2016 has been quite a year and at its end we would like to recognize and thank some special SIAM leaders who will be hanging up their metaphorical hats, and in the case of two, just getting started.
Thank You Pam Cook, Past-President
It has been a busy two years under the leadership of SIAM President Pamela Cook, University of Delaware. In the two years she has served as President, SIAM has seen the two largest conferences to date, CSE15 and the 2016 SIAM Annual Meeting. Additionally, our programs have continued to thrive, with our journals and fellows programs growing as well as the number of student chapters and sections around the world.
Pam’s service to SIAM started long before her role as President, having served as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal on Applied Mathematics, VP for Publications, and SIAM Secretary, among various other leadership positions. President seemed like the logical and welcomed next step and she did not disappoint. Titles aside, Pam has been a true pleasure to work with. She is calm, understanding, and knowledgeable about so many facets of our organization and field. Pam plans to return to the quiet life after her role as President, and will sit for one more year on many committees as acting Past-President.
Welcome Nicholas Higham, President
Stepping in as President in January 2017 is Nicholas Higham, University of Manchester. Like his predecessor, Nick is not shy to SIAM leadership roles, having served as the VP at Large, Chair of the Linear Algebra Activity Group, and as the Books Committee Chair. He brings an excited dedication to SIAM. Recently, he visited SIAM headquarters and poured through every SIAM News article ever produced in search of learning more about the history of the organization and gathering material for his monthly SIAM News President’s Column (coming soon!). We know Nick has some very interesting ideas for the future and we can’t wait to see where those ideas take us.
Thank You Thomas Grandine, Past VP for Industry
We would also like to say farewell to our VP for Industry, Thomas Grandine, Boeing. Tom served as VP for Industry for the maximum three terms. Throughout his tenure we have seen growth in industry representation in membership and conferences alike. Tom was also integral in the creation and implementation of the Career Opportunities Committee, which was created to aid our members who are interested in pursuing careers outside of academia. We have not seen the last of Tom as he has agreed to sit as Chair of the Fellows Canvassing Committee, where we know his expertise will continue to foster the strength and prestige of our Fellows Program.
Welcome Amr El-Bakry, VP for Industry
The role of VP for Industry will be filled by Amr El-Bakry, Exxon Mobile. Amr brings a unique industry perspective to the Cabinet, having served as member of the SIAM Nominating Committee and SIAM News Editorial Board. He was also very involved in setting up SIAM’s newest section, the Texas-Louisiana Section.
And it is with that that we say thank you to Pam and Tom for serving in their respective roles to benefit the greater SIAM community, and welcome aboard to Nick and Amr. We thank everyone who has volunteered their time, energy, and brain power to our mission, whether it be through serving on a committee, editing or refereeing a paper, or organizing a conference. SIAM is special because of its diversity brought together under the umbrella of applied mathematics and computational science and we could not do that without our members. We wish you a safe, fruitful, and happy New Year!