Mathematics of Computation and Optimisation
Special Interest Group of the AustMS
Dear MoCaO members,
Happy New Year.
MoCaO nominations are now complete.
None of the positions has received multiple nominations and all the nominations have been accepted by the nominees.
The new Executive team is as follows.
Optimisation co-chair
Computational co-chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Communications-web manager
Ordinary executive members (2)
Dear MoCaO members,
We need to undertake an election for the executive and this needs to be completed before (or soon after) the beginning of next year. For this election Andrew Eberhard and Alex Kruger will serve as returning officers (and consequently will not be seeking re-election).
We are now seeking nomination for the following positions. All people nominated for these positions should be dual members of AustMS and MoCaO and should be nominated by two registered members of MoCaO.
1. Chair (Optimisation)
2. Chair (Computation)
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. Communications-Web manager
6. Two ordinary members of the executive
Please send your nomination by email to MoCaO@austms.org.au
An online system will be set up and details on how to cast your vote online will be send in a follow up email.
The closing date for nominations will be December the 20th, 2024 after which we will initiate a vote in the following weeks. Probably in the early new year.
A .docx copy is available here:
Mathematics of Computation and Optimisation (MoCaO) (www.mocao.org) represents more than 250 Australian mathematicians involved in the development of modern computational techniques for modern data science, machine learning and physical modelling. These computational techniques are the vital engines that power the software utilized by researchers in the latter fields (the analogy of maths engines powering software ‘vehicles’ will be used throughout this report). MoCaO is concerned that the funding opportunities and the amounts funded for critical fundamental research have been in decline for many decades.
The absolute amount of funding has not risen in dollar adjusted terms in this period while on the other hand, here has also been an increase in the number of funded grant streams supported by the government.
Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (members include Australian Signals Directorate, RBA, and 28 universities) and MATRIX Institute have recently published the report Research Investment and Expenditure into the Mathematical Sciences. This report highlights critical shortfalls in relation to funding of research in the mathematical sciences. Central to these concerns is that funding for the mathematical sciences (the engines) has decreased, as more funding has been diverted to applied research (the projects made possible by the software ‘vehicles’). This is to the direct detriment of fundamental research, and to the broader detriment of all, since large-scale modern problems faced by Australian industry require ever more powerful mathematical engines. The report also notes that “ARC investment in the schemes most relevant to the Mathematical Sciences … is roughly on par with investment in other STEMM disciplines, except for a noticeable drop in DECRAs.” Despite this being true in relative terms (i.e. in relation to overall funding in ARC Discovery grants etc) MoCaO remains concerned, as a representative body for the computational mathematical sciences, that this assessment hides the reduction of funding in absolute terms during this last 10year period in funding of ARC DP grants. The decline in DECRA funding is particularly alarming, as it could accelerate the exit of new talent from research. At AMSI Summer School Careers Day, companies routinely advertise salaries in excess of $250,000 for students with PhDs in computational mathematics.
In the table below, the total amount (in AUD) of ARC/DP grants in all areas of mathematics per year over the last decade is shown. The number at each row represents the total value awarded to ARD/DP grants that year with FoR codes 0101 (Pure Mathematics, 0102 (Applied Mathematics) and 0103 (Numerical and Computational Mathematics). We then used the Reserve Bank of Australia’s site to convert the figures to the current dollar values.
The data, in today dollars, is displayed in Figure 1. In ten years, the funding for ARC/DP grants has been essentially halved.
| Year | Amount in AUD |
| 2022 | 9929000 |
| 2021 | 10462488 |
| 2020 | 11593438 |
| 2019 | 11178546 |
| 2018 | 12240632 |
| 2017 | 9063642 |
| 2016 | 12816771 |
| 2015 | 11162100 |
| 2014 | 14582737 |
| 2013 | 12386233 |
| 2012 | 16461942 |
| 2011 | 15495628 |
Total amount of ARC/DP grants in pure/applied/computational maths. Data extracted from “Yearly_funding_allocation_Nov2022.xlsx” which is available publicly at https://www.arc.gov.au/funding-research/funding-outcome/grants-dataset
Fig 1. Total ARC/DP funding for mathematics in today dollars.
The executive summary of the AMSI-MATRIX report “Research Investment and Expenditure into the Mathematical Sciences” states: “Basic research should be properly funded for Australia’s long term prosperity. In addition, it is essential that research facilities in the Mathematical Sciences are well supported as National Research Infrastructure.” MoCaO emphasizes that the reduced funding opportunities in ARC\DP and DECRA grants is having a particularly detrimental impact on the career opportunities for younger emerging researchers in the mathematical sciences in Australia. This has the potential to inflict longer term damage to Australia’s international standing in the Mathematical Sciences.
Dear MOCAO lectures participants.
All the videos will be available on our YouTube channel later, there will be an additional announcement.
Our next speaker (Thur, July 18, 11AM AEST) is Dr Isabelle Shankar.
Title: The dual of a convex body
Abstract: Duality in convex geometry arises naturally in optimization by asking a simple question: given a maximizer to a convex optimization problem, how can we certify that it is indeed optimal? This leads to the definition of normal cone and quickly after to the dual of a convex body, which is itself a convex body. We’ll discuss examples including polytopes and extend the theory to conic duality.
Zoom:
https://unsw.zoom.us/j/89239495027?pwd=zMmvAkAmFZVQ4SzBhQkz6CuH4nuxwu.1
Registration for urgent updates: https://forms.gle/CGhNt3bssmqLMXcj6
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Nadia
The School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney is recruiting a Lecturer in Data Science for a fixed term contract until 2027. Applicants with an interest in mathematical optimisation, data science and/or applied mathematics are encouraged to apply.
Interviews will be held in late June. For more information and to apply, please visit this page: https://usyd.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/USYD_EXTERNAL_CAREER_SITE/job/Lecturer-in-Data-Science_0117330-2
The 2024 iteration of the biennial Computational Techniques and Applications Conference (CTAC) will be held at Monash University from 19 to 22 November 2024. The CTAC meetings are the main event in numerical mathematics and scientific computing in Australia, and have been taking place biennially since 1981, the most recent being held in 2022 at QUT.
As organisers of the numerical optimisation stream, we would like to invite you to submit an abstract for a contributed talk in this stream. We are interested in talks related to continuous optimisation, including topics with potential links to other CTAC streams (e.g. machine learning, inverse problems, uncertainty quantification, numerical PDEs). Please feel free to extend this invitation to others who may be interested in participating, including students/postdocs and visitors. There is a prize for best student talk.
Early bird registration closes on 1 June and abstract submission closes on 1 October.
The conference webpage is here:
https://www.monash.edu/science/schools/school-of-mathematics/ctac2024
The CTAC meetings are the main event in numerical mathematics and scientific computing in Australia, and have been taking place biennially since 1981, the most recent being held in 2022 at Queensland UT. This year’s event features a combination of plenary/keynote and contributed talks.
Confirmed plenary/keynote speakers:
Santiago Badia, Monash U
Fleurianne Bertrand, TU Chemnitz
Victor Calo, Curtin U
Carsten Carstensen, Humboldt-U Berlin
Vivien Challis, QUT
Nilima Nigam, Simon Fraser U
Vijay Rajagopal, U Melbourne
Dingxuan Zhou, U Sydney
Early bird registration closes on June 1, 2024 and the abstract submission closes on October 1, 2024. All necessary information about the conference and the submission process can be accessed from
https://www.monash.edu/science/schools/school-of-mathematics/ctac2024
Further inquires can be directed to the organising committee at ctac2024@monash.edu
SigmaOpt, the optimisation special interest group of ANZIAM, is holding a one-day workshop in
Adelaide City on the day after the 2024 ANZIAM Conference (in Adelaide Hills). The workshop
will feature talks from five invited speakers as well as the Winner of the Student Best Paper Prize.
Important Information:
The link to our YouTube channel was updated (main menu).
The channel contains the following Playlists:
MoCaO lecture series (2023 and 2022)
WOMBAT (2020 and 2021)
VAOpt Webinar (Seasons 1-4).
Dear MoCaO members.
MoCaO now has a YouTube Channel. You can subscribe to this channel to receive news and updates.
Polynomial optimisation lectures (July, 2023) are now available on this channel and some other recordings will be uploaded soon. Our main page menu (mocao.org) has a separate menu item.
Many thanks to Lien Nguyen for creating and looking after this channel.