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Australia and New Zealand Inc. (MSSANZ)

News archive

News items that have been published on the Society's website. Go to the Newsletters page if you are looking for past issues of the newsletter.

Highest honours to Society members

Prof Clive Granger, MSSANZ Biennial Medallist (2001) and Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2003) was awarded a knighthood in the British New Year's Honours 2005.

Les Oxley, a distinguished MSSANZ Fellow, was elected one of the 12 new Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2004. (More info ...)

Kimio Morimune, MSSANZ Biennial Medallist (1999) has been elected Vice-President of the Japan Economic Association. He will become President in April 2006.

 


 

BRIGHTEST BRAINS HEAD TO THE SUNSHINE STATE (MODSIM09)

The Queensland government is enthusiastic about the upcoming joint congress with IMACS in 2009. Text of press release 23/2/07 below.

In a coup for Queensland, the Smart State will host a prestigious international mathematics conference never before held in the Southern Hemisphere. State Development Minister John Mickel said the world's best mathematicians and computer modellers will gather in Cairns in July 2009 for the 18th World Congress of the International Association for Mathematics and Computer Simulation (IMACS) - the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere in IMACS' 52-year history. He said the Beattie Government's commitment to science, technology and innovation had made Queensland a natural destination for the international event.

"The Queensland Government recognises that if we want to remain globally competitive Queensland industries across the board need to embrace all the scientific tools available to them," Mr Mickel said. "Mathematics spearheads the smart solutions that drive our future economic prosperity. "And if we are to stay ahead of the game, we need an appropriate supply of well-trained mathematicians."

Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Peter Andrews said mathematics was a critical enabling science, without which leading economies cannot innovate and grow. "Mathematics is absolutely fundamental to every aspect of our daily lives; it underpins our superannuation investments, the transport systems we use to get to and from work, the ultrasound and MRI tests we undergo in hospitals and the internet security measures that protect us from fraud," Prof Andrews said. "Mathematics and computer simulation play a vital role in solving our biggest economic, industrial and environmental challenges. That's why my office has convened a working group of leading researchers and industry representatives to ensure Queensland has the maths expertise to meet its industry development needs of the future."

The IMACS world congress will focus on applying maths and computational sciences to modelling and simulation, particularly in the environmental, biological, socio-economic and engineering fields. Minister Mickel said the conference was an internationally significant event that would further promote Queensland as a world-class destination for global business events. "The World Congress will attract up to 1000 international delegates, providing Queensland with an excellent opportunity to showcase its innovations in computer modelling and simulation to an international audience. "It will also help open up international markets for Queensland's first rate innovations."

Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
23/02/2007


CONGRATULATIONS!

Les Oxley, a distinguished Fellow of MSSANZ, was elected one of the 12 new Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2004.

 The RSNZ citation reads as follows:

Professor Leslie T. Oxley, Department of Economics, University of Canterbury, and Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia, is recognised internationally for the advances he has made in econometric modelling and testing, particularly as applied to studies of industrialization, economic growth and the measurement of human capital. His work is at the forefront of research using modern time series econometric methods to advance understanding of both unique historical events - for example, the British Industrial Revolution - and current issues of central importance, including the determinants of economic growth and the measurement of human capital.

Leslie Oxley has used novel statistical methods to substantiate and refine measures of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and his outstanding combinations of statistical, mathematical, economic and historiographical skills to create major resources of new time series data for Australia and New Zealand. A unique characteristic of his research, which is published in the leading international journals in economics, economic history and econometrics, is the ability to create advanced research methods derived from econometrics, statistics and mathematics to resolve important controversial issues in economics and economic history.

Leslie Oxley is an outstanding scholar whose innovative research has had a significant impact on his profession.