<p> Bangalore is a mathematics hotspot. In the race among three cities to become the country’s maths capital, the City has scored over Chennai and Mumbai not only in the number of graduates and faculty but also in the proportion of youth enrolling in the subject at specialised institutes. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Prof Gadadhar Misra, Head of Mathematics at IISc, said Bangalore was well-placed in mathematics compared with Chennai and Mumbai. “The City has three major institutions doing maths — IISc, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). In Chennai, the major maths centre is the Chennai Mathematical Institute — relatively young compared with the IISc maths department — and IIT-Madras. Mumbai also has TIFR and to some extent IIT-Bombay. <br /><br />The three institutes in Bangalore together churn out around 50 maths students every year, including undergraduate and PhD students, whereas Chennai and Mumbai do around 30 each. The faculty strength in Bangalore is 80 to 100, whereas in Chennai and Mumbai, it is 30 to 50.” <br /><br />Misra says Bangalore is also distinct in having a very young mathematics crowd compared with Chennai and Mumbai. “More youths come to Bangalore for mathematics instead of Chennai and Mumbai. This trend is relatively new. They find varied research avenues here as well as young researchers and teachers, so they can relate well.” <br /><br />The variety of mathematics fields Bangalore offers is also higher than what Chennai and Mumbai offer. While the other two cities concentrate on algebra and algebraic geometry, <br />Bangalore offers a variety from mathematical biology to mathematical finance. <br /><br />The maths-industry connection in Bangalore too is very strong, which is an incentive for students to pursue maths. Financial services and data mining companies and research labs of Microsoft, Google, IBM, Yahoo, GE and GM rely heavily on maths. <br /><br />Interdisciplinary term<br /><br />According to Prof Govindan Rangarajan, who has spoken about the interdisciplinary character of maths at IISc, mathematics is playing an ever-increasing role in inter-disciplinary terms. <br /><br />“Mathematics always played a major role in physics. But now it is playing an important role even in biology which is ironical, since many students take up biology because they do not like maths! And maths plays a critical role in all engineering sciences,” Rangarajan says. <br /><br />B’lore’s tryst with maths<br /><br />The history of mathematics research in Bangalore goes back to 1956 when IISc’s mathematics department was set up by the mathematics legend, M S Narasimhan. Since then, the department has tried to balance pure science concerns with applied mathematics. <br /><br />It had a very strong theoretical base, whereas now the application of mathematics in the fields of biology, physics, finance, aerospace and aeronautics and even neuroscience is reigning. <br /><br />The institute also pioneered the IISc Mathematics Initiative and plays a significant role in the Indo-French Cyber University project with Toulouse University Network. It is also involved in the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana and the Mathematical Olympiad programme. <br /><br />The Bangalore centre of ISI, another centre for mathematics in the City, was conceived by Prof P C Mahalanobis during 1960s when the City was emerging as a centre of science. Professor Mahalanobis, however, died prematurely in 1972, after which plans to go ahead with the institute were cancelled. <br /><br />Reviving study of maths<br /><br />Then, Professor Kallianpur, the Director of ISI during 1976-1978, revived the idea, made specific proposals to the government to get grants for the development of land near Bangalore university where the institute is now established. But interestingly, ISI’s journey began on Church Street out of a rented building. <br /><br />The third important centre where mathematics is done is the TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics, a part of the School of Mathematics of the TIFR, Mumbai. The centre came up in the 1970s to develop areas in applicable mathematics. <br /><br />A very strong group of mathematicians has been built here and renowned mathematicians from India and abroad have contributed to its growth. Very advanced research in both theoretical and numerical aspects of differential equations happens here. </p>
<p> Bangalore is a mathematics hotspot. In the race among three cities to become the country’s maths capital, the City has scored over Chennai and Mumbai not only in the number of graduates and faculty but also in the proportion of youth enrolling in the subject at specialised institutes. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Prof Gadadhar Misra, Head of Mathematics at IISc, said Bangalore was well-placed in mathematics compared with Chennai and Mumbai. “The City has three major institutions doing maths — IISc, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). In Chennai, the major maths centre is the Chennai Mathematical Institute — relatively young compared with the IISc maths department — and IIT-Madras. Mumbai also has TIFR and to some extent IIT-Bombay. <br /><br />The three institutes in Bangalore together churn out around 50 maths students every year, including undergraduate and PhD students, whereas Chennai and Mumbai do around 30 each. The faculty strength in Bangalore is 80 to 100, whereas in Chennai and Mumbai, it is 30 to 50.” <br /><br />Misra says Bangalore is also distinct in having a very young mathematics crowd compared with Chennai and Mumbai. “More youths come to Bangalore for mathematics instead of Chennai and Mumbai. This trend is relatively new. They find varied research avenues here as well as young researchers and teachers, so they can relate well.” <br /><br />The variety of mathematics fields Bangalore offers is also higher than what Chennai and Mumbai offer. While the other two cities concentrate on algebra and algebraic geometry, <br />Bangalore offers a variety from mathematical biology to mathematical finance. <br /><br />The maths-industry connection in Bangalore too is very strong, which is an incentive for students to pursue maths. Financial services and data mining companies and research labs of Microsoft, Google, IBM, Yahoo, GE and GM rely heavily on maths. <br /><br />Interdisciplinary term<br /><br />According to Prof Govindan Rangarajan, who has spoken about the interdisciplinary character of maths at IISc, mathematics is playing an ever-increasing role in inter-disciplinary terms. <br /><br />“Mathematics always played a major role in physics. But now it is playing an important role even in biology which is ironical, since many students take up biology because they do not like maths! And maths plays a critical role in all engineering sciences,” Rangarajan says. <br /><br />B’lore’s tryst with maths<br /><br />The history of mathematics research in Bangalore goes back to 1956 when IISc’s mathematics department was set up by the mathematics legend, M S Narasimhan. Since then, the department has tried to balance pure science concerns with applied mathematics. <br /><br />It had a very strong theoretical base, whereas now the application of mathematics in the fields of biology, physics, finance, aerospace and aeronautics and even neuroscience is reigning. <br /><br />The institute also pioneered the IISc Mathematics Initiative and plays a significant role in the Indo-French Cyber University project with Toulouse University Network. It is also involved in the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana and the Mathematical Olympiad programme. <br /><br />The Bangalore centre of ISI, another centre for mathematics in the City, was conceived by Prof P C Mahalanobis during 1960s when the City was emerging as a centre of science. Professor Mahalanobis, however, died prematurely in 1972, after which plans to go ahead with the institute were cancelled. <br /><br />Reviving study of maths<br /><br />Then, Professor Kallianpur, the Director of ISI during 1976-1978, revived the idea, made specific proposals to the government to get grants for the development of land near Bangalore university where the institute is now established. But interestingly, ISI’s journey began on Church Street out of a rented building. <br /><br />The third important centre where mathematics is done is the TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics, a part of the School of Mathematics of the TIFR, Mumbai. The centre came up in the 1970s to develop areas in applicable mathematics. <br /><br />A very strong group of mathematicians has been built here and renowned mathematicians from India and abroad have contributed to its growth. Very advanced research in both theoretical and numerical aspects of differential equations happens here. </p>
