Welcome,

It is my pleasure to present to you today the second BMS newsletter in 2009. The summer term has been very exciting for the Berlin Mathematical School, we inaugurated the new BMS Lounge at TU, and on May 7, 2009 the Scientific Advisory Board of the BMS met for the first time.

Enjoy and please feel free to forward this to anyone interested in Mathematics.

Sincerely yours,

Professor Jürg Kramer
Chair of the Berlin Mathematical School

1. Inside BMS: "Big, International Family"                               

Agnieszka Miedlar from Poland, student in Phase II, has entered the BMS in September 2007. Now she explains why she is glad to be part of the “big, international family with mathematical roots”.

I started my “adventure” with the BMS in September 2007, as a Phase II student. After finishing my master’s studies in Computer Science in Poland I joined the research group Modelling, Numerics, Differential Equations of Prof. Volker Mehrmann. As a BMS student I have an opportunity to work with world top scientists in the field. Through BMS lectures I can develop my knowledge in many new disciplines in mathematics and science. BMS, as a joint graduate school of the three major Berlin universities, gives me the possibility to join not only different math research groups, but due to its connections to MATHEON, also DFG research projects.

However, BMS is something more than an excellent graduate school, it is almost like a big, international family with mathematical roots. Aside from many organized activities, students spend their free time on sports or language classes, celebrating holidays together or sharing their every day problems. Now, thanks to BMS, I know much more not only about mathematics, but also about life and the world.

2. Life in Berlin: The Opening of the BMS Lounge at TU 

After the opening of the BMS lounges at HU in November 2007 and FU in July 2008, finally the lounge at TU has also opened its doors for the BMS students. On June 15, after Keith Ball's BMS Friday lecture, BMS members and guests celebrated the completion of the lounge at the TU.

Passing through the stylish glass entrance you will first find the rooms of the One-Stop Office. Next to them are study rooms for the BMS students, a guest room, a seminar room and computer labs. The lounge, with a sofa, chairs, a small kitchenette and a full-service coffee machine, is located in the center. We also plan to have a quiet room, e.g. for mothers feeding their babies or for students who need to take a break. You can find us on the second floor of the math building in Straße des 17. Juni 136 at the TU campus.

3. Inaugural Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board

On May 7, 2009, the Scientific Advisory Board of the BMS met for the first time. Kurt Kutzler, the President of the BMS host institution TU Berlin, had appointed six well-known mathematicians with experience in graduate education to be members of the Advisory Board earlier in 2009.

They are:

•     Eva Bayer (EPF Lausanne)

•     Weinan E (Princeton University)

•     Benedict Gross (Harvard University)

•     Ragni Piene (Universitetet i Oslo)

•     Andrew Stuart (University of Warwick)

•     Wendelin Werner (Université Paris-Sud)

The tasks of the Scientific Advisory Board are to give advice in scientific, technical, and organizational matters, e.g. national and international co-operations, and to make recommendations for the long-term development of the BMS. During their first two-day meeting the Scientific Advisory Board met with the BMS Executive Board, the Office staff and last not least twelve students from Phase I and II to evaluate the first years of the BMS. The meeting ended with the BMS Friday Colloquium given by the newly elected chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, Benedict Gross.

4. Be Part of the Berlin Experience!

Curious about our program? Would you like to study mathematics in Germany’s capital  together with students from all over the world? If you like to join us in October 2010 please find further information below.

Applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree  or equivalent can enter the BMS Phase I, in which they will complete five courses on a master’s level within three to four semesters. For students who are further advanced, part of the Phase I course requirements may be waived. Advisors will be allocated according to the areas of interest given in the application. Applicants aiming to start their Ph.D. project immediately by entering the BMS Phase II are expected to hold a master’s degree or equivalent, or must pass the BMS Qualifying Exams and meet the regular admission requirements of the Berlin universities' Ph.D. programs. Phase II applicants are expected to name an advisor in their application.

The application period for the 2010/11 academic year (winter semester 2010/11 and summer semester 2011) will start in September and  end on May 31, 2010. Applicants interested in a scholarship must submit their application by December 31, 2009. After that date it will not be possible to apply for a BMS scholarship. As the BMS aims to have 50% female students we especially encourage women to apply!

5. Did you know? Math in Berlin is featured on the new DFG ScienceTV!

BMS Phase II student Wiebke Höhn and Marco Lübbecke from the Institute for Mathematics at TU Berlin let us have a look behind the scenes at their latest projects: They are looking  for the fastest route from Berlin to Munich and the shortest waiting times for busses and trains.

They take us on a trip through the world of mathematics: what challenges do mathematicians face when looking for solutions, and why are they also artists?

Contrary to other documentaries these films were made entirely by the scientists themselves. They were the cameramen, directors and cast, thus creating films that are genuine research diaries. They tell us about the progress of their work, relate anecdotes about the problems and success stories they encountered and report what they plan to do next. You get a very personal insight into the individual approaches and specific methods of the mathematics of discrete optimization.

Here you can find the films!

6. The upcoming BMS Fridays

Typically, there is a BMS colloquium every other Friday afternoon in the BMS Loft at Urania during term time. BMS Friday colloquia usually start at 2:00 pm.

• July 10, 2009: BMS Summer Outing to MPI in Golm: Cedric Villani (ENS Lyon/Princeton): "Legacy of Boltzmann"

Outlook: Winter Semester 2009/10:

• October 23, 2009: Andreas Griewank (HU Berlin): "Derivative based optimization"
• November 6, 2009: Ragni Piene (Oslo): Kovalevskaya Colloquium
• November 20, 2009: North German Algebraic Geometry Seminar (NoGAGS)

For further seminars and colloquia, see also the Berlin-Potsdam Mathematics Calendar. Directions on how to get to the BMS Loft at Urania can be downloaded here.

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Berlin Mathematical School
One-Stop Office
Straße des 17. Juli 136
10623 Berlin
Tel.: + 49 (0)30 314 78610