1985 - Annual Report

Abstract

In February 1984, Prof.G.Rajasekaran(Professor of Physics, University of Madras) joined the Institute as its Joint Director. Prof.E.C.G.Sudarshan(Professor of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, U.S.A.) took charge as the Director of the Institute in March 1984. Mr.G.Sethuraman, assumed charge as the Registrar of the Institute on deputation from the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, in March 1985. The Board of Governors of the Institute has been reconstituted, in October 1983, with Dr.R.Ramanna Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy, himself as a Member, with the tacit understanding and approval of the highest authorities in the country to upgrade and nurture the Institute to flourish as a National Centre of Excellence in Mathematical Sciences. Hon'ble Thiru C.Aranganayakam, Minister for Education, the Chairman of the Board and Mr.T.D.Sundar Raj, I.A.S., Commissioner and Secretary to Government, Education Department, are the representatives of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Besides the Director of the Institute, who is an Ex-Officio member of the Board, the other members are: Mr.S.Rajgopal, Additional Secretary, Department of Atorru c Energy, as the representatives of the Government of India, and Prof.K.R.Unni as a representative of the Academic Council of the Institute. After Prof.E.C.G.Sudarshan took charge as the Director of the Institute, the Board met on August 13, 1984 and December 18, 1984. An allround expansion has been initiated by Professor E.C.G.Sudarshan, from the middle of 1984 , with increased aid from the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu. Additional land (2.5 Acres) opposite to the existing premises of the Institute in the Central Institutes of Technology Campus, has been allotted for the construction of a Guest House-cum-Student Hostel Complex, by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Four identical houses in a single compound have been rented, in the interim period from August 1984, two to serve as the guest Houses, one as a student Hostel, and the other as a residence for the Director, in Besant Nagar, about 5 Kms. from the Institute. Professor C.S.Seshadri (Senior Professor of Mathematics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay) is at the Institute from June 1984.

Among the Visiting scientists to the Institute during 1984 were:Prof.John Thompson, Fields Medalist, Cambridge University, England, who visited the Institute and gave two seminars of Finite Simple + Groups, in August 1984. Prof.S.Chandrasekar, Nobel Laureate and distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, visited the Institute on November 2, 1984 and had a discussion with the academic group. Prof.T.Regge, University of Torino, Italy, visited the Institute on December 1 and gave a seminar on Group Manifold Approach. An Honorary Degree of Science(Engineering) was conferred upon Prof.E.C.G.Sudarshan by the Faculty of Engineering of the Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, on May 25, 1984. During the year seven faculty members and three students participated in ten International Conferences. Participatior in five International Conferences was made possible with travel support from the Institute, while one faculty member obtained travel support from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and another obtained support from the Indian National Science Academy-Royal Society of London exchange scientist programme(for 3 weeks). Also, four faculty members participated in four National Conferences within the Country. To this Institute devoted to theoretical studies in Mathematical Sciences, the Library is the vital organ, catering to the needs of not only the members of the Institute but also those belonging to other Institutions in the city of Madras. The Library continued to expand with the addition of books and journals and at the end of March 19 85, the total number of volumes in the Library is approximately 20,000. Besides the 90 International Journals on Mathematics and Physical Sciences which are subscribed for by the Institute, the Library is continuing to get 55 journals and Lecture Notes from leading research centres throughout the world, in exchange to the I.M.Sc.(Institute of Mathematical Sciences) Reports. A salient and attractive feature of this library is that the books and journals are always available for reference due to its non-lending character. A preprint collection is maintained in the Library in order to facilitate a rapid exchange of ideas with Scientists at other leading research institutions like the Institute of Physics, PRL, SINP, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Madras University, Indian Institutes of Technology, TIFR, CERN, ICTP, LBL, SLAC, NORDITA, etc. On an average about 150 preprints are received every month. Recently, subscription to a few important daily newspapers has been initiated.

March 31, 1985