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thematic programs that I myself had a key role in developing include : Statistical Inference , Learning , and Models for Big Data ( winter 2014 – 15 ); Computer Algebra ( fall 2015 – 16 ); Multiscale Scientific Computing : From Quantum Physics and Chemistry to Material Science and Fluid Mechanics ( winter 2015 – 16 ); Unlikely Intersections , Heights , and Efficient Congruencing ( winter 2016 – 17 ), Geometric Analysis ( fall 2017 – 18 ); and Teichmüller Theory and Its Connections to Geometry , Topology and Dynamics ( fall 2018 – 19 ). The range of topics — from statistics to computer science to scientific computing to number theory to differential geometry to topology and dynamical systems — attests to the breadth of the programs of the Institute .
The Fields Medal Symposium
The Fields Medal Symposium , the annual event so successfully initiated by Ed Bierstone , developed and matured during my tenure as Director . This event is a brilliant star in the Institute ’ s activities , really contributing to its international profile as well as its outreach to the public . To put the Fields Medal Symposium in perspective , it may be useful to compare it to several other international scientific events . Winners of the Abel Prize are awarded their prize at an Abel Symposium focused on their contributions . Nobel Laureates have Nobel Symposia dedicated to their work . Both these major prizes are announced well in advance of the respective award ceremonies , allowing lead time to organize the accompanying symposia . A feature of the Fields Medal , however , is that , according to tradition , the medal winners are only announced at the award ceremony itself , which takes place during the International Congress of Mathematics . There is thus no lead time for symposium organization . The substitute is our annual series of Fields Medal Symposia in Toronto , with wide publicity , public lectures by the medallists being honoured , and mathematical