International Mathematical Union

The International Mathematical Union (IMU) and founded in 1920 is an international non-governmental organization whose purpose is to promote international cooperation in mathematics. Its members are national mathematics organizations from 77 countries. Its mission is to stimulate international collaboration in all areas of mathematics.

In February 2011, the International Mathematical Union (IMU) inaugurated the first permanent headquarters in its more than 100-year history, in Berlin, and is housed at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied and Stochastic Analysis (WIAS), an institute for the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community, with about 120 scientists dedicated to mathematical research applied to complex problems in industry and commerce.

History

UMI was founded in its first form during the Congress of Mathematicians, which took place in Strasbourg from 22 to 30 September 1920.

Initially, the internationality of the society was largely overshadowed by the attempt, especially by France after World War I, to exclude German and Austrian mathematicians from UMI and the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). Special mention was made by Émile Picard, from 1919 to 1936 President of the International Research Council, which emerged from the UMI, and from 1929 to 1931 honorary president of the IMU. For example, Denmark refused to join the UMI at the behest of Harald Bohr.

It was not until 1928 that Salvatore Pincherle managed to overcome these nationalist tendencies at the ICM in Bologna, which he himself organized, but not at the UMI itself. The decisive factor was the negative attitude towards the French attitude of British (Godfrey Harold Hardy) and American mathematicians. Due to this dispute, the UMI ceased to exist in 1932 and was officially dissolved in 1936 (despite the efforts of its last president, William Henry Young to save them) and was only re-established after World War II (1951). The first conference took place in Rome in 1952. The mistakes of the post-World War I era were not repeated, also because the Americans now set the tone, especially Marshall Stone, who organized the first ICM in 1950 at Harvard. The exclusion of states was no longer possible under the new statutes, which were passed in New York in 1950. French mathematicians also took a different stance at this time, especially Henri Cartan, who established close ties with German mathematicians (especially Heinrich Behnke in Münster) immediately after the Second World War.

New issues arose from the East-West conflict and other conflicts such as between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. In 1982, the ICM in Warsaw was postponed for a year due to martial law being imposed. Due to the restrictive travel policy of the Soviet Union (for example, for Jewish mathematicians), there were several conflicts with American representatives at UMI, for example in the 1970s between Lev Pontryagin and Nathan Jacobson (both UMI Vice Presidents).).

Berlin was chosen as the venue in 2010, at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics. Previously, the headquarters moved with the elected Secretary General from one country to another.

Awards

UMI is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the honors awarded are considered the highest in mathematics: the Fields Medal (two to four medals since 1936), the Nevanlinna Prize (since 1986), the Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize (since 2006) and the Chern Medal (since 2010).

UMI's involvement in developing countries

UMI took its first organized steps towards the promotion of mathematics in developing countries in the early 1970s and has supported various activities ever since. In 2010, UMI formed the Commission for Developing Countries (CDC) which brings together all past and current initiatives in support of mathematics and mathematicians in the developing world.

Some initiatives supported by UMI:

• Grant program for mathematicians: The Commission for developing countries supports research trips of mathematicians based in developing countries, as well as mathematical research conferences in the developing world through its Grants Programme, which is open to mathematicians from around the developing world, including countries that are not yet.)
• African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI) is a network of math centers in sub-Saharan Africa that organizes lectures and workshops, invited lectures and an extensive scholarship program for graduated math students who do PhD jobs on the African continent.
• African research theory in mathematics (MARM): IMU supported the London Mathematical Society (LMS) in the founding of the MARM program, which supports mathematics and its teaching in sub-Saharan African countries through a mentoring association between UK and African mathematicians, colleagues, along with their students. It focuses on cultivating long-term mentoring relationships between mathematicians and individual students.
• The Volunteer Conference Programme (VLP) UMI identifies mathematicians interested in contributing to the formation of young mathematicians in the developing world. The Volunteer Conferencists Programme maintains a database of mathematical volunteers willing to offer one-month intensive courses at an advanced level of undergraduate or postgraduate degree programmes in universities in the developing world. The UMI also seeks applications from universities and master's programs in mathematics in the developing world that require volunteer teachers and can provide the necessary conditions for productive collaboration in teaching advanced mathematics.
• IMO also supports the International Commission on Mathematics Instruction (ICMI) with its programmes, exhibitions and workshops in emerging countries, especially in Asia and Africa.

UMI published a report in 2008, Mathematics in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, on the current state of mathematics in Africa and on opportunities for new initiatives to support mathematical development. In 2014, the Commission on Developing Countries of the IMU, CDC, published an update to the report.

Additionally, reports on Mathematics in Latin America and the Caribbean and Southeast Asia were published.