December 2015 to a three-year position on the SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Council. SIAM is an international society made up of leading mathematicians, scientists, and engineers whose goal is to connect mathematics to science, technology, and society. Dr. Driscoll and three other members of SIAM were elected by the members of the society to the Council, which advises the current president, Unidel Professor Pamela L. Cook, on the scientific policy of the organization. Dr. Driscoll’s vision for the future of SIAM includes a focus on rising scholars in mathematics as well as the recent budget cuts that the NSF (National Science Foundation) has seen, both of which impact the future of SIAM, its members, and the industrial mathematics field. In particular, budget cuts have caused the NSF to begin phasing out funding for two of its national research institutes, the IMA in Minnesota and the MBI in Ohio, which widely affects the applied mathematics community. Dr. Driscoll would like to promote active lobbying of NSF and congress to address these issues. In regard to postsecondary education, Dr. Driscoll’s plans include a focus on adapting current curriculum to teach relevant ideas and skills to the students who will be the future of the field. He wants to make sure that SIAM also plays a part in recruiting diverse students into college mathematics programs, as demographics continue to evolve, to secure the field’s future.
Document date: February 15, 2016
