Election results are in! Welcome to Lou Gross (President Elect), Jim Keener (Board of Directors), Ramit Mehr (Board of Directors) and Carl Panetta (Board of Directors). Thanks to the very strong slate of candidates that agreed to run in the SMB elections. The continued success of the SMB depends on the dedicated service of its members, and we were very fortunate to have such a great group of candidates running for the positions. The new Members of the Board will start as of July, and will replace Mark Chaplain, Sharon Lubkin and Lisa Sattenspiel. Other news from the election: the vote on modifying our bylaws so as to simplify the election process was approved unanimously. Board of Director members now officially have a four-year term.
I was fortunate to attend the Life Sciences 2002 meeting of the newly formed SIAM Life Sciences Activity Group (LSAG) in Boston this March. There was discussion at the LSAG business meeting about the relationship between it and the SMB. Here are a few reflections: the primary goal of the SMB has been to develop and promote good mathematical biology, wherever it appears. This has been through our journal (Bulletin of Mathematical Biology), our annual meetings, our newsletter, student mentoring, World Outreach activities and countless other activities. The SMB focus is, and has been, primarily on the science. The stated purpose of the SIAM LSAG is to foster "application of mathematics to the life sciences and research in mathematics that leads to new methods and techniques useful in the life sciences." Here the focus is naturally more on the mathematical methods. The rapidly growing field of mathematical biology is best served by cooperation between the SMB and LSAG (as well as other groups) while maintaining distinct identities. One strong possibility is a joint meeting in 2004, likely in Portland, Oregon. This would follow our 2003 meeting, which is scheduled for Dundee, Scotland.
More immediately, our rapidly approaching annual meeting, scheduled for 13-16 July in Knoxville, Tennessee, is under the capable organization of Lou Gross and colleagues. The theme is "Interdisciplinary Connections in Living Systems," and it is shaping up to be very exciting meeting. I hope to see you there.
Best wishes for a relaxing and productive summer.
Mark Lewis