Foundations of Computational Mathematics


Foundations of Computational Mathematics is an international nonprofit organization that supports and promotes research at the interface of mathematics and computation. It fosters interaction among mathematics, computer science, and other areas of computational science through conferences, events and publications.

Aim

FoCM aims to explore the relationship between mathematics and computation, focusing both on the search for mathematical solutions to computational problems and computational solutions to mathematical problems. Topics of central interest in the Society include but are not restricted to:
The Society for the Foundations of Computational Mathematics was launched in the Northern summer of 1995, following a month-long AMS–SIAM Summer Seminar in Park City, Utah, which was organized principally by Stephen Smale. That meeting hosted a number of sub-conferences on the frontier of Mathematics and Computation, focusing on many topics from numerical analysis and on the importance of a foundational theory of real number computation. The main thrust was on creating a shared intellectual space for activity bringing together computation and mathematics. During the final week at Michael Shub's behest an informal lunch was arranged where Felipe Cucker, Arieh Iserles, Narendra Karmarkar, James Renegar, Michael Shub and Stephen Smale decided to go ahead and create a permanent entity that would organize periodic conferences covering subjects in the interplay between these two areas. After a discussion, the name Foundations of Computational Mathematics was settled, and Michael Shub was chosen to lead the initiative with a little team formed by himself, Arieh Iserles and James Renegar.
The first FoCM conference took place in Rio de Janeiro and was hosted by IMPA with the support of its then-director Jacob Palis. Several conferences were organized later, bringing together some of the world leading mathematicians and computer scientists, although the society was not formally established as a legal entity until 1999 simultaneously with the creation of the journal Foundations of Computational Mathematics. Ever since, its main activities are its triennial meetings, special semesters and the support of the FoCM journal, as well as general advocacy of the mathematical areas underlying computation.

Meetings

The main FoCM conference is held every three years. Previous meetings include:
These conferences aim to cover the entire spectrum of mathematical computation. In addition to that, specialized events focusing on particular research topics are organized by the society, including:
Since January 2001, FoCM supports the journal . Editors in Chief of the journal:
The Chair of FoCM is elected every 3 years. This position has been held by various mathematicians worldwide.
FoCM awards the "Stephen Smale Prize" whose objective is to recognize the work of a young mathematician in the areas at the heart of the society's interests and to help to promote his or her integration among the leaders of the scientific community. Smale Prize recipients: