SIAM

ABOUT SIAM

Inspired by the vision that applied mathematics should play an important role in advancing science and technology in industry, as may group of professionals from academe and industry met in Philadelphia in 1951 to start an organization whose members would meet periodically to exchange ideas about the uses of mathematics in industry. This meeting led quickly to the organization of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).

The goals of SIAM were to:

These goals haven't changed; they are more valid today than ever before.

Applied mathematics, in partnership with computing, has become essential in solving many real-world problems. Its methodologies are needed, for example, in modeling physical, chemical, and biomedical phenomena; in designing engineered parts, structures, and systems to optimize performance; in planning and managing financial and marketing strategies; and in understanding and optimizing manufacturing processes.

Problems in these areas arise in companies that manufacture aircraft, automobiles, engines, textiles, computers, communications systems, chemicals, drugs, and a host of other industrial and consumer products, and also in various service and consulting organizations. They also arise in many research initiatives of the federal government such as those in global change, biotechnology, and advanced materials.

SIAM fosters the development of the methodologies needed in these application areas. It is fitting that the acronym SIAM also represents the society's slogan - Science and Industry Advance with Mathematics.

Just as applied mathematics has grown, so has SIAM membership from a few hundred in the early 1950s to more than 9,000 today. SIAM members are applied and computational mathematicians, computer scientists, numerical analysts, engineers, statisticians, and mathematics educators. They work in industrial and service organizations, universities, colleges, and government agencies and laboratories all over the world. In addition, SIAM has over 300 institutional members - colleges, universities, and corporations.

To serve this diverse group of professionals:

MEMBERSHIP

SIAM offers three types of membership - individual, academic, and corporate. It welcomes as members all individuals, colleges, universities, corporations, and other organizations that desire to support its goals.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

SIAM offers its members many opportunities to exchange ideas and expand their network of colleagues. All individual members have voting privileges.

ACADEMIC MEMBERS

CORPORATE MEMBERS

UNIVERSITY CHAPTERS

SIAM invites the faculties of its academic members to organize student chapters. Activities include local meetings on topics in engineering, computing, and applied mathematics; tours of industrial laboratories; and team projects such as undergraduate competitions.

SECTIONS

SIAM encourages the formation of sections consisting of members residing in a geographic area. Sections organize their own one- and two-day meetings. Some sections involve nearby university chapters in their meetings.

ACTIVITY GROUPS

The members of a SIAM activity group share an interest in a discipline or applications area. There currently are activity groups on:

These groups plan their own activities, e.g., conferences, minisymposia at SIAM's conferences and Annual Meeting, and newsletters (hard copy and/or e-mail), and have SIAM staff support in implementing them.

PUBLICATIONS

SIAM has a comprehensive publishing program in applied and computational mathematics. In addition to SIAM News and SIAM Review, SIAM publishes ten peer-reviewed research journals:

SIAM currently has seven book series:

In addition to these series, SIAM offers a collection of tutorials, handbooks, and textbooks.

Complete information on all SIAM books can be found through gopher.siam.org or through the World Wide Web at http://www.siam.org.

CONFERENCES

SIAM conferences focus on timely topics in applied and computational mathematics and applications such as ocean and climate modeling, parallel processing in information retrieval, materials processing, computational biology, and computer-aided design. SIAM conferences provide a place for members to exchange ideas and to meet with and expand their network of colleagues.

The SIAM Annual Meeting is a week-long event that brings to the membership a broad array of invited presentations, minisymposia, contributed papers, and short courses.

JPBM

The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics, which is sponsored by the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and SIAM, has a Washington office to foster communication between the various agencies and officials of the federal government and the constituencies of the three societies, and to increase public understanding of the role and importance of the mathematical sciences.

SIAM PROGRAMS

SIAM has developed new programs to bring into focus for its members the importance of the many real problems facing government and industry, and to stimulate their interest in the mathematical and computational methodologies that apply. These programs include:

PRIZES AND AWARDS

SIAM sponsors The John von Neumann Lecture and the I.E. Block Lecture Series at its Annual Meeting and conducts an extensive prize program to recognize outstanding applied mathematicians and students. Prizes include the Richard C. DiPrima Prize, George Polya Prize, W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize, Theodore von Karman Prize, James H. Wilkinson Prize in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing, SIAM Prize for Distinguished Service to the Profession, SIAM Award in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, SIAM Student Paper Prize, SIAM Activity Group on Linear Algebra Prize, and SIAM Activity Group on Optimization Prize.

SIAM also co-sponsors the George David Birkhoff and Norbert Wiener Prizes with the American Mathematical Society and the George B. Dantzig Prize with the Mathematical Programming Society.

SIAM HEADQUARTERS

SIAM, with a staff of more than 50 full- and part-time employees, occupies 15,000 square feet on the sixth floor at 3600 University City Science Center in Philadelphia, PA.

The staff is organized by function - Conferences, Editorial, Production and Technology Development, SIAM News, Acquisitions, Marketing, Information Systems, Accounting, Warehousing and Shipping, Customer Services, and the office of the Executive Director.

SIAM staff administers the peer review process for the more than 1900 manuscripts submitted annually to SIAM journals, and performs the tasks of copy editing and production for those accepted for publication. Similar tasks are performed for the publication of about 20 books annually.

SIAM staff implements and manages seven to ten conferences and meetings each year, fills orders for its members and customers, and performs all the functions required in support of its prize program, it sections, chapters, and activity groups, its committees, and its relations with other societies.

SIAM has a computer-based system for transaction processing and marketing, and extensive office systems for internal and external applications, including desktop publishing, TeX manuscript processing, and a local area network linked to the Internet. Every staff member is accessible to SIAM members who have access to the Internet by the address: (last name)@siam.org. A gopher server is available to members by accessing gopher.siam.org. The information can also be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://www.siam.org.

Society For Industrial And Applied Mathematics
3600 University City Science Center
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2688
Telephone: (215) 382-9800
Toll Free (U.S. Only): (800) 447-SIAM
Fax: (215) 386-7999
E-mail: SIAM@SIAM.ORG
Gopher: Gopher.SIAM.ORG
World Wide Web: http://www.siam.org

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