SIAM Presents Newest Leadership

Following SIAM’s recent elections, we are excited to introduce the newly elected Board of Trustees and Council members, as elected by the SIAM membership. These members will serve from January 1, 2025, until December 31, 2027.

Thank you to the entire slate of outstanding candidates for your willingness to serve the SIAM community in this capacity, and to the SIAM members who cast their votes. SIAM relies on the service and dedication of many of its members who serve as elected leaders or as appointed members of various general committees. Please consider suggesting potential members for election or appointment via SIAM’s Leadership Suggestion Form.

*indicates incumbent

Board of Trustees

Alina Chertock

Affiliation:
North Carolina State University

Candidate Statement: SIAM has been instrumental in advancing the fields of applied and computational mathematics, and I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to its management and future direction. I have been working in the field of applied mathematics for more than 30 years, focusing on developing numerical methods for partial differential equations. My work has always been about solving real-world problems using mathematics, and I have had the chance to contribute to projects in classical fluid dynamics, astrophysics, meteorology, electromagnetism, and modern biological models.

Alongside my research, I have taken on leadership roles responsible for budget planning, resource allocation, and strategic development. These experiences have prepared me to help oversee SIAM’s finances and ensure the organization remains strong and successful. I have also served on the advisory and scientific boards of several research institutions, providing guidance on strategic, financial, and organizational matters.

Looking ahead, I see several critical areas where SIAM can make a significant impact. One key focus area should be expanding SIAM’s engagement with interdisciplinary research, not just within STEM fields but also in areas like social sciences and public policy, where math can offer valuable insights. It is also essential for SIAM to continue building relationships with industry partners and encourage more companies to be involved in its activities. This will help ensure that the work being done by SIAM members remains relevant and applicable while also opening new career opportunities for our members. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, SIAM should explore new ways to leverage technology for greater reach and impact. This includes enhancing SIAM’s digital publications, expanding online learning opportunities, and utilizing data analytics to better serve members and the broader mathematical community.

Another crucial direction for SIAM is the continued support of education and the development of early-career researchers. The future of applied mathematics depends on nurturing the next generation of mathematicians, providing them with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities they need to succeed. SIAM’s role in this regard cannot be overstated, and I am committed to advocating for initiatives that support early-career professionals.

Finally, as a global organization, SIAM should increase its efforts to engage with the international community. This includes supporting collaborations with mathematical societies worldwide and offering more resources that are accessible to scientists in all regions.

Beatrice Riviere*

Affiliation:
Rice University

Candidate Statement: SIAM is the leading society for computational and applied mathematicians. It is the place where new mathematics are developed to solve real-world problems. In an ever-changing world, SIAM's platform provides rich and constant support for collaborations among scientists from academia, industry, research institutes, and government laboratories.

It would be a privilege and an honor to help fulfill SIAM’s mission by continuing to serve as a Board member. I hope to help SIAM strengthen its educational mission and networking opportunities, particularly for junior scientists. I will work to ensure that SIAM increases the diversity of its members, strengthens the involvement of industry and government labs with its activities, and overall continues to be a dynamic and inclusive community. I will work with SIAM leadership to help promote applied mathematics and interdisciplinary research for tackling societal problems.

Chi-Wang Shu*

Affiliation: 
Brown University

Candidate Statement: I am always happy to provide service to SIAM, have enjoyed my service as a Trustee since 2022, and would feel honored and be happy to continue serving as a Trustee for another term if reelected. SIAM is the main professional society for applied and computational mathematicians. It serves as a vehicle to facilitate exchange of ideas and promotion of major research directions in mathematics which could be used in application fields.

The power of mathematics in guiding and improving modeling, analysis, and computation in science and engineering can never be overemphasized. In return, scientists in applications can provide important insights into the kinds of mathematics that are desired and can be expected to facilitate breakthroughs in applications. SIAM's role as a platform to facilitate collaborations between applied mathematicians and scientists in other disciplines is unique and can be expected to become more important in the future.

Council Members-at-Large

Inga Berre*

Affiliation:
University of Bergen

Candidate Statement: SIAM unites diverse scientific communities within applied mathematics and computational science, while also supporting specialized activity groups. Considering also its broad international and intersectoral reach, SIAM provides immense value to the field. As I believe SIAM is the leading organization driving advancements in our field, I have with great enthusiasm accepted the nomination to the SIAM Council for a second term.

For many researchers, SIAM has been pivotal in shaping their careers, serving as both a publisher of key research papers and an organizer of essential conferences where professional networks have flourished and new collaborations have emerged. For numerous Ph.D. students, a SIAM conference marked their first encounter with the international research community within their area of study. I am eager to contribute to SIAM’s efforts to attract and provide value to student members. I also believe that organizations are stronger when they are diverse, and I am committed to continuing our work toward achieving a more diverse membership, ensuring that this diversity is reflected across all levels and areas of SIAM’s operations.

To me, the backbone of SIAM is its platform for research dissemination and communication, facilitated through high-quality journals and conferences. In an evolving landscape of scientific publishing and research dissemination, it is crucial that SIAM journals and conferences maintain the highest standards—standards upheld by our dedicated members who serve as editors, reviewers, and conference and minisymposium organizers. Ultimately, SIAM's success depends on how effectively we can support the contributions of our members. This will be my guiding principle if I am elected for a new term on the SIAM Council.

Henry Cohn

Affiliation:
Microsoft Research

Candidate Statement: I am grateful to be a candidate for election to the SIAM Council. Three issues facing SIAM are of particular interest to me:

1. Recent developments in AI are a striking application of mathematics. The relevance and importance of mathematics should be broadly recognized, as should the need to deploy this technology effectively and responsibly (for example, avoiding hidden discrimination via black-box models). How can SIAM help shape conversation on these topics?
2. How can we advocate for the role of professional societies in a changing world, in which fewer young people see their value? How can we ensure that SIAM’s conferences and other activities best meet the needs of the community?
3. SIAM has a long history of first-rate publications, but it is important that we not rest on our laurels. How can we help SIAM publications serve as large an audience as possible?

If elected, I will help look at these and other issues.

Evelyn Sander*

Affiliation:
George Mason University

Candidate Statement: I have enjoyed being a member of the SIAM Council this term and would be glad to further shape future directions of SIAM. SIAM leads the way in excellence of journals, books, and conferences for the applied mathematics and associated communities. I am a long-time enthusiastic member of the SIAM community.

Within mathematics, SIAM stands out for its attention to diversity and inclusion of members of groups who are traditionally underrepresented in mathematics, including diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, and geography. The new SIAM Activity Group on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is a great step in working on broadening the participation in SIAM, in addition to several new initiatives for supporting new researchers and students. However, there is plenty of work left to do. The Council must continue to focus on changes that encourage inclusion. At the senior level, this includes paying careful attention to diversity in the makeup of organizing committees, plenary speakers, prize committees, editors, referees, and making sure there is a diverse group of nominations for society prizes. At the junior level, this includes targeted outreach, increasing diverse student participation in SIAM student chapters, conferences, and summer schools, making sure that there are programs in place to ensure that everyone is welcome when they do participate.

As another focus, the Council needs to work on making SIAM more attractive to applied mathematicians in industry positions. An ever-increasing number of applied math Ph.D.s are taking jobs in industry, and yet SIAM members come primarily from academia. The current industry members bring exciting research and perspectives to light. By increasing industry participation, it will give a great opportunity to learn further exciting industrial breakthroughs and better represent the workforce of applied mathematicians.

Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb*

Affiliation: 
University of Cambridge

Candidate Statement: I am passionate about mathematics and its applications. I love mathematical imaging in all its aspects and flavors as it spans a variety of mathematical topics and application areas. Having a broad research portfolio within applied mathematics, I believe I can therefore appreciate diverse approaches to one and the same problem solved by PDEs, applied harmonic analysis, machine learning, etc. Indeed, I see the power of SIAM in making it possible to bring these different mathematical topics together and provide a platform for fruitful exchange within our discipline as well as with users and promoters of the work that we do. I strongly believe in the development of mathematics in close collaboration with application experts and the promotion of mathematics through its important applications, and I am therefore fond of the SIAM philosophy of communication with researchers in other disciplines and interdisciplinary research.

I would be very happy to support our community by serving as a member of the SIAM Council for the next term. I will aim to continue the excellent work done by the current leadership, with my heart in showcasing the highlights of our research, encouraging early career researchers in mathematics, improving diversity in mathematics, and fostering dialogue and exchange within our mathematical community.