May 12 is The Women in Mathematics Day, in honour of Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman and first Iranian to be awarded the Fields Medal before her death at the age of 40. Join the screening of Secrets of the Surface, the Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani, on Tuesday, May 12 at 3:00pm PDT at www.birs.ca/live to celebrate her life, her mathematical work, and her impact on future generations.

Thanks to Zala Films and womeninmaths.org for granting BIRS permission.

About the Film

Filmed in Canada, Iran, and the United States, Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani examines the life and mathematical work of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian immigrant to the United States who became a superstar in her field. In 2014, she was both the first woman and the first Iranian to be honored by mathematics’ highest prize, the Fields Medal.

Mirzakhani’s contributions are explained in the film by leading mathematicians and illustrated by animated sequences. Her mathematical colleagues from around the world, as well as former teachers, classmates, and students in Iran today, convey the deep impact of her achievements. The path of her education, success on Iran’s Math Olympiad team, and her brilliant work, make Mirzakhani an ideal role model for girls looking toward careers in science and mathematics.
(Source: http://www.zalafilms.com/secrets/#about)

In view of ongoing travel advisories and physical distancing protocols related to COVID-19, all in-person CMO workshops scheduled in June and July 2020 will unfortunately be cancelled. At this time, we offer the organizers the option of proceeding virtually, with BIRS supporting, archiving and broadcasting the participants' talks online. This has been done successfully for workshop 20w5143, which ran from March 15-20, though many of you have expressed the limitations and challenges that such a format presents.

The offer of a virtual workshop does not replace the original opportunity to conduct an in-person workshop. As announced earlier, we will try our best to accommodate cancelled workshops when CMO is able to resume regular operations safely. For the time being, we strongly urge the organizers to consider the virtual workshop as an interim meeting platform.

If organizers decide to run their workshop online, we ask them to check this link: https://www.birs.ca/announcements/2020-03-17/covid-19_update1 to see how BIRS can help in setting it up.

Thank you for your understanding. I wish all of you good health in the days ahead.


José Seade
General Director, Casa Matemática Oaxaca
Professor Universidad nacional Autónoma de México

Nassif Ghoussoub,
Director, Banff International Research Station
Professor of Mathematics,The University of British Columbia

In view of ongoing travel advisories and physical distancing protocols related to COVID-19, all in-person BIRS workshops scheduled in June 2020 will unfortunately be cancelled. At this time, we offer the organizers the option of proceeding virtually, with BIRS supporting, archiving and broadcasting the participants' talks online. This has been done successfully for workshop 20w5143, which ran from March 15-20, though many of you have expressed the limitations and challenges that such a format presents.

The offer of a virtual workshop does not replace the original opportunity to conduct an in-person workshop. As announced earlier, we will try our best to accommodate cancelled workshops when BIRS is able to resume regular operations safely. For the time being, we strongly urge the organizers to consider the virtual workshop as an interim meeting platform.

If organizers decide to run their workshop online, we ask them to check this link: https://www.birs.ca/announcements/2020-03-17/covid-19_update1 to see how BIRS can help in setting it up.

Thank you for your understanding. I wish all of you good health in the days ahead.

Nassif Ghoussoub, FRSC, OC
Scientific Director, Banff International Research Station

In view of the travel restrictions imposed by various countries, all in-person BIRS workshops scheduled in April and May 2020, will unfortunately be cancelled. We recommend, however, that the organizers consider proceeding virtually, with participants broadcasting their talks online. This has been done successfully for workshop 20w5143, which ran from March 15-20, though we understand the limitations and challenges that such a format presents.

If organizers decide to run their workshop online, we ask them to check this link: https://www.birs.ca/announcements/2020-03-17/covid-19_update1 to see how BIRS can help in setting it up.

All cancelled workshops will be given priority as soon as BIRS gets back to its regular mode of operation.

Thanks for your understanding and please keep safe.

Nassif Ghoussoub,
Director, Banff International Research Station

Dear BIRS organizers and participants,

Despite the disruption to worldwide travel, this week’s BIRS workshop is off to a productive start, with 60 participants joining from their homes and offices around the world on Monday, via video conferencing. The virtual meeting is being hosted and managed by BIRS, allowing the workshop to proceed with their schedule of talks throughout the week. We invite and encourage all forthcoming meetings to proceed in this way.

The technology is very easy to use. Participants are sent a link to click, which offers the choice between a simple software download and run, or to join the meeting with their web browser. Once joined, the participants can enable their cameras and/or microphones, to participate fully in the meeting. The video collaboration service delivers clear audio and high definition video that is good enough for participants to see writing on a chalkboard and ask questions of the speaker. The talks are live streamed and recorded, as per usual at BIRS. Our live stream, directly from the video collaboration software, will be online whenever meetings are taking place, at http://www.birs.ca/live.

As the COVID-19 outbreak causes cancelations of events around the world, it is important that scientific research not grind to a halt. We have confirmed that the technology works, and allows these important research collaborations to continue. We urge you to take advantage of this pivotal moment, and proceed with your meeting, virtually.

Please discuss among your group if you would like to proceed with your meeting in this way, and let us know. BIRS will setup the video collaboration software, add the meeting links to your schedule, and email you or your workshop participants the links they should follow to join the meeting. Currently, we are using Zoom software, but are experimenting with other options, in search of the most optimal solution.

Nassif Ghoussoub
Director, Banff International Research Station