[cmath] BIRS funding and NSERC matters

[Nassif Ghoussoub]

I am pleased to inform you that the government of Alberta and the US  
National Science Foundation (NSF) have recommended
full funding for BIRS for the period 2011-15. This is of course  
conditional on NSERC's funding decision which is yet to be made  
public. This said, NSERC has communicated the alarming fact that there  
were 11 proposals in this year's MRS competition whose budget was $1.2  
million,  half of which was the returning budget of BIRS.

It is therefore important for the Mathematical community to realize  
that this doesn't bode well for the future of our community. Indeed,  
the 3 math sci. institutes were "transfered" a couple of years ago  
from the discovery grants to the MRS envelope in spite of our stiff  
opposition. An impasse that ended with a controversial poll (with  
dubious choices) in favor of the transfer.  Note that after last  
year's government's budget cut to the tri-council, NSERC elected to  
cut $6 millions out of the MRS (the envelop where BIRS and the  
institutes are now parked) and another $6 million from the graduate  
scholarships. Moreover, the bad news keep emerging about this year's  
discovery grant competition. Make sure to let the liaison committee  
(above) know if you feel that our system failed you, and remember:   
“don’t hide in the office feeling you’ve done something wrong”.

The government has promised a major review of federal funding for  
research, and we should all be ready to do our share and contribute.  
Stay tuned.

Nassif
   ********************************************************
Nassif Ghoussoub, FRSC
Scientific Director, Banff International Research Station
Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Mathematics
The University of British Columbia
http://www.birs.ca/~nassif/