The Swiss Mathematical Society, SMS (, SMG; ), founded in Basel on 4 September 1910, is the national mathematical society of Switzerland. It is a member of the

European Mathematical Society The European Mathematical Society (EMS) is a European organization dedicated to the development of mathematics in Europe. Its members are different mathematical societies in Europe, academic institutions and individual mathematicians. The curren ...

History

The SMS was established on 4 September 1910 in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

as a specialised section of the Swiss Natural Research Society (SNG). Initiated by

Rudolf Fueter Karl Rudolf Fueter (30 June 1880 – 9 August 1950) was a Swiss mathematician, known for his work on number theory. Biography After a year of graduate study of mathematics in Basel, Fueter began study in 1899 at the University of Göttingen and ...

, Henri Fehr and

Marcel Grossmann Marcel Grossmann (; April 9, 1878 – September 7, 1936) was a Swiss mathematician who was a friend and classmate of Albert Einstein. Grossmann came from an old Swiss family in Zürich. His father managed a textile factory. He became a Professor ...

, a circular signed by nineteen leading mathematicians drew eighty-two founding members, and the constitutive meeting was held that afternoon in the . From its earliest years the SMG organised annual spring and autumn sectional meetings—initially within the SNG framework—at which members presented research and exchange of ideas. Membership fees began at CHF 2 per annum (later rising in stages and, from 2007, incorporating a reduced student rate) and the Society's governing

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

s provided for a rotating presidency via an executive of three elected

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

s. In 1928 the SMG resolved to launch its own

research journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

, ''

Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici The ''Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal in mathematics. The Swiss Mathematical Society (SMG) started the journal in 1929 after a meeting in May of the previous year. The Swiss Mathematical Socie ...

'', with the first volume appearing that same year. To secure its continuation a "Foundation for the Promotion of Mathematical Sciences in Switzerland" was established in 1929 to underwrite production costs. In 1946 the Society founded ''

Elemente der Mathematik ''Elemente der Mathematik'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering mathematics. It is published by the European Mathematical Society Publishing House on behalf of the Swiss Mathematical Society. It was established in 1946 by Louis Loc ...

'', aimed at

expository Narrative exposition, now often simply exposition, is the insertion of background information within a story or narrative. This information can be about the setting, characters' backstories, prior plot events, historical context, etc. In liter ...

articles and developments in mathematical education and dissemination. Both journals—renowned today for their high scientific standards and broader

pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

reach—were transferred in 1976 to Society oversight (''Elemente'') and more recently adopted modern

typesetting Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other ...

(

TeX Tex, TeX, TEX, may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Tex Earnhardt (1930–2020), U.S. businessman * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer ...

) and online distribution via the

EMS Publishing House The European Mathematical Society (EMS) is a European organization dedicated to the development of mathematics in Europe. Its members are different mathematical societies in Europe, academic institutions and individual mathematicians. The curren ...

. The SMG also maintains an information and exchange service, publishes a weekly bulletin of seminars and lectures, and awards travel

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

to support scholarly collaboration. Beyond its national activities, the SMG has long represented Switzerland in international bodies. It was an early member society of the

upon its founding in 1990 and holds membership in the

International Mathematical Union The International Mathematical Union (IMU) is an international organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of mathematics across the world. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC) and supports the International ...

(since 1921) and the

International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics The International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) is an organisation for professional applied mathematics societies and related organisations. The current president is Wil Schilders. The cash award for each of the prizes is ...

. Swiss mathematicians have twice hosted the

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the IMU Abacus Medal (known before ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

(1932 and 1994), and SMG officers have served as IMU presidents and secretaries. Today, the Society's archives—housed at the ETH Library, Zürich—comprise nearly four linear metres of minutes, correspondence and financial records, providing a comprehensive record of one hundred years of Swiss mathematical endeavour.

Presidents

*1910–12

*1913–15 Henri Fehr *1916–17

(ETH Zurich) *1918–19

Michel Plancherel Michel Plancherel (; 16 January 1885 – 4 March 1967) was a Swiss people, Swiss mathematician. Biography He was born in Bussy, Fribourg, Bussy (Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland) and obtained his Diplom in mathematics from the University of Fribou ...

*1920–21

Louis Crelier Louis Jacques Crelier (3 November 1873, Bure, Switzerland – 28 November 1935) was a Swiss mathematician. In 1886 he enrolled at l'Ecole normale in Porrentruy and then studied at the University of Berne, where he received his doctorate in 1895. ...

*1922–23

Gustave Dumas 250px Gustave Dumas (5 March 1872, L'Etivaz, Vaud, Switzerland – 11 July 1955) was a Swiss mathematician, specializing in algebraic geometry. Dumas received a baccalaureate degree from the University of Lausanne, then another baccalaureate de ...

(University of Lausanne) *1924–25

Andreas Speiser Andreas Speiser (June 10, 1885 – October 12, 1970) was a Swiss mathematician and philosopher of science. Life and work Speiser studied in Göttingen, starting in 1904, notably with David Hilbert, Felix Klein, Hermann Minkowski. In 1917 he becam ...

*1926–27

Ferdinand Gonseth Ferdinand Gonseth (1890–1975) was a Swiss mathematician and philosopher. He was born on 22 September 1890 at Sonvilier, the son of Ferdinand Gonseth, a clockmaker, and his wife Marie Bourquin. He studied at La Chaux-de-Fonds, and read physics a ...

(Bern) *1928–29

Severin Bays Severin, Séverin or Severinus may refer to: People * Severin (given name) * Severin (surname) Places * Caraș-Severin County, a county in Romania * Severin County, a defunct county in Romania that was merged into the present Caraş-Severin Cou ...

(Fribourg) *1930–31

Samuel Dumas Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated a ...

(Bern) *1932–33

Gustave Juvet Gustave Juvet (born 25 September 1896, La Côte-aux-Fées, Neuchâtel – 2 April 1936, Valais) was a Swiss mathematician. He made contributions to relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. He authored the first comprehensive French tr ...

(University of Lausanne) *1934–35 Walter Saxer (ETH Zurich) *1936–37

Rolin Wavre Rolin-Louis Wavre (25 March 1896 in Neuchâtel – 9 December 1949 in Geneva) was a Swiss mathematician. Wavre studied at the Sorbonne and received his Ph.D. in 1921 from the University of Geneva, where he became a professor extraordinarius in 19 ...

*1938–39

Willy Scherrer Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Allen (basketball) (born 1949), American basketball player and ...

(Bern) *1940–41 Louis Kollros (ETH Zurich) *1942–43

Paul Buchner Paul Buchner (June 1531 – 13 November 1607) was a German architect, geometer, carpenter and screw maker from Nuremberg. Life Buchner grew up in Nuremberg and was an apprentice carpenter and screw maker, training under his cousin, Leonhard ...

(Basel) *1944–45

Georges de Rham Georges de Rham (; 10 September 1903 – 9 October 1990) was a Swiss mathematician, known for his contributions to differential topology. Biography Georges de Rham was born on 10 September 1903 in Roche, a small village in the canton of Vaud in ...

*1946–47

Max Gut Max Gut (1898–1988) was a Swiss mathematician, specializing in algebraic number theory and group theory. After completing his secondary education at the canton school in Zürich, Gut spent one semester studying law and business at the University ...

(Universität Zurich) *1948–49

Charles Blanc Charles Blanc (17 November 1813, Castres (Tarn) – 17 January 1882, Paris) was a French art critic. Life and career He was the younger brother of the French socialist politician and historian Louis Blanc. After the February Revolution of 1848 ...

(University of Lausanne) *1950–51 Albert Pfluger *1952–53 Félix Fiala (Neuchâtel) *1954–55 Johann Jakob Burckhardt *1956–57

Eduard Stiefel Eduard L. Stiefel (21 April 1909 – 25 November 1978) was a Swiss mathematician. Together with Cornelius Lanczos and Magnus Hestenes, he invented the conjugate gradient method, and gave what is now understood to be a partial construction of th ...

(ETH Zurich) *1958–59 Georges Vincent (University of Lausanne) *1960–61 Heinrich Jecklin (University of Zurich) *1962–63

Beno Eckmann Beno Eckmann (31 March 1917 – 25 November 2008) was a Switzerland, Swiss mathematician who made contributions to algebraic topology, homological algebra, group theory, and differential geometry. Life Born to a Jewish family in Bern, Eckmann r ...

(ETH Zurich) *1964–65 Jean de Siebenthal (EPF Lausanne) *1966–67 Heinz Huber (Basel) *1968–69

Walter Nef Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

(Bern) *1970–71

Roger Bader Roger Bader (born 29 September 1964) is a Swiss retired ice hockey player and coach, who coached the Austrian national team at the 2019 IIHF World Championship The 2019 IIHF World Championship was hosted from 10 to 26 May 2019 by Slovakia. It ...

(Neuchâtel) *1972–73

Ernst Specker Ernst Paul Specker (11 February 1920, Zürich – 10 December 2011, Zürich) was a Swiss mathematician. Much of his most influential work was on Quine's New Foundations, a set theory with a universal set, but he is most famous for the Kochen� ...

(ETH Zurich) *1974–75

André Haefliger André Haefliger (; 22 May 19297 March 2023) was a Swiss mathematician who worked primarily on topology. Education and career Haefliger went to school in Nyon and then attended his final years at Collège Calvin, Collège de Genève in Genev ...

(Geneva) *1976–77

Heinrich Kleisli Heinrich Kleisli (; October 19, 1930 – April 5, 2011) was a Swiss mathematician. He is the namesake of several constructions in category theory, including the Kleisli category and Kleisli triples. He is also the namesake of the Kleisli Query ...

(Fribourg) *1978–79

André Delessert André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French language, French-spe ...

(University of Lausanne) *1980–81

Pierre Gabriel Pierre Gabriel (1 August 1933 – 24 November 2015), also known as Peter Gabriel, was a French mathematician at the University of Strasbourg (1962–1970), University of Bonn (1970–1974) and University of Zürich (1974–1998) who worked on cat ...

*1982–83

Alain Robert Alain Robert (; born Robert Alain Philippe; 7 August 1962) is a French rock climber and urban climber. Nicknamed "the French Spider-Man" or "the Human Spider", Robert carries out free solo climbs of skyscrapers using no climbing equipment ex ...

(Neuchâtel) *1984–85 Henri Carnal (Bern) *1986–87 Shristi D. Chatterji (EPF Lausanne) *1988–89 Norbert A’Campo (Basel) *1990–91 Urs Stammbach (ETH Zurich) *1992–93 Harald Holmann (Fribourg) *1994–95 François Sigrist (Neuchâtel) *1996–97 Hans Jarchow (University of Zurich) *1998–99 Gerhard Wanner (Geneva) *2000–01 Urs Würgler (Bern) *2002–03 Rolf Jeltsch (ETH Zurich) *2004–05 Peter Buser (EPF Lausanne) *2006–07 Norbert Hungerbühler (Fribourg) *2008–09 Viktor Schroeder (University of Zurich) *2010–11 Bruno Colbois (Neuchâtel) *2012–13 Christine Riedtmann (University of Bern) *2014–15

Nicolas Monod Nicolas Monod is a professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and known for work on bounded cohomology, ergodic theory, geometry ( CAT(0) spaces), locally compact groups and amenability. He was born in Montreux, Switzerlan ...

(EPF Lausanne) *2016–17 Anand Dessai (University of Fribourg) *2018–19 Urs Lang (ETH Zurich) *2020–21 Jeremy Blanc (Basel) *2022–23 Alain Valette (University of Neuchâtel)Steering Committee
/ref>

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Mathematical societies Scientific organisations based in Switzerland Scientific organizations established in 1910 1910 establishments in Switzerland