Chairman's Report

2019 was a year of consolidation for ACEMS as we progressed into vigorous middle age. Research excellence continued unabated. However, it was also a time to reflect on what we will leave behind when the Centre’s term expires at the end of 2021, and when we do so, there will be much to celebrate. As well as the outstanding research that has been carried out over its history, ACEMS has continued to define its legacy in terms of its development of the next generation of Australian mathematical scientists, its outreach and education programs, and its leadership. In doing so it is effectively securing its legacy and justifying the major investment by the Australian Research Council.

One of the most enjoyable parts of being Chair of the Governance Advisory Board has been being able to attend the Annual Retreat which this year was held at Glenelg. Unfortunately, I missed the preceding Student and Early Career Researcher Retreats. These retreats included advice from industry-based mathematical scientists from a variety of industries who advised students on what to expect from an industrial career. Industry has an insatiable demand for mathematically-trained professionals. This was followed by an academic panel discussing what to expect in an academic or pure research career. Then it was the students’ turn to give three-minute pitches. I understand this was very lively and successful. One of ACEMS’ primary legacies will undoubtedly be the training and preparation of an outstanding group of young mathematics and statistics professionals whose time in ACEMS will have equipped them with research training and understanding of opportunities and helped them develop relationships, many of which will endure throughout their professional lives.

Another closely related aspect of ACEMS’ legacy will be the important relationships with industry and other non-academic partners. In her time in ACEMS, Jessie Roberts, who is now on family leave, has done a simply remarkable job in developing these partnerships. It was certainly my experience from many years in CSIRO that this requires the development of mutual trust and understanding of where the real problems might lie. Industry problems often have to do with quality, productivity and efficiency, and effective engagement means coming to terms with this even when we are most excited about a challenging underlying mathematical problem. Most of all it requires patience, persistence and the ability to listen. Translation from one language to another is a subtle art. And the ability to identify problems in which mathematics can make a significant contribution is another profound aspect of the ACEMS legacy.

The keynote address of the Retreat was given by Professor Louise Ryan. It was a deep and subtle analysis of the impact of certain forms of mining on the water table. It is not an easily formulated problem: other disciplines, including hydrology, claim the area and the deterministic models associated with it as their own. As in many such cases the underlying requirement is not to simply model flows but to understand the uncertainty associated with any such estimates. The data were complex and messy requiring powerful computing techniques and the answers will never be definitive. I found this to be an inspiring model for how a research statistician can make a powerful contribution to a really important problem.

Another key aspect of the ACEMS legacy will come through MathsCraft, the ACEMS outreach flagship program. It is pivotal to the legacy in that its innovative activities seek to equip teachers to inspire students about the joys of mathematical investigation. MathsCraft is moving to a new stage in formalising its own curriculum and target audience. It is designed to run in parallel with the mathematics curriculum. A fuller account is given elsewhere in this report but I would like to congratulate its chief creators, Anthony Harradine and Anita Ponsaing, for chasing this goal with unrivalled energy and commitment. The teachers and students who have been through the program can see the benefits in capacity building and enthusiasm for mathematical ideas.

Once again, members of ACEMS have been honoured in a variety of ways. David Balding was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Kate Smith-Miles was awarded the Ren Potts Medal of the Australian Society for Operations Research. And the 2019 ANZIAM Medal was awarded to Peter Taylor. Ian Turner was recognised as a Highly Cited Researcher for 2019 by the Web of Science Group. The list of prizes received by ACEMS members is too numerous to detail here, but it is very pleasing to note that two of our PhD students, Andrew Elvey-Price at The University of Melbourne and Jaslene Lin from UNSW Sydney won those institutions’ top awards for the best PhD theses.

The year also saw a changing of the guard in the administration with Emily Duane, our Chief Operating Officer returning from maternity leave and Kate Lowry moving on to a similar post after doing an outstanding job acting in the COO role – many thanks Kate. Also Kate Hall has moved on from her post as our Finance Officer (many thanks Kate) and she has been replaced by Minh Nguyen who was called upon to organise the Retreat in a very short space of time and did so brilliantly. The entire far-flung ACEMS admin team supports Emily and Minh very well.

And finally it would be remiss of me not to conclude without thanking Tim Macuga who has been instrumental in the design and delivery of ACEMS’ communication platform. Tim’s outstanding podcast series, The Random Sample, has been important in helping ACEMS and mathematical scientists more broadly to get their message across. The messages are inspiring and they have an important role to play in helping ACEMS to secure its legacy.

As Chair of the ACEMS Governance Advisory Board it gives me great pleasure to commend this Annual Report to you.

Ron Sandland

March 2020