Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is a society for the advancement of mathematics in Great Britain , which also sees itself as advocacy group of mathematicians (especially applied mathematicians) in Great Britain. The other major mathematical society in the UK with similar objectives is the London Mathematical Society . It is a company under Royal Charter .
It goes back to an initiative by Michael James Lighthill in the early 1960s to create a center for applied mathematics in Great Britain. It was founded in 1964 after lengthy coordination with existing mathematical societies in Great Britain (London Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association, which is active in mathematics education ) and the Royal Society, and with financial support from the Leverhulme Foundation. There are different degrees of membership, including Fellow status and Honorary Fellow. It has around 5000 members (2015), including organizations. There are local affiliates in Great Britain and Ireland.
It publishes the popular science journal Mathematics Today twice a month , as well as several specialist journals such as the IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics and the IMA Journal of Numerical Analysis.
The IMA awards various prizes, including the IMA Gold Medal, the David Crighton Medal (with the London Mathematical Society), the Catherine Richards Prize for an outstanding article in Mathematics Today, and the Christopher Zeeman Medal for contributions to popularizing and promoting mathematics.
The seat is in Southend-on-Sea .
It is not to be confused with the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications of the National Science Foundation, founded in 1982 on the campus of the University of Minnesota , which also has the abbreviation IMA.