public comment statement on research 10-27-2003

Washington Office 1527 Eighteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-588-1100 Fax: 202-588-1853 www.ams.org Statement for Public Comment before the National Science and Technology Council; Committee on Science; Subcommittee on Research Business Models October 27, 2003 FUNDING IN THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES Dear Dr. Atwell, Members of the Panel, Colleagues, I wish to thank the National Science and Technology Council and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for this opportunity to discuss funding in the mathematical sciences. Mathematics plays an enabling role in the research and discovery of many other disciplines, as well as underpinning much of our modern day technological innovation. One can see the benefits of mathematical research everywhere; for example, in secure internet communication, deciphering DNA, forecasting weather, fingerprint storage technology, blood flow and heart research, brain research, financial investment models, tracking products, routing traffic, and designing aircraft. Much of the current federal funding increase for mathematics has been directed towards interdisciplinary collaborations. We feel that these collaborations strengthen the mathematical disciplines by emphasizing the versatility of mathematics in modern day discovery and innovation. We embrace the dissoluton of barriers among the sciences this entails, and welcome the recognition that true progress in technology relevant to today's needs requires ideas ...