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Phillip Griffiths,
Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University,
spoke at the College Hall Auditorium on January 13 as part of a Center
for Advanced Mathematical Sciences (CAMS) workshop. His subject was "Mathematics
and Trends in Scientific Research."
Professor Griffiths' talk, addressed to a general audience, also
discussed the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), which involves cooperation
between governments and the scientific community to establish small, flexible
research institutes around the world. These independent institutes will
focus on innovative research of special value to the country or region
where they are located.
Noting that CAMS already possessed many features of an MSI institute,
Professor Griffiths said that discussions had been initiated to bring
MSI support for the center. "I think it is clear the goals of CAMS
and the MSI are very similar in the most important respects", he
said.
"You are interdisciplinary, educational, regional, outward-looking,
efficient, and actively linked to the global mathematics and science community."
He added that CAMS had a permanent staff of outstanding scholars and flow-through
of visiting members. CAMS is also well situated to promote collaboration
among Arab countries in the Middle East, said Professor Griffiths.
The CAMS workshop, held in Beit Mery January 11-15, was directed
by Sir Michael Atiya of the University of Edinburgh, UK.
Global
System for Sustainability
On
January 18 and 19 Professor Toufic Mezher of FEA's Electrical Engineering
Department attended a conference at MIT on "Strategic Partners and
Collaborators of GSSD, (Global System for Sustainability)." This
was followed by a meeting of the Alliances for Global Sustainability.
Professor Mezher's collaboration with MIT is on GSSD, the ongoing
large-scale internet-based knowledge networking initiative to reduce the
gap between knowledge and policy. The GSSD system has multilingual functions
evolving in Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, French and English, thus expanding
the global reach of knowledge networking. The Arabic version is being
developed at AUB and Professor Mezher hopes to establish a mirror site
of the system on campus.
The meeting at MIT was part of the process of consolidating the
ëcritical massí and bringing more convergence in the domain
of advanced uses of information technology for environmental management
and sustainability. Designed as a working-conference, the meeting focused
on recent developments and new directions in the Strategic Partnersí
initiatives in knowledge networking, and in knowledge sharing, management
and development.
At issue were the implications of information technology innovations
for strategies toward sustainability, ways of supporting individual country
objectives, and the potential impacts of, and for, business and industry.
For more information, please visit: http:/GSSD.MIT.EDU/.
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