Daily Times

Eminent Norwegian mathematician Professor Olav Arnfinn Laudal has said that the world’s leading mathematicians and scientists have no hesitation in coming to Pakistan to interact, collaborate, learn or teach the bright minds of the country.

“Your government and funding agencies must support the country’s doctoral schools like Abdus Salam of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) of Government College University (GCU) for research and expanding their international linkages,” Professor Olav Arnfinn Laudal said, who is one of the founders of the Abel Prize, while addressing the closing ceremony of international workshop on Algebraic Geometry & Its Applications.

As many as 90 students and faculty from different universities of Pakistan participated in the four-day workshop organised by GCU-ASSMS in collaboration with the Punjab Higher Education Commission, HEC Pakistan and Pakistan Science Foundation.

GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah chaired the closing ceremony of the four-day workshop which was also addressed by Professor Ignacio Luengo from Spain and Professor Gerhard Pfister from Germany.

In his address, GCU ASSMS Director General Professor Dr G Murtaza said that the Salam School had been run exclusively by the foreign faculty but in the last couple of years, they had started inducting local faculty members as well. He elaborated that the school presently had five local faculty members besides they were expecting 15 foreign faculty members for this fall semester.

“The GCU ASSMS also provides travel grants to its students to visit their foreign supervisors when they are abroad,” he concluded.

GCU VC Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah said that this school gave immediate pride to GCU, adding that competent local faculty was indispensible for the survival, stability and existence of ASSMS. He desired to organise an international conference on mathematical sciences in association with Professor Laudal, so that he can deploy his acquaintances to attract renowned mathematicians of Pakistan.

Professor Laudal mentioned his contribution in building the International Collaboration of ASSMS with International Centre for Theoretical Physics in his speech. Professor Gerhard Pfister talked about the importance of algebraic geometry and gave some suggestions for improvements.

Published in Daily Times, September 1^st 2018.