Notices of the American Mathematical Society
Welcome to the current issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.
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- Volume 72 | Number 5 | May 2025
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Editorial
As a reader of the Notices for over 30 years, I am honored to be taking over as editor-in-chief. My predecessor, Erica Flapan, has helped enormously in making the transition as easy as possible, and has been an exemplary colleague. I hope to maintain the high standard she and her associate editors have set, and to make steady continuous improvements. I aim to increase engagement, particularly among more junior members of our community. I also aim to help improve communication between the hard-working people at the AMS and the community they serve. Having attended my first AMS Council meeting in May 2024, I have a much deeper appreciation for the dedication and skill of elected officeholders and staff.
The structure of the Notices will change slightly beginning with this issue. The key changes are: the addition of a short editorial including an overview of each issue; the renaming of the Early Career section to Career, with a corresponding broadening of focus; the replacement of the Communication section by Conversation, which will include interviews and multi-issue thematic series of articles giving various perspectives on a given topic. The “A Word From” and “Opinion” columns have been retired.
About half of the Editorial Board is staying on from Erica’s term, and about half the members are new. The latter group was chosen via an interview process following calls for (self)-nominations. I believe this is a first for the Notices, and is consistent with my aim to increase engagement with the community. There is no way to produce a good-quality product without the hard work of the associate editors, and I thank them deeply. Some have been in this role for six years already. The AMS production staff and editorial assistant Karen Wargo are, of course, indispensable.
We have revamped the submission process and now use the same editorial software as AMS journals. We have expanded the advisory committee to obtain input from AMS elected officials, AMS staff, graduate students, and others. From submission to appearance in print usually takes at least eight months, so the editors need to operate on the “bleeding edge” in order to have cutting-edge articles.
The Notices is a unique forum for AMS members, and mathematicians more generally, to communicate about professional issues. We hope to receive many high-quality letters to the editor and submissions, or ideas for submissions, on topics of real interest to a broad readership. We plan to generate much more light than heat, not shying away from important topics, but covering them in an intellectually rigorous way that may lead to real insight, while requiring civil interaction. Please note that I, and the AMS, do not necessarily agree with opinions and claims made by authors and interviewees in the Notices. If you strongly disagree with something you read, please let me know, and propose a letter or article of your own. The thematic series of articles should facilitate balance.
In this issue we present research-expository and education articles, the first of a two-part interview with Maria Klawe reflecting on her career, articles on mathematical publishing, mathematics on the internet, and AI (all themes that will continue throughout the year), a Short Story from one of the two new contributors Nick Trefethen, and a Memorial Tribute to Jim Simons, a titan of the US mathematical community. After many excellent contributions, Danny Calegari has stepped down from the Short Stories column. In addition to Nick, Joel David Hamkins will join John C. Baez as a contributor.
Please feel free to send feedback and suggestions for articles to me at notices-ed@amsjournals.org, and look out on social media for my calls to contribute (some planned themes are listed on the Notices website, but you should not be limited to those). For example, we are already planning coverage of ICM 2026 in Philadelphia, and will need input from many people. The authors, reviewers, editors, and production staff work very hard to bring you this publication, and we want to know the opinions of the readers. I look forward to receiving your excellent submissions.
At the upcoming JMM in Seattle, the Notices is organizing a panel on Challenges and Opportunities in Peer Review on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. I hope to see you at the meeting!
I write this several weeks before the time you read it, and I hope that we have all made it to 2025 and the Notices is starting off your year with enjoyment and enlightenment. Many tens of people worked hard to complete this issue, and I thank them all.
Mark C. Wilson is the editor-in-chief of the Notices. His email address is notices-ed@amsjournals.org.
Article DOI: 10.1090/noti3107
Credits
Photo is courtesy of Mark C. Wilson.