American Mathematical Society

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, advocacy and other programs.

American Mathematical Society
Formation1888 (1888)
05-0264797
Legal status501(c)(3) non-profit
HeadquartersProvidence, Rhode Island
Membership
30,000
President
Ruth Charney
Executive director
Catherine A. Roberts
Revenue (2018)
$35,945,937[1]
Websitewww.ams.org

The society is one of the four parts of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics and a member of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences.

History

The AMS was founded in 1888 as the New York Mathematical Society, the brainchild of Thomas Fiske, who was impressed by the London Mathematical Society on a visit to England. John Howard Van Amringe was the first president and Fiske became secretary.[2] The society soon decided to publish a journal, but ran into some resistance, due to concerns about competing with the American Journal of Mathematics. The result was the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, with Fiske as editor-in-chief. The de facto journal, as intended, was influential in increasing membership. The popularity of the Bulletin soon led to Transactions of the American Mathematical Society and Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, which were also de facto journals.

In 1891 Charlotte Angas Scott of Britain became the first woman to join the AMS, then called the New York Mathematical Society.[3] The society reorganized under its present name (American Mathematical Society) and became a national society in 1894,[4] and that year Scott became the first woman on the first Council of the society.[5] In 1927 Anna Pell-Wheeler became the first woman to present a lecture at the society's Colloquium.[6]

In 1951 there was a south-eastern sectional meeting of the Mathematical Association of America in Nashville.[7][8][9] The citation delivered at the 2007 MAA awards presentation, where Lee Lorch received a standing ovation, recorded that:

"Lee Lorch, the chair of the mathematics department at Fisk University, and three Black colleagues, Evelyn Boyd (now Granville), Walter Brown, and H. M. Holloway came to the meeting and were able to attend the scientific sessions. However, the organizer for the closing banquet refused to honor the reservations of these four mathematicians. (Letters in Science, August 10, 1951, pp. 161–162 spell out the details). Lorch and his colleagues wrote to the governing bodies of the AMS [American Mathematical Society] and MAA seeking bylaws against discrimination. Bylaws were not changed, but non-discriminatory policies were established and have been strictly observed since then."[10][11][12]

Also in 1951, the American Mathematical Society's headquarters moved from New York City to Providence, Rhode Island. The society later added an office in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1965[13] and an office in Washington, D.C. in 1992.

In 1954 the society called for the creation of a new teaching degree, a Doctor of Arts in Mathematics, similar to a PhD but without a research thesis.[14]

In the 1970s, as reported in "A Brief History of the Association for Women in Mathematics: The Presidents' Perspectives", by Lenore Blum, "In those years the AMS [American Mathematical Society] was governed by what could only be called an 'old boys network,' closed to all but those in the inner circle." Mary W. Gray challenged that situation by "sitting in on the Council meeting in Atlantic City. When she was told she had to leave, she refused saying she would wait until the police came. (Mary relates the story somewhat differently: When she was told she had to leave, she responded she could find no rules in the by-laws restricting attendance at Council meetings. She was then told it was by 'gentlemen's agreement.' Naturally Mary replied 'Well, obviously I'm no gentleman.') After that time, Council meetings were open to observers and the process of democratization of the Society had begun."[15] Also, in 1971 the AMS established its Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Sciences (JCW), which later became a joint committee of multiple scholarly societies.[16]

Julia Robinson was the first female president of the American Mathematical Society (1983–1984) but was unable to complete her term as she was suffering from leukemia.[17]

In 1988 the Journal of the American Mathematical Society was created, with the intent of being the flagship journal of the AMS.

Meetings

The AMS, along with more than a dozen other organizations, holds the largest annual research mathematics meeting in the world, the Joint Mathematics Meeting, in early January. The 2019 Joint Mathematics Meeting in Baltimore drew approximately 6,000 attendees. Each of the four regional sections of the AMS (Central, Eastern, Southeastern, and Western) holds meetings in the spring and fall of each year. The society also co-sponsors meetings with other international mathematical societies.

Fellows

The AMS selects an annual class of Fellows who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of mathematics.[18]

Publications

The AMS publishes Mathematical Reviews, a database of reviews of mathematical publications, various journals, and books. In 1997 the AMS acquired the Chelsea Publishing Company, which it continues to use as an imprint. In 2017, the AMS acquired the MAA Press, the book publishing program of the Mathematical Association of America. The AMS will continue to publish books under the MAA Press imprint.[19]

Journals:

Proceedings and Collections:

Prizes

Some prizes are awarded jointly with other mathematical organizations. See specific articles for details.

Outreach

The AMS creates outreach materials aimed at middle school, high school, and college students. These include:

  • Posters about mathematicians and mathematics
  • Mathematical Moments: posters and interviews about applications of math to science and society
  • Math in the Media: a monthly rundown of news articles that mention math, paired with classroom activities on the relevant math concepts.

Typesetting

The AMS was an early advocate of the typesetting program TeX, requiring that contributions be written in it and producing its own packages AMS-TeX and AMS-LaTeX. TeX and LaTeX are now ubiquitous in mathematical publishing.

Presidents

The AMS is led by the President, who is elected for a two-year term, and cannot serve for two consecutive terms.[20]

1888–1900

1901–1950

1951–2000

2001–present

Executive Directors

The AMS has an executive director who sits at the helm of the organization, steering it, managing its operations, and carrying out its mission according to the strategic direction of the board of trustees.[21]

See also

References
  1. https://docs.candid.org/990/050/050264797/050264797_2018_17025879_990.pdf "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax" (PDF). Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2021.
  2. Archibald, Raymond Clare (1939). "History of the American Mathematical Society, 1888–1938". Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 45 (1): 31–46. doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1939-06908-5. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  3. Oakes, Elizabeth (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition. Infobase Publishing. p. 655. ISBN 9781438118826. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  4. "Web Resources - Philosophy - LibGuides at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley". April 19, 2022. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022.
  5. Chaplin, Stephanie (1997). "Biographies of Women Mathematicians: Charlotte Angas Scott". Agnes Scott College. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  6. "Prizes, Awards, and Honors for Women Mathematicians". agnesscott.edu. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  7. Lorch, Lee (1994). "The Painful Path Toward Inclusivity". Archived from the original on September 6, 2008.
  8. Hamilton, Richard (2007). "MAA Prizes and Awards at the 2007 Joint Mathematics Meetings". MAA Online. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2022. (includes citation for Lee Lorch)
  9. Jackson, Allyn (2007). "MAA Prizes Presented in New Orleans" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 54: 641–642. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  10. Hamilton, Richard (2007). "MAA Prizes and Awards at the 2007 Joint Mathematics Meetings". MAA Online. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2022. (includes citation for Lee Lorch)
  11. MAA citation Archived March 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine for Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Distinguished Service to Mathematics Award.
  12. "Media Highlights". The College Mathematics Journal. 42 (2): 163–172. March 2011. doi:10.4169/college.math.j.42.2.163. JSTOR 10.4169/college.math.j.42.2.163. S2CID 218549669.
  13. Pitcher, Everett (1988). Volume I: A History of the Second Fifty Years, American Mathematical Society, 1939 - 1988. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-8218-0125-3. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  14. Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the Annual Conference Archived April 21, 2023, at the Wayback Machine 1960. Association of Graduate Schools
  15. "A Brief History of the Association for Women in Mathematics (from Notices): How it was". AWM-math.org. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  16. "JCW-Math | Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Sciences". jcwmath.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  17. "Julia Bowman Robinson". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  18. "Fellows of the American Mathematical Society". Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  19. "American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America Announce AMS Acquisition of MAA Book Program". www.ams.org. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  20. "Bylaws (as amended December 2003)". American Mathematical Society. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  21. "Past Executive Directors". American Mathematical Society. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
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