The Fields Institute Turns Twenty-Five 170725 Final book with covers | Page 129

CHAPTER 19
Four Happy Years and the
Birth of the Fields Medal
Symposium
Ed Bierstone
“I was thrilled by the enthusiasm for the idea of the [Fields
Medal] Symposium, and we succeeded in raising sponsorship
support for the first ten years.”
I was honoured to serve as Director of the Fields Institute for
four happy years, from 2009 to 2013, and am delighted, on the
occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, to write in celebration
of the Institute’s increasing impact as one of the world’s
leading mathematical research institutes. Among the things
that made me happiest as Director were the opportunities for
close contact and friendship with so many exceptional people,
from the Institute’s administrative staff, its governing bodies,
federal and provincial agencies, and, above all, the organizers
of the Institute’s programs and the incredible number of