Keynote

Professor Alejandro Adem was appointed President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in October 2019.

As a highly accomplished researcher in the field of mathematics and a faculty member at the University of British Columbia, Professor Adem has significant leadership experience in the Canadian research and innovation ecosystem. Before joining NSERC, he was CEO and Scientific Director of Mitacs (2015–19) where he oversaw a significant expansion of its domestic and international internship programs, as well as launching the Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellowships, an Indigenous engagement initiative and an innovative entrepreneurship program. Prior to that, he served as Director (2008–2015) of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, a research and training consortium supporting the mathematical sciences across Western Canada. From 1989 to 2004 he was a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). Professor Adem earned a BS at the National University of Mexico and a PhD at Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, a Fellow of the Canadian Mathematical Society and a Corresponding Member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. He has authored more than 70 articles as well as two books; delivered close to 400 invited research lectures around the world; and held postdoctoral or visiting positions at Stanford University, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the ETH-Zurich, the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, the University of Paris and Princeton University. Other distinctions include a senior Canada Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, the Jeffery-Williams Research Prize (awarded by the Canadian Mathematical Society), the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award (USA) and an Alfred P. Sloan Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. Over his career Professor Adem has served on a variety of scientific, editorial and governance boards for the scientific research community worldwide, and he is currently Vice Chair of the Global Research Council’s Governing Board. Alejandro Adem is a Canadian citizen who was born and raised in Mexico City and is a proud member of the Latin American community in Canada. He is married and has two grown children.