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.