Dear Members of the International Mathematical Union,
Klaus Wowereit
As the Governing Mayor of Berlin, I have the pleasure of inviting the mathematical world to establish a permanent IMU office at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics (WIAS) in the heart of Berlin. As a member institute of the Leibniz Association, WIAS is a mathematical research institution that is jointly financed by Germany’s federal government, the Berlin Senate, and Germany’s other federal states.
The field of mathematics has undergone rapid development in Berlin over the past decade, and Berlin has attracted renowned mathematicians from all over the world, making it a center of international excellence in this important science. The cooperation between the mathematical faculties of the three major Berlin universities and the non-university mathematical research institutes in Berlin, WIAS and Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), is outstanding. In a joint effort, these five institutions won a nationwide competition for two large-scale institutions financed by the German Research Foundation, namely, the Research Center MATHEON and the Excellence Graduate School Berlin Mathematical School. Within just a few years of its founding in 2002, MATHEON has become a leading center of mathematical excellence in Germany with a high international profile.
The year 2008 is Germany’s Year of Mathematics, and public awareness of the importance of mathematics has increased tremendously. It is my pleasure to extend this invitation at the end of this special year, a few days after IMU Secretary Prof. Dr. Martin Grötschel was awarded the prestigious 2008 Science Prize of the Governing Mayor of Berlin.
Yours sincerely,
Klaus Wowereit
Governing Mayor of Berlin