|
Welcoming Comments for the S. S. Chern Memorial Conference
We are gathered here in CIMAT to celebrate the deep contributions of one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th and a little bit of the 21st centuries: Professor S. S. Chern. Since his passing away in December of 2004 in Beijing, China, there were already numerous conferences commemorating this great man. So why here? As all of us know, Chern's long and active life spanned three continents: Asia, especially China, Europe, especially France and Germany, and of course North America, especially United States. He learned mathematics in China and Europe, and he practiced mathematics in the United States and towards the end of his life, in China. It is therefore no wonder that all the conferences in memory of him were held in geographical areas where he had lived. Yet, Chern is not only a treasure of Europe, Asia, and North Europe. He is a treasure of the universe. As a humble theoretical physicist, I consider mathematics to be the guiding principle and language of our universe. What Chern did was to elucidate this profound and deep "language" for all of us to marvel and to utilize. Indeed, I would venture to say that the mathematics which Chern unlocked is as palpable and as real to us here on earth as it would be for "someone" furthest from us, say, at the edge of the universe. Therefore, it is no wonder that Chern mathematics has as deep an impact to the geographical areas he lived in all his life as it is to areas where he did not live. It is for this reason, we should all be deeply impressed and grateful that the world class mathematicians at CIMAT here in Guanajuato City, Mexico wanted to organize this important Conference because they wanted to let the world knows how much Latin America revered Chern, and how much Chern influenced, and continues to influence, Latin America's broad and deep intellectual efforts. Finally, on behalf of my colleagues from UTD, Austin Cunningham, the Dean of Graduate Studies, and Rodolfo Hernandez, Director of International Studies, three other colleagues who were unable to be here physically, but very much are here in spirit, Wolfgang Rindler, a distinguished general relativitist, Ali Hoshaar, Chair of our Department of Mathematical Sciences and President David Daniel, I want to thank my colleagues at CIMAT as well as all Latin American colleagues for allowing the University of Texas at Dallas to participate and share some of the joy and excitement. Thank you. |