S. Korea to host 2014 global math congress

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has been picked to host the 2014
International Congress of Mathematics (ICM), the local organizing committee for
the event said Monday.
The Korean Mathematical Society said the decision was reached by ballot at the
meeting of the International Mathematical Union held in Fuzhou, China over the
weekend, with Seoul being picked over Montreal, Canada and Brazil's Rio de
Janeiro.
"The executive committee has decided to recommend Seoul as the host for the ICM
after much deliberation and a closely contested vote," a press release by the
mathematical society said. It added the recommendation by the committee will
receive final approval next year in Bangalore, India.
The gathering, often referred to as the Math Olympics, is famous for handing out
the prestigious Fields Medal at the opening ceremony. The medal is the equivalent
of the Nobel Prize in the mathematical community and is given to promising young
scholars.
Local organizers expect a record 5,000 participants for the 2014 event, with the
government and corporate sponsors pledging to foot travel and accommodation fees
for 1,000 mathematicians from developing countries who in the past were unable to
attend.
The gathering could also fuel domestic interest for the field of mathematics that
is playing an increasingly vital role in the development of advanced information
technology systems, banking and economics.
South Korea has grown rapidly in the international math field after being a
virtual "nonentity" when it joined the IMU in 1981. It currently ranks 12th in
the world in terms of quality of work churned out by its mathematicians, number
of people engaged in the advancement of the science and social infrastructure.
Madrid hosted the ICM in 2006, with Hyderabad, India to play host in 2010.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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