[cmath] CMS - 2008 GRAHAM WRIGHT AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

[Joseph Khoury]

2008 GRAHAM WRIGHT AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Dr. Bill Sands, of the University of Calgary, is the
recipient of the Canadian Mathematical Society's 2008 Graham Wright Award for
Distinguished Service.

The CMS created a Distinguished Service Award in 1995 to recognize individuals
who have made sustained and significant contributions to the Canadian
mathematical community, and in particular, to the Canadian Mathematical
Society. In 2008, the award was renamed the Graham Wright Award for
Distinguished Service in honour of Dr. Graham Wright of the University of
Ottawa, who for over 30 years has served with distinction as the Society's
Executive Director and Secretary.

Dr. Bill Sands has helped guide and nurture the CMS's International
Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) program. The IMO is the world championship of high
school mathematics competitions, standing at the pinnacle of a pyramid of
regional and national mathematics competitions. Each summer, following a
rigorous training and selection process, the CMS sponsors a team of 6 students
to travel abroad to the IMO, where they compete with students from nearly 100
other countries. The CMS's training and selection process relies on the support
of the CMS's sponsors and on the work of volunteers from across the Canadian
mathematical community. But the development and success of this program would
not have been possible without the coordination and leadership of Dr. Sands.

Dr. Sands chaired the Society's IMO Committee from 1998 to 2008. During that
time he has trained virtually all of Canada's "Mathletes", both directly as a
coach and by helping organize both the summer and winter training session the
CMS mounts for IMO-level students. Many volunteers support the competitions
program at the CMS, but Dr. Sands has been the consistent figure behind the
scenes, ensuring that each team Canada sends abroad receives outstanding
preparation and training. In 2007, he headed up the Canadian delegation as Team
Leader at the 48th IMO in Hanoi, where Canada finished 27th out of 93
countries. He has also coordinated Canadian participation in the Asia-Pacific
Mathematics Olympiad, an event important in the selection process of the
Canadian IMO team. He has served the CMS in numerous other capacities,
including the regular organization of Math Camps at the University of Calgary,
and as a long-time contributor to the CMS's mathematical problem-solving
journal CRUX with MAYHEM. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of this journal from
1986 to 1995.

On the local level, Dr. Sands has been a member of the Committee for the
Alberta High School Mathematics Contests since 1983, and since 1984, he and Dr.
Robert Woodrow have been conducting Wednesday evening enrichment problem
sessions for high school students.  Dr. Sands' commitment to the nurturing of
young minds has constantly increased. Since 1982 he has helped run the Calgary
Junior Mathematics Contest. Dr. Sands has also been involved in the Tournament
of the Towns Contest and, in 2001 he received the University of Calgary,
Faculty of Science Award for Excellence (Community Outreach).

Dr. Sands received his B.Sc., Master and Doctorate degrees from the University
of Manitoba, and he joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the
University of Calgary in 1979. Dr. Sands conducts research in combinatorial
mathematics, studying graphs and partial orders.

The 2008 Graham Wright Award for Distinguished Service was awarded to Dr. Sands
at the CMS Winter Meeting in Ottawa on December 6, 2008.


For more information, contact:

Dr. Graham P. Wright
Executive Director
Canadian Mathematical Society
director at cms.math.ca
(613) 733-2662 ext. 713

Dr. Anthony To-Ming Lau
President
Canadian Mathematical Society
president at cms.math.ca
(780) 492-0398

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