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Eligibility, Criterion and Continuity

The CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize recognizes exceptional achievement in the mathematical sciences. The winner's research should have been conducted primarily in Canada or in affiliation with a Canadian university. The main selection criterion is outstanding contribution to the advancement of research. The winner receives a monetary award, and an invitation to present a lecture at each institute within one year after the award is announced.

The Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), the Fields Institute, and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) invite nominations for the joint CRM-Fields-PIMS prize, each year.

Nominations should be submitted by November 1st every year by at least two sponsors of recognized stature. Nominations will remain active for two years. During any academic year, at most one prize will be awarded. The following elements should be included:

- 3 supporting letters,
- a curriculum vitae,
- a list of publications,
- and up to four preprints.

The Selection Committee

The awardee is chosen by a selection committee. The committee will be appointed by the institutes in the following way:

1) The scientific panel of each of the three institutes will nominate two members, for a total of six members. The members must be mathematicians (in a broad sense) of international stature who need not be Canadian, but who should have a good knowledge of the mathematical research carried out in Canada. The members may be, but need not be, members of the scientific panels of the institutes.

2) Committee members will serve for two years, with the exception of the first set of members. In this first set, three members (one appointed by each institute) will have a 2-year term, and three will have a 1-year term. All subsequent appointments will be for two years. Committee members cannot serve consecutive terms, and cannot be reappointed until a period of at least two years has passed. If committee members cease to serve before the end of their term, then the institute that appointed them will appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term.

Each year the committee will elect a member to act as chair. The committee will act by consensus, and may choose not to award the prize in a given year if no suitable candidate emerges. If the committee wishes to schedule a face-to-face meeting during the Winter CMS meeting, their additional travel expenses will be borne by the institutes. However, the committee may choose to conduct their deliberations by telephone and e-mail.

3) Principal responsibility for preparing the call for nominations, beginning the selection process and announcing the winner will circulate among the three institutes, with Fields taking the lead when the process begins in years divisible by 3, CRM in years whose residue is 1 (mod 3) and PIMS in years = 2 (mod 3). This includes circulating a call for nominations to be published in the newsletters of the institutes and of CMS, CAIMS and SSC, in August or September, and preparing a press release to be circulated to the learned societies and the home institution of the awardee.

Mandate

The committee will have a two-fold mandate: to ensure an outstanding pool of nominations, including solicitation of specific applications; secondly, the committee will be responsible for the selection of the prize winner according to the current criteria of the prize (these criteria and conditions of elegibility must appear in the call for proposals). The committee is encouraged to award the prize to a single person, but can also, exceptionally, award the prize to more than one person or choose to give no award. The committee's decision is final.

The committee, during its first two years of existence, should arrive at a proposal to materialize the prize in the form of a medal, statue, document, etc. that would replace the usual photograph taken with a cheque. This should be done in consultation with the institutes.