CHAPTER 12
The Diversity of Intellectual Activity
Don Dawson
“ My most vivid memories are of the excitement and energy as each group of mathematicians arrived to participate in the thematic programs . The diversity and range of intellectual activity was amazing .”
Around 1990 , I became aware of the exciting initiative by a group of mathematicians led by Jerry Marsden and Bill Shadwick for the creation of a mathematics research institute in Ontario . Thanks to their vision and the amazing effort of many other individuals including Carl Riehm , John Chadam , and Peter Nicholson , the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences became a reality . I recall the Site Selection Committee visit to the Carleton University campus , meeting with representatives of the architects at the Newton Institute in the U . K ., and finally the opportunity to visit the construction site on College St . during a winter meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society .