South Korea plans to host the 2014 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) to help boost interest in a field critical to sustained scientific growth, a local math society were quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday.
The Korean Mathematical Society (KMS) said it has submitted a request to host the event to the International Mathematical Union earlier in the day.
It said the country will compete with Brazil, Canada and Singapore to win the event that is held every four years.
ICM is attended by an average of 4,000 mathematicians from 100 countries and is recognized as the Olympics in the field of math.
It is also famous for handing out the Fields Medal, often referred to as the Nobel Prize in mathematics.
"If the country wins the bid it can spark interest in math and help elevate South Korea as an important player in this field,"
said KMS member Park Hyung-ju, who is leading the bid to host the event.
He said a decision on who will host the 2014 meeting is to be effectively decided in late April with the official announcement to be made in Aug. 2010.
South Korea joined the race late compared to the other contenders but has pledged to support travel expenses to 1,000 mathematicians from developing countries.
KMS said that such aggressive promotional efforts have had a positive effect with the association, claiming that the country may be ahead of the competition.
[출처 : 코리아헤럴드]
