Prize Specifications

The I.E. Block Community Lecture is given each year at the SIAM Annual Meeting and is named in honor of the former co-founder and Managing Director of SIAM, I. Edward Block, to recognize his contributions to the growth of SIAM and to perpetuate his vision.

The I.E. Block Community Lecture is open to the public and is intended to encourage public appreciation of the excitement and vitality of science. These lectures should reach out as broadly as possible to students, teachers, and members of the local community, as well as to SIAM members, researchers, and practitioners in fields related to applied and computational mathematics.

Specifications for the I.E. Block Community Lecture

The I.E. Block Community Lecturer is chosen at least ten months before the annual meeting by a committee chaired by the SIAM Secretary and consisting of the SIAM President, the chairs of the annual meeting, and two individuals serving staggered two-year terms chosen by the SIAM Secretary with the approval of the SIAM President. The SIAM President will introduce the speaker at the meeting.

Reasonable travel expenses, an honorarium of $1,500, and a small gift commemorating the lecture will be provided to the lecturer.

History of the Lecture

In 1994, the SIAM Council and Board approved the creation of the I.E. Block Lecture Series, with the following description:

"This lecture series is to honor Ed Block for his relentless efforts to promote and nourish mathematics and its applications. The spirit of this lecture series is to identify issues which will deal with topics such as emerging areas of applied mathematics, opportunities for mathematical and computational analysis in the solution of important industrial and societal problems, strengthening the ties between mathematics and its applications, and the education of applied mathematicians."

In 1995, SIAM initiated a community lecture. In 1997, the Block and Community lectures were merged and became the I.E. Block Community Lecture, with the following description:

"The I.E. Block Community Lecture is open to the public and is intended to encourage public appreciation of the excitement and vitality of applied mathematics and computational science. The lecture is named in honor of SIAM's long-time Managing Director and one of its founders, I. Edward Block."

Prize specifications as revised and approved by the SIAM Board and Council, October 3, 2005.