Director’s message: The Institute of Applied Mathematics (IAM) was established in 1972 to enhance interdisciplinary teaching and research of applied mathematics at UBC and to provide support for faculty and graduate student research activities.

The IAM supervises graduate Masters and Ph.D. programmes in Applied Mathematics and oversees the continued development of interdisciplinary educational and research programmes in this field. The members of our Institute are associated with many different departments and include about 90 faculty, about 100 graduate students, and about 10 postdoctoral fellows. The IAM provides excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary research that combines mathematics with another field, including the physical, chemical, biological and engineering sciences. The resulting breadth and depth of endeavor has created a vital and exciting environment in which to work.

The strength of the IAM lies in the large contingent of distinguished faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and excellent graduate students who come from many different academic disciplines. Applied Mathematics provides a common language for engineers and scientists to gain a better understanding of natural and technological processes. One of the many objectives of our Institute is the development and application of mathematical and numerical methods to the solution of practical industrial problems. Many of the IAM faculty and their students have been involved in collaborations with a variety of industrial companies.

The IAM provides office space for about 25 students, fellows and visitors, and is equipped with desktop workstations, a private Amazon-like computing cloud, a technical book library, and a multipurpose lounge. These facilities provide a focal point where IAM faculty and students from diverse research fields can meet and exchange research ideas. We are very proud of our mission and of the intellectual and educational experiences we are offering.

We invite you to explore our website. Please do not hesitate to contact us, if you have not found the information you are seeking.

Some of the documents from the early history of the IAM are collected here if you want to read about why it was formed and its early activities.

Michael P. Friedlander
Director, Institute of Applied Mathematics
director@iam.ubc.ca