News

This special issue is one in a series of occasional newsletters that profile AMS members involved in outreach and special programs outside of their teaching and research.

Stevens is the director of PROMYS (Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists), a summer program at BU for motivated high school students. As director, he is the primary coordinator and manager of grant distribution, logistics, participant and counselor selection, and faculty. The goal of the PROMYS experience is "to engage young people in the struggle to understand an intricate collection of significant mathematical ideas, to encourage them to ask questions, and to help them realize that through careful thought they can penetrate formidable obstacles and invent their own answers to difficult questions. The attitudes through this experience will be far more valuable than the particular topics mastered." His leadership and commitment make PROMYS one of the most successful summer programs in the country—gathering talented math students from every region of the U.S., guided by research mathematicians and visiting scientists. He also teaches the number theory component of the program.

Stevens on the rewards of working with students and teachers in PROMYS: Working with so many bright and energetic young people is a rare privilege that I am fortunate to enjoy through the program. To see so many of the young PROMYS participan ts mature into productive research scientists and mathematicians has been a richly gratifying pleasure for all of us. Their boundless energy and enthusiasm affects everyone who works with them and has inspired everything else that happens in PROMYS—the advanced seminars, the research labs, as well as the teacher workshops. The AMS has played a crucial role in keeping PROMYS alive by providing student scholarships through the Epsilon Fund and by endorsing our work as we struggle to develop a network of financial supporters.

The original article is available on page 3 of http://www.ams.org/membership/membnewsltr-winter2003.pdf (opens in a new window).