So What's a VIV?

We are very pleased to host three Very Important Visitors (VIV) during the Winter quarter of our annual program in optimization. Mike Steele of he University of Pennsylvania coined the designation VIV in 1993 when he served as organizer of the IMA thematic program on Emerging Applications of Probability. VIVs provide scientific leadership to IMA programs, frequently mentor more junior members of the IMA, and enjoy the IMA program and atmosphere to boot.

Collette Coullard arrived in the Fall of 2002 and will spend the entire academic year at the IMA. She is on leave from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University where she is professor. Her research interests are in mathematical programming and combinatorial optimization. Collette has been an anchor to our program in optmization. She is an active participant in all the tutorials and workshops held. In addition to organizing the Optimization seminar and giving a number of talks, she is working closely with a few of our postdocs. About her stay, Collette says "The IMA is perfect for a sabbatical. Interacting with the post-docs and other visitors through daily presentations and informal discussions is stimulating, informative, and productive. Monthly workshops and tutorials are of exceptional quality and bring in dozens of other experts in the field. The IMA provides modern equipment in a comfortable setting, together with a superb support staff. Among a beautiful setting of lakes and trees, highlighted by four distinct seasons and plenty of sunshine, the Twin Cities offer a cosmopolitan city life and a vital outdoor life side by side."

John Dennis, Noah Harding Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at Rice University, is visiting the IMA for 3 months. Shortly upon his arrival in January, John taught (with Charles Audet and Mark Abramson) the IMA Short Course "Industrial Strength Optimization". The well attended short course was particularly successful and generated a buzz around the IMA and beyond. Material from the course can be downloaded from the IMA in various formats. John has been very valuable to the IMA. In addition to giving seminars on his research, he has organized meetings and discussions around topics of early career issues, intellectual property issues, and industrial collaboration. "IMA is a wonderful place with a helpful and efficient staff", says John. He adds, "I came here expecting to get a lot of my own work done and for my time to pass slowly. Instead, my 3 months visit has flown by and I am further behind than ever. My biggest surprise has been how well the postdocs organize themselves to interact with visitors." Mike may be further behind, but the IMA (and our postdocs) are way ahead for his visit.

Mike Powell is Professor Emeritus at Cambridge University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. He is at the IMA from January to March. Mike is well-known for his contributions to approximation theory and optimization. He has given a number of lectures at the IMA and in the School of Mathematics on both topics. At the IMA, Mike continues his work on methods for optimization without derivatives. "I am really enjoying my stay in Minneapolis. The facilities for research at the IMA are excellent, and the opportunities for discussions with other academics, and to learn about their work at seminars, are very welcome," Mike comments.