September 25, 2010

Lee Richardson, MP for Calgary Centre announces funding for the joint Canada, US and Mexico Research Station in Banff

Banff -- Mathematics is the core science of our technologically driven, global society. The Banff International Research Station (BIRS), at the renowned Banff Centre, provides a forum for the advancement of and exchange of knowledge in mathematics.

BIRS is a collaboration of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the United States’ National Science Foundation (NSF), and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT).

“The Government of Canada is investing in science and technology to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life of Canadians”, said Lee Richardson, Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology.  “Our $3.25 million investment in BIRS, through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), will help develop, attract and retain the world’s best researchers here in Canada.”

NSERC’s contribution is an investment made over five years that goes towards supporting BIRS and its operation, which in turn facilitates international collaborations and ensures that world-class mathematical research continues to be conducted in Canada.

 “Since its inception in 2003, BIRS has shown vision and leadership in creating an international meeting point for mathematical discovery and innovation, “says Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC. “On this day of celebration, NSERC salutes the many accomplishments of BIRS.”

“International collaboration in the sciences is a vital way we’re building the knowledge-based next generation economy in Alberta,” said the Honourable Doug Horner, Deputy Premier and Minister of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology. “Having leaders in this foundational science working here positions Alberta, and Canada, as a focal point for collaborative solutions to global challenges.”

Building on previous Alberta support for BIRS, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology will provide $3.4 million over five years (2011 - 2015) to facilitate BIRS’ future operational plans and activities. The BIRS initiative promises to continue being a significant factor in building excellence in Alberta’s research communities and beyond. The new funding support will enable BIRS to provide the infrastructure for an environment that optimizes creative interaction and the exchange of ideas, knowledge and methods within a broad program covering the mathematical, statistical and computational sciences, as well as their applications in science, technology and society. 

"Mathematical sciences are a key to innovation and for advancing the frontiers of scientific discovery,” said Dr. Cora Marrett, acting director of the US National Science Foundation, which is contributing $3.68 million to   BIRS. “NSF-supported math sciences institutes, such as BIRS, provide ideal settings for synergistic activities within mathematical, statistical and computational sciences, and across various other disciplines. This synergy is important to solving important societal problems related to environment, health, security and sustainability. Beyond that, fostering collaborations among industry, government and academic institutions, without borders, will lead to advances in basic science."

“BIRS represents the only serious joint educational and scientific research program in the NAFTA space,” said Dr. José Antonio de la Peña, Deputy Director for Science, CONACyT. “It has given an international visibility to both Canadian and Mexican mathematical sciences as no other project has ever done”.

This is a tremendous success for a remarkable and groundbreaking North American collaboration in support of the world's mathematical sciences and their manifestations in science, technology, and society", says BIRS Scientific Director Nassif Ghoussoub. “This unprecedented multinational funding validates the importance, and vigor of the research conducted at BIRS”.

BIRS’ mandate is to embrace all aspects, both theoretical and applied, of the mathematical, computational and statistical sciences including fundamental challenges of pure and applied mathematics in computing science, statistics, and mathematical physics, financial and industrial mathematics, as well as the mathematics of information technology, and the life sciences. BIRS opened its doors to the world scientific community in March 2003. Since then, over 14,000 researchers from 2000 institutions in 70 countries have conducted collaborative research at BIRS. For more information go to http://www.birs.ca/

The following is the speech given by Lee Richardson, MP for Calgary Centre at the announcement for joint funding for the Banff Centre

‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure for me to be here in Banff today.

In the global economy, knowledge, research and innovation are at the heart of economic growth and success. As Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last month, “science powers commerce.”

That is why our government is investing in science and technology — to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life of Canadians.

In 2007, the Prime Minister launched our government’s Science and Technology Strategy, focusing on investing in people, knowledge and entrepreneurship. For the past three years we have invested in Canadians — their know-how and ideas.

Our commitment to a knowledge-based economy continues to be unwavering. In fact, just this year alone, our government will invest a record $10.7 billion in science and technology.

We have renewed labs and research facilities and provided new state-of-the-art equipment for researchers across the country.

Clearly, we are making a difference, and I want to say to the researchers here today that your work is changing the lives of Canadians and people around the world for the better. Our government is proud of your efforts and of the difference you make.

We believe that prosperity and growth depend on supporting science and innovation and the unyielding pursuit of knowledge. That is why I am here today.

The $3.25 million investment in BIRS, through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, will do just that: support a research station that promotes collaboration and that provides a creative environment for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and methods within the mathematical sciences and their vast array of applications.

Through successive federal budgets, including the Economic Action Plan, our government is taking action to ensure that the world’s best science and innovation opportunities — as well as the world’s best researchers — are right here on Canadian soil.

Thank you.’




Backgrounder: Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery

Launched on September 24, 2001, the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery is a North American initiative that addresses the imperatives of collaborative research, of cross-disciplinary synergy, and of intense and prolonged interactions between scientists. BIRS is a unique infrastructure that provides a creative environment for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and methods within the mathematical sciences and their vast array of applications.

The inspiration for the creation of BIRS came from a station nestled in the small German village of Oberwolfach in the Black Forest, the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut (MFO) which holds weekly workshops year-round that attract the finest mathematical scientists in the world. France followed suit in the 1980’s by establishing a similar centre at Luminy in southern France. Oberwolfach and Luminy are international treasures and BIRS is the North American counterpart, reflecting the strengths of the mathematical sciences on this continent.

The creation of BIRS was led by the Pacific Institute of the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) on the Canadian side and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (Berkeley, CA) on the American side, along with the help and participation of the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems Network of Centres of Excellence (MITACS).

Dr. Nassif Ghoussoub is the founder of BIRS and has been its Scientific Director since 2004. The station is currently funded by four partners: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology (AET), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Technologia (CONACYT).