Scientific Committee Meeting Minutes for 1995

Minutes of the BMC Scientific Committee, Heriot~Watt University, 6 April 1995.

Present: Prof. R M Bryant (Chairman), Dr. M D Coleman (Secretary), Prof. M J Taylor, Dr. A R Prince, Prof. H G Dales, Dr. A McBride, Prof. K Brown, Prof. J W Bruce, Prof. B E Johnson, Dr. G de Barra.
Apologies from Prof. E G Rees.
  1. The minutes from the meeting on 29 March 1994 at Cardiff were accepted.
  2. Matters arising
    1. Manchester and Southampton Universities have accepted invitations to host the colloquia in 1998 and 1999 respectively.
    2. The views of members of the colloquium on speakers and topics for special sessions were canvassed by a relevant question on the registration forms.
  3. Review of 47th BMC
    The drive to attract graduate students has been very successful. The subsidy of no registration fee and reduced rates for accommodation has been covered, in large, by the high number of late registrations.

    Important for the number of graduate students was the satellite conference held before the BMC. This was arranged through Erasmus and attended by over 70 students. It was agreed to examine the possibility of such a conference around the time of the BMC at UMIST.

    It had been planned to contact the supervisors of graduate students using a list provided by EPSRC, but this had not been implemented.
  4. Progress of the 48th BMC
    To be held 9th - 12th April 1996.

    Invitations to Principal speakers:

    A. Wiles accepted
    M. Atiyah declined
    S. Donaldson outstanding
    E. Zelmanov outstanding

    No invites have yet been made to morning speakers.

    UMIST suggested to the committee that the 48th BMC have special sessions on combinatorics and group theory. After discussion it was decided that they be on combinatorics and differential geometry/mathematical physics.

    Morning speakers and reserve for the 1996 colloquium were agreed. Potential principal speakers for the RHBNC 1997 colloquium were identified.

    Subjects of discussion for the political forum would not be required until perhaps 6 months before the BMC though it was decided that the councils of the LMS and EMS see the suggested subjects.
  5. 52nd BMC in 2000
    It was agreed that Warwick be approached. There was some talk that Leeds may offer.
  6. Any other business
    1. It was thought useful if the experiences of organizing institutes could be passed on to future ones, perhaps in a book containing, amongst other things, details of sponsorship and book exhibitors.
    2. Reservations were expressed by Dr. de Barra concerning the increase in numbers attending Heriot-Watt. The lecture theatres at RHBNC only accommodate at most two hundred. In the ensuing discussion it was suggested that T.V. links be used to overflow lecture rooms, other London colleges approached or to have two principal talks each evening. In the end it was decided to wait until after the BMC in UMIST to see how many attended.