By James Crowley
As with most gatherings during this time, the annual SIAM Council meeting commenced virtually this summer. The Council met in two sessions to allow for time zone differences. In addition to the usual matters, it addressed a significant number of new business items, including reports from all of the SIAM officers and the executive director. Throughout the course of routine procedure, the Council offered suggestions for 2021 membership dues and recommended that the SIAM Board of Trustees approve all 14 activity group (SIAG) charter renewals. It deferred discussions on pricing the 2021 SIAM Annual Meeting until further information—such as the cost of a possible hybrid meeting, which would accommodate both in-person and remote attendees—is available.
New SIAM Activity
Group on Data Science
At the July meeting of the SIAM Council,
the Council approved the SIAM Activity
Group on Data Science (SIAG/DATA) as a
broader rescope of the SIAM Activity
Group on Data Mining and Analytics
(SIAG/DMA), which was founded in 2011.
The new SIAG/DATA will aim to advance
the mathematics of data science. As
such, it will focus on the mathematical,
statistical, and computational
foundations of data science, in addition
to data science’s applications to other
fields of science and across technology
and society. SIAG/DATA will augment
SIAM’s Journal on Mathematics of Data
Science (SIMODS), which published its
first batch of articles in 2019, by
providing support for this field within
SIAM. The recently initiated biennial
SIAM Conference on Mathematics of
Data Science (MDS) will serve as the
SIAG’s flagship conference. The
inaugural MDS20 took place virtually
this May, and the next installment is
scheduled for May 2022.
SIAG/DATA will continue to sponsor the
annual SIAM International Conference
on Data Mining (SDM). The initial slate
of officers for the SIAG are Hans De
Sterck (chair), Gitta Kutyniok (vice chair),
Karen Willcox (program director), and
Danai Koutra (secretary); they are
appointed for the duration of one year
(2021). In the second half of 2021,
members of the SIAG will elect new
officers for the two-year period of 2022-
2023. SIAM members with a research
interest in data science will have the
opportunity to join SIAG/DATA as part
of their SIAM membership renewal in
the fall of 2020.
— Hans De Sterck, University of Waterloo
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During the meeting, the Council voted in favor of offering an additional two-year term to two vice presidents (VPs): VP for Education Katie Kavanagh (Clarkson University) and VP for Science Policy Anne Gelb (Dartmouth College). The group also approved Sharon Arroyo (Boeing Company) as VP for Industry, replacing retiring VP Amr El-Bakry (ExxonMobil). VPs are appointed by the SIAM president with the advice and consent of the Board and Council. The exception is the VP-at-Large, who is elected by SIAM membership.
The Council also elected Talitha Washington (Atlanta University Center Consortium Data Science Initiative) to serve on the SIAM Nominating Committee. This committee selects the slate of candidates for the fall elections of elected officers and Board and Council members.
One SIAG charter renewal featured an unprecedented twist. Upon request from its officers, the SIAG on Data Mining and Analytics became the more general SIAG on Data Science (see sidebar). The group will continue to cover data mining and sponsor the SIAM International Conference on Data Mining, but it will now also organize the SIAM Conference on Mathematics of Data Science, which held its inaugural meeting online earlier this year.
Some major new business items are as follows:
- Creating a new position: VP for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
- Voting to approve Ron Buckmire (Occidental College) as the new VP for EDI
- Establishing a Policy for Honors and Awards
- Establishing a Code of Conduct for SIAM members
- Voting to make the ad hoc Committee on Ethics a standing committee
- Establishing disclosure forms for honors, awards, and SIAM leadership—to be completed by nominators for prizes and SIAM Fellows, prize and Fellow recipients, and individuals running for SIAM offices—to certify that no known ethical issues exist
- Recommending to the Board that SIAM become a Level A partner in the newly-revised Joint Mathematics Meetings, beginning in 2022
- Creating a Prize Canvassing Committee
- Approving a new (revised) policy on potentially offensive materials for SIAM journals and conferences, which specifically bans the Lena image
- Reviewing a significant report from the Major Awards Committee, chaired by VP-at-Large Carol Woodward (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), which reviewed the SIAM Prize Program.
VP for EDI
Creation of the VP for EDI position guarantees the presence of a voice at the Cabinet level that promotes and ensures equity and inclusion in all facets of SIAM. The VP for EDI will be a member of the SIAM Council who establishes SIAM policy and offers input on Board discussions. The position will also oversee the Membership Committee (which previously reported to the VP-at-Large) and the Diversity Advisory Committee.
Policy for Honors and Awards
SIAM joined over 130 scientific and engineering societies in the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM. The Societies Consortium produced a model policy, which SIAM adopted with minor modifications. When SIAM confers an honor or award upon an individual, this action reflects SIAM’s judgment that the individual’s contributions to—and effects on—the field of applied mathematics are exemplary. Unethical conduct by a current or prospective awardee can contribute to longstanding and systemic barriers in the field. Therefore, in order to more heavily emphasize what is best for excellence in the field rather than a single individual, SIAM will not confer an honor upon any person who has engaged in unethical conduct, or about whom a credible but undetermined question exists. The policy also allows for multiple honors, such as Fellows status, to be revoked with just cause.
Code of Conduct
Because the Policy for Honors and Awards refers to a standard of ethics, the Committee on Ethics—convened by SIAM President Lisa Fauci (Tulane University)—proposed a Code of Conduct that sets expectations for professional behavior related to harassment and issues of scientific misconduct. The Council modified and approved these guidelines, which will soon be posted online.
Disclosure Forms
It is important that SIAM promote inclusion and foster a culture of ethical behavior. While this has generally been the case in the SIAM community, the Committee on Ethics felt that a disclosure form would further bolster the importance of ethical behavior in professional life. As such, candidates for leadership positions and nominees for SIAM prizes and honors must disclose any past allegations or institutional proceedings that resulted in a finding of professional misconduct, as well as any current formal complaints that are related to professional conduct — even if the matter is still pending. Nominators must also certify that they are not aware of any ethical issues on the part of the nominee. These procedures will apply to prizes, SIAM Fellows, and nominations for leadership positions at SIAM.
Prize Canvassing Committee
For several years, SIAM’s Fellows Canvassing Committee has encouraged the nomination of individuals from underrepresented groups for the Fellows Program. Such groups include SIAM members who work in industry, members outside of North America, and members from underrepresented demographics with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity. Canvassing committees are independent from selection committees and thus have no role in the ultimate selections. Like the Fellows Canvassing Committee, the new Prize Canvassing Committee will encourage a diverse nomination pool.
Revised Policy of Potentially Offensive Materials
SIAM journals have had a policy in place regarding potentially offensive materials for many years. However, authors continue to submit papers or books with images of Lena, which is considered particularly offensive to many members of the SIAM community. Objection to this image has long been publicly expressed. Until now, SIAM conferences had no written policy about offensive materials. At its most recent meeting, the Council approved the adoption of a policy that explicitly bans the Lena image—along with any other offensive materials—for both journals and conferences.
Major Awards Committee
Finally, the Major Awards Committee—which is chaired by the VP-at-Large and oversees all SIAM prizes—conducted a major review of the entire SIAM Prize Program, including both SIAM-wide honors and SIAG awards.
As evidenced by the numerous outcomes, this was an extremely busy and productive session for the SIAM Council. We offer our sincere thanks to Council members—especially SIAM President Lisa Fauci, who chairs the Council—for their hard work and diligence under the duress of the ongoing pandemic.
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James Crowley retired in September after serving as the executive director of SIAM for nearly 26 years. |