GAMM Rundbrief 2002/Heft 2

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GAMM-Jahrestagung 2002 in Augsburg
Eröffnungsrede des Tagungsleiters der GAMM 2002
Universität Augsburg, Prof. Rolf Hoppe
Dear participants of the GAMM Annual Meeting 2002,
on behalf of the Organizing Committee it is my pleasure to welcome you here in Augsburg.
This meeting of the International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics takes
place at a young university, which two years ago celebrated its 3Oth anniversary in a city,
which is much older, actually it is the 2nd oldest city in Germany founded by the Romans
under the Emperor Augustus where the name of the city comes from.
The fact that the city is very old but the university is young does not mean that science did not
play a prominent role in Augsburg.
It is true that the name of Augsburg is intimately connected with the name of Fugger which
was an extraordinarily wealthy and influential family of bankers and merchants during the
middle ages. If you are strolling through the Old Town and see a monument, it is either the
Emperor Augustus or one of the Fuggers.
These Fuggers have not only made business with Europe ~5 mighty kings and emperors and
thus strongly influenced politics, but they have also promoted arts and sciences. In particular,
they have attracted artists, philosophers, and scientists to come to Augsburg, and they have
created a library, which was the most important one of that time.
Some people in Augsburg like to talk about these old days when the city, admittedly, was
much more important than it is nowadays. Indeed, one could easily add one of such stories
after another almost endlessly.
However, we should not concentrate on past times but focus on the present days, and this
brings me in a natural way back to this year‘s annual meeting:
Around 900 scientists from more than 30 countries have registered for GAMM 2002 and a
great deal of them are going to present their latest scientific results.
As far as the Scientific Program is concerned, the International Association of Applied
Mathematics and Mechanics has combined tradition and some innovations:
In the tradition, there are the 16 Plenary Lectures given by outstanding experts in their
respective fields, including the 45th Prandtl Memorial Lecture of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Luft- und Raumfahrt which we will hear today.
In the tradition, there is also the Public Lecture aimed to bridge the gap between Science and
Public. This year it is devoted to Climate Research reflecting the fact that Augsburg has been
chosen to become Bavaria‘ s center for environmental studies.
What is new is that the minisymposia have been completely separated from the sections. There
are 12 minisymposia on specific topics that will take place this afternoon whereas the 22
sections have been scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon.
This meeting would not have been possible without the assistance and efforts of many people
some of them visible and easily recognizable by their yellow badges, others working invisibly
behind the screens.