The Australian Mathematical Society

Founded in 1956


The Australian Mathematical Society was founded on 15 August 1956 after a period of planning which began in 1952. The Society states:-
... our mission is the promotion and extension of mathematical knowledge and its applications. We represent all professional mathematicians in Australia, both pure and applied. The special interests of applied mathematicians are represented by a division of AustMS, ANZIAM (Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics).
The Society:
  1. Promotes mathematics in the community (through programmes such as the "Sticking with Mathematics" media campaign).

  2. Represents the interests of the profession to government.

  3. Produces publications and submissions.

  4. Holds conferences and seminars.

  5. Provides awards in recognition of outstanding contributions to the mathematical sciences.
These prizes are the Australian Mathematical Society Medal, the George Szekeres Medal, the Gavin Brown Prize, and the Bernhard Neumann Prize. More information on each of these prizes is given below.

Since 1981 the Society has awarded the Australian Mathematical Society Medal which recognises distinguished mathematical sciences research by members of the Australian Mathematical Society. Requirements include the winner being under the age of 40 and the main part of the research must have been carried out in Australia.

For a list of winners see THIS LINK.

In 2001 the Society established the George Szekeres Medal for outstanding research contributions over a fifteen-year period. It is awarded biennially the first award being in 2002. This medal commemorates the achievements of the Hungarian born George Szekeres (1911-2005) in number theory, combinatorics, analysis, and relativity.

For a list of winners see THIS LINK.

The Gavin Brown Prize was established in 2011 for an outstanding single article, monograph or book consisting of original research in pure mathematics. For a list of winners see THIS LINK.

The Bernhard Neumann Prize is awarded for the most outstanding student talk at the Annual Meeting of the Australian Mathematical Society. It has been awarded each year since 1985.

ANZIAM (Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics) is a division of The Australian Mathematical Society. Members of ANZIAM are interested in applied mathematical research, mathematical applications in industry and business, and mathematics education beyond secondary school level. It awards prizes: The ANZIAM Medal; the J H Michell Medal; and the T M Cherry Prize. We now give a little information on each of these.

The ANZIAM medal is awarded by ANZIAM, a division of The Australian Mathematical Society, on the following basis. The judges look for research achievements, activities enhancing applied or industrial mathematics, or both, and contributions to ANZIAM. The Medal was first awarded at the 1995 ANZIAM Conference and has been awarded biennially since 1995 (with the exception of three years between the 2001 and the 2004 awards). It is the most important of the ANZIAM awards.

For a list of winners see THIS LINK.

The John Henry Michell Medal was instituted by ANZIAM in 1999 for outstanding new researchers. The judges apply the following criteria: the researcher must have carried out distinguished research in applied and/or industrial mathematics where a significant proportion was carried out in Australia and/or New Zealand; the recipient must be within ten years of being awarded a Ph.D.; and the recipient must have been a member of ANZIAM for at least three years. For a list of winners see THIS LINK.

The Thomas MacFarland Cherry Prize was instituted in 1969 (but not given that name) as a prize for the best student paper at the Conference. It was named the T M Cherry Prize in 1976 in honour of Thomas MacFarland Cherry. It is awarded every year.

The Australian Mathematical Society publishes three journals: the Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society; the ANZIAM Journal; and the Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society.

Visit the society website.

References (show)

  1. A L Blakers, The Australian mathematical society: foundation and early years. I : Events leading up to the foundation of the society, Austral. Math. Soc. Gaz. 3 (2) (1976), 33-52.
  2. A L Blakers, The Australian mathematical society: foundation and early years. II : The early years, Austral. Math. Soc. Gaz. 3 (3) (1976), 65-83.

Last Updated February 2018