The Nepal Mathematical Society

Founded in 1979


The Nepal Mathematical Society was founded on Friday 19 January 1979 and has grown into a Society of around 400 life members. Let us first look at events that led to the founding of the Society.

Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal is the oldest and largest university in Nepal; it was established in 1959. The Central Department of Mathematics, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University opened on 20 September 1959 offering a Master's programme in mathematics. Ashutosh Ganguly was the first head of the mathematics department. Other mathematicians on the faculty included Krishna Murari Saxena, Govinda Dev Pant, Keshav dev Bhattarai, and Dhup Ratna Bajracharya. The first group of students was small, about six in total, and they graduated with Master's degrees in 1961. Among these students we mention in particular, Ram Man Shrestha and Shankar Raj Pant. This pioneering group of staff and students realised a need of an independent institution to have additional academic activities in mathematics in the context of the whole country of Nepal rather than just a local group at Tribhuvan University.

During the 1960s high standards were maintained with visiting professors from India visiting and lecturing at Tribhuvan University. From 1968, with Ram Chandra Chaudhery as head of the mathematics department, they introduced courses on topology, groups rings and fields, measure theory, relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and differential geometry. The Department published a half-yearly report The Nepali Mathematical Sciences Report containing research papers, research notes, expository articles and survey articles beginning in 1975. After 15 years the dream of the first group of enthusiasts at Tribhuvan University was realised and the Nepal Mathematical Society was legally founded on 19 January 1979. Dhup Ratna Bajracharya, who had been working for this since the beginning of the 1960s, was elected as the first president.

Dhup Ratna Bajracharya writes [2]:-
There is a need to create an environment in the country for the human resources who have acquired education in developed countries using cutting edge technology and methods. They should be given appropriate space and retained within the country. Failure to do so will increase the already existing challenge of brain drain from the country. A structure should be set in place so that these highly qualified human resources can transfer their knowledge to the populace within the country. The application and scope of mathematics has largely expanded in the last few decades. It is essential to coordinate with the government to identify the major fields of mathematics required for the country, and develop the curriculum accordingly. This will help produce the human resource to match the needs. All the different applied fields of mathematics should also be brought into a common network so that they can function in coordination with each other to produce better results. In this context, the Nepal Mathematical Society has a great responsibility of creating interest and joy in mathematics amongst the new generation. The Nepal Mathematical Society should work with the stakeholders of other disciplines where mathematics is used. For this, the Nepal Mathematical Society has to coordinate both at the policy level and at the grass roots level.
Mission Statement of the Nepal Mathematical Society

The Nepal Mathematical Society set out its mission as follows:
(i) To enhance the quality of teaching, learning and research in mathematics in Nepal.

(ii) To preserve and promote professional ethics, rights and welfare of mathematics teachers and researchers.

(iii) Development of relations with national and international professional organisations to promote the discipline of mathematics in the process of nation building.

(iv) To make mathematics popular among Nepalese society.
Activities of the Nepal Mathematical Society

To achieve these aims the Society undertook a range of activities:
1. Organising workshops, seminars, conferences, training sessions, and symposia at local, national and international levels.

2. Publishing bulletins, journals, newsletters etc.

3. Preparing the necessary work-plan, and implementing it, to preserve and promote professional ethics, rights and welfare of mathematics teachers and researchers.

4. Organising essential programmes to maintain coordination with the educational, technical and academic organisations which promote mathematics, at the national and international level. Publishing and exhibiting material to increase the interests of people in mathematics and organising programmes that highlight the importance of mathematics in other subjects and areas.

5. Working to create an environment for curriculum development and for the revision of educational programmes at all levels and involve society in the process.

6. Preparing and implementing a necessary work-plan to manage the financial resources necessary to achieve the aims of the Society,

7. Making efforts to enhance the implementation of mathematics in industrial and other areas.
As part of this programme, the Nepal Mathematical Society organises a monthly "Talk Programme" in mathematics and mathematical related topics by senior professors and research scholars of mathematics and applied mathematics. Beginning in 2004, the Society has organised its anniversary NMS-Day each year on 13 or 14 May with a formal programme followed by a "One day mathematics seminar".

Membership of the Nepal Mathematical Society

The society offers two kinds of memberships, namely General Membership and Life Membership. Someone who is a General Member has to pay their subscription each year, paying a nominal membership fee. Someone who is a Life Member has paid the life membership fee and is then not required to pay any further fees. To be eligible for membership of the Nepal Mathematical Society, a person has to have a Master's Degree in mathematical sciences, or a higher mathematics degree, either from the Central Department of Mathematics, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University or have a similar qualification from any other university recognized by Tribhuvan University.

Publications of the Nepal Mathematical Society

The Society publishes the Journal of the Nepal Mathematical Society which covers a wide range of mathematical topics and applications of mathematics. Its aim is given as follows [3]:-
This journal publishes high-quality theoretical results, new mathematical models and algorithms, efficient computational studies in any field of pure and applied mathematics. The journal also emphasises the original mathematical papers devoted to the mathematical sciences with mathematical treatment of questions arising in real-life problems, like computer science/informatics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, engineering, management and all applied sciences. The Journal of the Nepal Mathematical Society publishes full-length original research articles, state-of-the-art surveys, high standard short notes in any field of mathematics. The pure and applied fields include, but is not limited to, algebra, mathematical analysis, complex analysis, functional analysis, topology, algebraic topology, geometry, algebraic geometry, differential geometry, differential equations, dynamical systems, continuous and discrete optimisation, operations research, scheduling theory, graph theory, biomathematics, industrial mathematics, financial mathematics, mathematical modelling, computational mathematics, number theory, control theory, mathematical statistics, and any area of mathematical sciences.
The Society also publishes a Newsletter every year. Issue 12 appeared in May 2016.

Presidents of the Nepal Mathematical Society

The Presidents of the Nepal Mathematical Society from 1979 to 2018 are as follows:
1. Dhup Ratna Bajracharya

2. Ram Man Shrestha

3. Rameshwor Prakash Manandhar

4. Shankar Raj Pant

5. Hom Nath Bhattari

6. Bhadra Man Tudhar

7. Tanka Nath Dhamala

Visit the society website.

References (show)

  1. Nepal Mathematical Society website. http://www.nms.org.np
  2. D R Bajracharya, Message from the Founder President, Nepal Mathematical Society. http://www.nms.org.np/nms_files/message_founder_president_nms.pdf
  3. Journal of the Nepal Mathematical Society, Nepal Mathematical Society. http://www.nms.org.np/jnms/aim-scope.html

Last Updated February 2018