What professional bodies are there?
The United Kingdom has five main professional organisations representing mathematicians and statisticians.
The London Mathematical Society, founded in 1865, is the UK's learned society for Mathematics. It is an independent and self-financing charity concerned with the promotion and extension of all branches of mathematics and its applications. It organises meetings, publishes periodicals and books, awards grants, and contributes to public debates on issues related to mathematics. It has a membership of over 2600 drawn from all parts of the UK and overseas.
The Royal Statistical Society provides a forum for all who are interested in statistics. Founded in 1834, it is a learned and professional society, with some 7,200 members based in the United Kingdom and overseas. About 1,500 of these members are professionally qualified, as either Chartered or Graduate Statisticians. The purpose of the Society is to develop, foster and disseminate statistical knowledge, methodology and good practice for the benefit of all society.
The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications is the professional and learned society for qualified and practising mathematicians. Its more than 5,000 members work in industry, commerce, the public sector, and education. Founded in 1964, the Institute now has over 5,000 members, of whom 40% are employed in education and the 60% work in commercial and governmental organisations.
Established in 1948, The OR Society is the world's oldest-established learned society catering to the Operational Research (O.R.) profession, and one of the largest in the world, with 3000 members in 53 countries. The Society's principal activities are: Fostering higher standards in O.R. by providing an extensive training programme; publishing journals of international repute to disseminate the latest developments in O.R.; organising national, international and specialist conferences in the subject; demonstrating to the wider community the benefits that O.R. can bring to organizations and society, and sponsoring educational activities.
The Edinburgh Mathematical Society was founded in 1883 and is the leading learned society for Mathematics in Scotland. It holds regular meetings in various parts of Scotland and publishes new research in its internationally recognised journal the Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. The Society provides support for mathematical research and helps to fund workshops, conferences and other collaborative projects. It also supports activities in the wider community including mathematical initiatives in schools.
When the five societies wish to speak as one voice, they do so as The Council for the Mathematical Sciences, under whose auspices this website was created.
