Welcoming the Newest Electees to the SIAM Board of Trustees and Council

By Lina Sorg

In late 2022, the SIAM community voted to elect/re-elect¹ three members to the SIAM Board of Trustees and four members to the SIAM Council. These seven individuals took office on January 1, 2023, and will serve until December 31, 2025.

The Board manages the Society, accounting for its scientific and professional policies and objectives. It also maintains complete legal control of SIAM’s financial assets, including budgets, funds, and investments. The Council is responsible for reviewing and formulating SIAM’s scientific policies, monitoring its technical activities, proposing new initiatives, and recommending actions to the Board when necessary.

Here, the newly elected leadership—all of whom have a rich history of SIAM involvement—share their reactions, ambitions, and intentions for their time in office. Their full candidate statements are available online.

SIAM Board of Trustees

Ricardo Cortez (Tulane University): “I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had been elected to the SIAM Board of Trustees. SIAM membership had excellent candidate options and I am grateful for their support. In the last few years, the disruptions created by the pandemic have continued to affect our community, from the ways in which students learn mathematics to the development and communication of research results. As we address the lasting consequences of these disruptions, it is an important time for SIAM to lead creative efforts that promote the growth and exchange of ideas. I look forward to working with SIAM leadership to implement initiatives that provide support to the applied mathematics community and attract new members.”

Bonita V. Saunders* (National Institute of Standards and Technology): “I am very honored to have been elected for a second term on the SIAM Board of Trustees. I look forward to continuing the Board’s work by striving to make informed decisions that promote and support applied and computational scientists and their research. I will also continue efforts to keep the lines of communication more open between SIAM leadership and SIAM Activity Groups or SIAM Sections, where fiscally sound decisions may not be appreciated as such. Additional transparency might lead to outcomes that work for both sides — or at the very least, help the sides better understand each other.”

Ulrike Meier Yang (Lawrence Liver-more National Laboratory): “I am honored and delighted to have been elected to the SIAM Board of Trustees, and I appreciate the support of the SIAM membership. SIAM is an important society that focuses on the continued development of applied mathematical and computational research that is necessary for the solution of many real-world problems. I look forward to working with other Board members to advance SIAM’s continued growth and learn more about relevant issues. Some of my areas of interest include increasing diversity and creating effective hybrid conferences.”

The newly elected members of the SIAM Board of Trustees and SIAM Council. Top row, left to right: Board electees Ricardo Cortez (Tulane University), Bonita Saunders* (National Institute of Standards and Technology), and Ulrike Meier Yang (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). Bottom row, left to right: Council electees Alicia Dickenstein* (University of Buenos Aires), Heike Faßbender* (Technische Universität Braunschweig), Johnny Guzmán (Brown University), and Valeria Simoncini* (Università di Bologna). Photos courtesy of the elected individuals.

SIAM Council

Alicia Dickenstein* (University of Buenos Aires): “I am honored to have been re-elected to the SIAM Council and am very grateful to the members for their support. I am happy to serve the entire SIAM community and particularly look forward to finding ways to more internationally replicate certain initiatives that are naturally aimed at U.S.-based members. We have many challenges to address, including the role of applied mathematics in new areas; the interaction between data-driven algorithms and modeling; funding, underrepresentation, publishing, industry engagement, education, and outreach; and the consolidation of hybrid participation.”

Heike Faßbender* (Technische Universität Braunschweig): “I am delighted to have been re-elected to the SIAM Council and am very grateful to the membership for their support. As I said in my candidate statement, I would like to help strengthen the “I” in SIAM, as it seems even more relevant today than ever before to open new channels of communication between researchers and potential users of mathematical tools. Another important issue is the continued development of SIAM conferences. We must find a good balance between in-person attendance and online participation to reconcile the burden of travel with the value of personal exchange.”

Johnny Guzmán (Brown University): “I am very grateful and honored to have been elected by my colleagues to serve on the SIAM Council. Through its journals, meetings, and programs, SIAM plays a key role in fostering collaborations that lead to breakthroughs in applied mathematics. SIAM has made huge strides in making our organization inclusive, diverse, and accessible. I look forward to continuing to improve these efforts.” 

Valeria Simoncini* (Università di Bologna): “This is an uninterrupted period of new research challenges that require computer science, statistics, and engineering expertise to join efforts with the mathematical community. In this exciting and fast-changing setting, I believe that SIAM should continue to testify and strengthen the role of applied mathematics in innovative application areas such as data science—where new mathematics is being created at incredible speeds—and through publications, conferences, and social media exchanges with researchers in new and well-established disciplines. SIAM should also continue to be inclusive, encourage and support participation, and create research and networking opportunities for all mathematicians.”

The dedication of SIAM’s elected leadership contributes to the continued growth and success of the Society. SIAM is therefore greatly appreciative of the entire slate of candidates, as well as the members who cast their votes in the 2022 election. Thank you for your willingness to serve and advance the community.

Lina Sorg is the managing editor of SIAM News.