The mathematical sciences in 2025 /

Many professional mathematicians will be aware of the general thrust, if not the specifics, of this report from the National Research Council on the current status and near-term trends and directions in the mathematical sciences. It addresses the connections between mathematics and its contributions to other fields, e.g., computation and big data, and national security. It also presents particular examples of the current relevance of mathematics, for example, to questions in statistical inference and medicine. Most valuable is the list of recommendations for how the profession might shape itself over the next 10 to 15 years, both in approaches to the actual study of mathematics and its problems, and in recruitment and pedagogy. The report will be useful as a departmental reference and also for students, especially undergraduates who ask, "What is this stuff good for?" The report is available for free downloading at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=15269. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic and professional mathematics collections. D. Robbins Trinity College (CT)