The Particle Accelerators 101
years was maintaining the enthusiasm and commitment of the volunteers who make Fields programs run , despite the lack of new financial resources and the need ( given that previous surpluses had been exhausted ) to avoid going over budget . On top of that , we had just added a sponsoring university ( Carleton ), whose activity was therefore ramping up . I think we held things together well under the circumstances , leaving Fields well placed to expand activity a few years later , once budgets finally increased .
Tight budgets also meant we looked hard for other revenue sources and started laying the foundation for fundraising at the Institute . This proved harder than expected , though we did have a few successes . Our optimism that this would eventually lead to something was borne out some years later , when Ed Bierstone succeeded in launching the Fields Medal Symposium , backed by major donations . One concrete spinoff from thinking about how Fields should present itself to the public was a striking new logo for Fields , the now famous F , made of chalk taken from the Institute blackboards . The following quotation , contributed to us as part of these efforts , nicely summarizes the importance of resources such as Fields .
“ Our everyday life is more and more dependent on mathematical invention . The working processes of a computer , the construction of a ship , of an aircraft , all depend on sophisticated techniques established by mathematicians . Understanding our climate — past , present and future — is also dependent on mathematical research . Any great city should have a specialized centre where contacts can be set up between students and pioneers in mathematics .”
“ The present writer is not a mathematician , and cannot be accused of defending his own little