Conference Overview

Until not long ago, mathematics was commonly regarded by the general public as a reclusive activity, pursued relentlessly and obsessively by a small number of individuals within the cloisters of universities. Mathematicians seemed to be detached from and unperturbed by the “lively” activities of their counterparts in other disciplines.

In recent years, the emergence of knowledge-based economies has been accompanied by the ascendancy of mathematics as a fundamental part of general learning. The world is witnessing an increasing mathematization of science and engineering, with impacts on an ever broadening spectrum of research, beyond the physical and information sciences, including the bio-, geo- and environmental sciences, as well as the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Fundamental research in the mathematical sciences has emerged as the fountain head for all these disciplines, as it underpins and enable advances, both in theory and applications, in these fields.

As such, without mathematical science training, no country, or region of the world is able to access the full power of --much less participate in creating-- scientific research and technological tools to solve the daunting catalogue of internal and trans-border health, energy, development and quality-of-life challenges confronting our globalized society. Neither are citizens of technologically underdeveloped countries able to develop an economically productive and independent middle class as vanguards of economic progress and democratic stability. Such growing recognition is increasingly resulting in initiatives towards developing Africa's mathematical science and technological capacity. Amongst those efforts are establishment of specialized African Universities of Science and Technology, (e.g AUST-Abuja), the African Union's PanAfrican University network, the African Millenium Mathematical Science Intitiative of the Science Initiative Group, the African Mathematical Institutes Network (AMI-Net ) as part of NEPAD's prioritizing of science, technology and innovation for African development.

It is in view of, and with a vision to contribute to emerging shifts in African regional development priorities towards techno-scientific workforce competence building that Cameroonian Diasporas Mathematical Scientists, in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics at the University of Buea, Cameroon, have initiated a series of bi-annual International Conferences on the Mathematical Sciences. The conference series aim at bringing together every other year, academicians and professionals with diverse backgrounds, yet bound together by cross-disciplinary interests related to Mathematical Sciences, to demonstrate the vital role that mathematics plays in their various areas of professional research and society in general, and to bridge as well as nurture understanding and collaboration between global and Cameroon regional mathematical scientists and practitioners. Each conference will include invited lectures, contributed talks and panel discussions, with presentations ranging from the latest technical breakthroughs to general survey/framework type. We aim at establishing a premier mathematical science conference series that will be a prominent and permanent forum for generating scientific collaborations and synergies for the advancement of Africa's scientific and technological workforce; a series that will be respected for its quality and admired for its breath and offshoots. The first two-three days of each conference will feature presentations representing broad research areas for cross fertilization, followed by a workshop or summer school focused on a specific research theme.

The first (inaugural) conference was held from May 12 -16, 2009, in conjunction with an adjoining workshop on Mathematical Biology.

The focus of the conferences will not be limited only to enriching lectures and focused tutorials and discussions on open problems during each workshop or summer school. We consider it equally important to create a pleasant environment in which participants can discuss diverse topics of their professional interest, make new friends and reconnect with old ones. We are confident that the conference series will provide its sponsors and stakeholders much needed space to contribute to the advancement of the mathematical sciences in Africa, and its participants valued professional and cultural experiences. We cordially invite academicians, researchers, scientists and parties whose interests intersects the mathematical sciences to join these events during the month of May in every odd year on the serene campus of the University of Buea, at the foot of Mount Fako, the second tallest peak (after Mount Kilimanjaro) in Africa.

The Conference Working language will be English