When Maths Doesn’t Add Up In India
Mathematicians in India rue over the lack of interest of Indian students in Mathematics.
The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) a nine day event which brings together mathematicians around the world is being hosted by India for the first time in the 113-year history of the body.
The event addressed by President Pratibha Patil stressed on the need to promote mathematics among the young generation. The mathematicians feel that the younger generation have lost interest in applied mathematics and are more interested in pursuing careers like Engineering and other viable career options.They also added that newer teaching methods were required to increase the interest among students in the subject.
The President later on handed awards to eminent mathematicians on the occasion. Four Fields Medals were presented to Elon Lindenstrauss (Israel), Ngo Bao Chau (Vietnam), Stanislav Smirnov (Russia) and Cedric Villani (France). The Rolf Nevanlinna Prize was presented to Daniel Spielman of Yale University, while the Gauss Prize was given to Yves Meyer of France. The Chern Medal Award for lifelong achievements in Mathematics was presented to Canadian Louis Nirenberg of New York University.





