Nominations for President Elect, Volume 52, Number 8

Richard V. Kadison As attested to by his recent (2002) National Medal of Science, and a host of other honors, James Glimm is one of this country’s leading mathematical scientists. The citation for Jim’s Medal of Science states: “To James G. Glimm, Distinguished Leading Professor of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory. For his original approaches and creative contributions to an array of disciplines in mathematical analysis and mathematical physics, which are fundamental to the theory of operator algebras, shock-wave theory, advanced quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics, applied mathematics, and scientific computation.” I join my two colleagues in nominating James G. Glimm for the presidency of the American Mathematical Society for his extraordinary contributions to an array of disciplines in mathematical analysis and mathematical physics and for his impressive leadership qualities and experience. His work has been fundamental to the theory of operator algebras, has revolutionized shock-wave theory, and has advanced quantum field theory and quantum statistical mechanics to levels that were previously unimagined. Jim has made outstanding contributions to the theory of operator algebras, mathematical physics, with special emphasis on quantum field theory and quantum statistical mechanics, shock-wave theory (hyperbolic conservation laws), applied mathematics and scientific computation. In the theory of operator algebras, Glimm’s earliest work, his accomplishments are seminal. The penetrating analysis of the most fundamental class of operator algebras, now called “Glimm algebras” in his honor, that he carried out, remains the cornerstone of one of the deepest and most vibrant aspects of the theory. He proved one of the first and most basic results in non-commutative approximation theory, his non-commutative “Stone-Weierstrass Approximation Theorem.” He proved the Mackey conjecture on the equivalence of “smooth dual” and “type I structure,” among several other important results. Throughout his long-term collaboration with Arthur Jaffe in the subject of quantum field theory they were leaders in the subject. They helped and guided their fellow researchers as well, training many of the best workers in the area. In shock-wave theory, Glimm solved the most important and previously unapproachable problems by completely original methods that continue to resonate in the research being done in the subject decades later. In years past, Glimm has played a leadership role in both the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics ( SIAM) and the International Association of Mathematical Physics (IAMP). It is hard for me to imagine a more suitable and capable candidate for the AMS presidency.