The Particle Accelerators 101
years was maintaining the enthusiasm and commitment of the volunteers who make Fields programs run, despite the lack of new financial resources and the need( given that previous surpluses had been exhausted) to avoid going over budget. On top of that, we had just added a sponsoring university( Carleton), whose activity was therefore ramping up. I think we held things together well under the circumstances, leaving Fields well placed to expand activity a few years later, once budgets finally increased.
Tight budgets also meant we looked hard for other revenue sources and started laying the foundation for fundraising at the Institute. This proved harder than expected, though we did have a few successes. Our optimism that this would eventually lead to something was borne out some years later, when Ed Bierstone succeeded in launching the Fields Medal Symposium, backed by major donations. One concrete spinoff from thinking about how Fields should present itself to the public was a striking new logo for Fields, the now famous F, made of chalk taken from the Institute blackboards. The following quotation, contributed to us as part of these efforts, nicely summarizes the importance of resources such as Fields.
“ Our everyday life is more and more dependent on mathematical invention. The working processes of a computer, the construction of a ship, of an aircraft, all depend on sophisticated techniques established by mathematicians. Understanding our climate— past, present and future— is also dependent on mathematical research. Any great city should have a specialized centre where contacts can be set up between students and pioneers in mathematics.”
“ The present writer is not a mathematician, and cannot be accused of defending his own little