This biennial report of the research school Thomas Stieltjes Institute for Mathematics concerns the eighth and ninth year of its existence. It contains the various research programs, the composition of the project groups, the publications of the Stieltjes members including the doctoral theses, the Stieltjes courses and workshops, visitors, etc. So it reflects the continuous stream of activities within the Stieltjes Institute.
The report also shows the many innovations. Two of the Research Highlights were written by colleagues who were recently appointed as full professor and introduced new research subjects. As a result of the recent developments in analysis in 2000 the four research programmes in analysis have been transformed to three programmes. The report contains the first account of a theme group. Each Stieltjes member belongs to some project group, but such a distribution of mathematicians is too rigid. In practice if often happens that members of various project groups work together in an area of common interest.
Theme groups were introduced to provide structure to such cooperating teams. They are more flexible than project groups and allow researchers from other universities and from outside mathematics to participate. Financial Mathematics is the first Stieltjes theme group. A second theme group, Mathematical Biology, is being formed.
Another new initiative, the Stieltjes Weeks, turned out to be a success formula. Researchers from different universities lecture and work together with graduate and advanced undergraduate students from the Stieltjes Institute on topics which have a broad interest. The Lorentz Center at Leiden proved to be an excellent location for such workshops.
A further new action concerns the stimulation of mathematics for undergraduate students. The Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen at Haarlem organizes annually a prize ceremony for the best first year student in physics, computer science, and chemistry. Since 2001 the Stieltjes Institute made it possible to have such a prize also in mathematics.
Also we mention the financial support to graduate students for their participation in conferences and the publication of their thesis.
The research schools EIDMA, MRI and Stieltjes Institute for Mathematics took the initiative for cooperation at a national level: the Overlegorgaan Onderzoekscholen Wiskunde is becoming an important body for lobbying and mathematics policy making in which all the Netherlands research schools with a mathematics part cooperate.
The biennial report also shows how the Stieltjes Institute stimulates excellent research and cooperation. It contains reports on the visits of the Stieltjes Professors Foias and Nemirovski who lectured and worked for some months at two Stieltjes universities. It mentions the name of the recipient of the Stieltjes Prize for the best doctoral thesis. It informs about the Stieltjes Afternoons, the Stieltjes Analysis Colloquium and the many conferences, symposia and workshops to which the Stieltjes Institute made a contribution.
R. Tijdeman
Scientific Director