International Linear Algebra Society


The International Linear Algebra Society is a professional mathematical society organized to promote research and education in linear algebra, matrix theory and matrix computation. It serves the international community through conferences, publications, prizes and lectures. Membership in ILAS is open to all mathematicians and scientists interested in furthering its aims and participating in its activities.

History

ILAS was founded in 1989.  Its genesis occurred at the Combinatorial Matrix Analysis Conference held at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, May 20–23, 1987, hosted by Dale Olesky and Pauline van den Driessche. ILAS was initially known as the International Matrix Group, founded in 1987.  The founding officers of ILAS were Hans Schneider, President; Robert C. Thompson, Vice President; Daniel Hershkowitz, Secretary; and James R. Weaver, Treasurer.

ILAS Conferences

The inaugural meeting of ILAS took place at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA, from August 12–15, 1989. The organizing committee consisted of Wayne Barrett, Daniel Hershkowitz, Charles Johnson, Hans Schneider, and Robert C. Thompson.  Much additional support came from Don Robinson, Chair of the BYU Mathematics Department, and James R. Weaver, ILAS Treasurer.  The conference received support from Brigham Young University, the National Security Agency, and the National Science Foundation. There were 85 in attendance at the conference from 15 countries including Olga Taussky-Todd, a renowned mathematician in Matrix Theory.  The proceedings of the Conference appeared in volume 150 of the journal Linear Algebra and its Applications.
The 2nd ILAS conference was held in Lisbon, Portugal, August 3–7, 1992.  The chair of the organizing committee was José Dias da Silva.  There were 150 participants from 27 countries and the conference was supported by 11 different organizations.  The proceedings of the conference can be found in volumes 197-198 of Linear Algebra and its Applications. 
ILAS conferences were held the next 4 years, alternating between the United States and Europe, before beginning the standard pattern of holding the Conference two of every three years.  The number of participants at each ILAS conference has grown steadily through the years.
The first ILAS conference outside of the United States and Europe was held in Haifa, Israel in 2001.  The first in the Far East was in Shanghai in 2007 and the first in Latin America was in Cancun, Mexico in 2008. The complete list of locations hosting ILAS conferences follows:
1. Provo, Utah, USA
2. Lisbon, Portugal
3. Pensacola, Florida, USA
4. Rotterdam, The Netherlands
5. Atlanta, Georgia, USA
6. Chemnitz, Germany
7. Madison, Wisconsin, USA
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Haifa, Israel
10. Auburn, Alabama, USA
11. Coimbra, Portugal
12. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
13. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
14. Shanghai, China
15. Cancun, Mexico
16. Pisa, Italy
17. Braunschweig, Germany
18. Providence, Rhode Island, USA
19. Seoul, Korea
20. Leuven, Belgium
21. Ames, Iowa, USA
22. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
23. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
24. Galway, Ireland
25. Madrid, Spain

Prizes

A distinctive feature of the 3rd ILAS meeting held at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida, March 17–20, 1993, was the institution of the Hans Schneider Prize. The prize was initiated thanks to a generous gift to ILAS by Hans Schneider, the first president of ILAS and a founding editor of the journal Linear Algebra and its Applications. Typically the prize has been awarded every 3 years. The list of Hans Schneider award winners:
1993: Miroslav Fiedler, Shmuel Friedland, and Israel Gohberg
1996: Mike Boyle, David Handelman, and Robert C. Thompson
1999: Ludwig Elsner
2002: Tsuyoshi Ando and Peter Lancaster
2005: Richard Brualdi and Richard Varga
2010: Cleve Moler and Beresford Parlett
2013: Thomas Laffey
2016: Rajendra Bhatia and Paul Van Dooren
2019: Lek-Heng Lim and Volker Mehrmann

Publications

ILAS publishes an electronic journal - the Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra , founded in 1996. The first Editors-in-Chief were Volker Mehrmann and Daniel Hershkowitz.  ELA is a platinum open access journal, meaning that it is free to all: no subscription and no article processing fee or page charges.   ELA is rated in JCR and indexed by MathSCiNet, ZentralBlatt, and Scopus.  ELA is an all-electronic journal that welcomes high quality mathematical articles that contribute new insights to matrix analysis and the various aspects of linear algebra and its applications. ELA sets high standards for refereeing while using conventional refereeing of articles that is carried out electronically.
ILAS also produces and distributes IMAGE, a semiannual electronic bulletin founded in 1998 with Robert C. Thompson as its first Editor. IMAGE'' contains: essays related to linear algebra activities; feature articles; interviews of linear algebra experts; book reviews; brief reports on conferences; ILAS business notices; announcements of upcoming workshops and conferences; problems and solutions; and news about individual members.

Presidents

, 1987–1996
Richard A. Brualdi, 1996–2002
Daniel Hershkowitz, 2002–2008
Stephen Kirkland, 2008–2014
Peter Šemrl, 2014–2020
Daniel B. Szyld, 2020–present

Collaborations with other mathematics organizations

ILAS collaborates with both the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the International Workshop on Operator Theory and its Applications.
The collaboration with SIAM started in 1999.  The SIAM Activity Group on Linear Algebra holds a conference every three years. As part of the agreement, and to encourage interaction between ILAS and SIAG/LA members, the two societies do not hold conferences in the same year. As a result, ILAS holds conferences two out of every three years. In addition, the two societies exchange speakers with ILAS sponsoring two ILAS speakers at every triennial SIAM Applied Linear Algebra meeting and with SIAM sponsoring a SIAM speaker at every ILAS conference. The first ILAS speakers at a SIAM ALA meeting were Hans Schneider and Hugo Woerdeman in 2000, and the first SIAM speakers at an ILAS conference were Michele Benzi and Misha Kilmer in 2002.
The collaboration with IWOTA started in 2017 with the establishment of the Israel Gohberg ILAS-IWOTA Lecture, which is funded by donations. This lecture series consists of biennial lectures either at an ILAS conference or at an IWOTA meeting. Israel Gohberg was the founding president of IWOTA and an active member of ILAS. The first Israel Gohberg ILAS-IWOTA Lecturer is Vern Paulsen at the 2021 IWOTA Lancaster UK meeting.