The Fields Institute Turns Twenty-Five 170725 Final book with covers | Page 88

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Bradd Hart
create a program for the institute that was on the horizon.
Ours was one of the representative thematic programs that
went in with the original proposal for the creation of the
Institute. We decided that a good strategy was to make
ourselves highly visible to the people at the Institute and
asked if we could run a seminar at the Waterloo location (a
joint Waterloo-McMaster model theory seminar). It seemed to
work, and we were awarded a program for the 1996–97 year.
One of the early attempts at fundraising that I remember
showed some of the challenges that the Institute faced. Roger
Penrose came to give a distinguished lecture, and a number of
wealthy people were invited as special guests and prospective
donors. John Chadam and Bill Shadwick invited a number of
us back to the Institute offices for a glass of ice wine (ice wine
played a big role in the early days but that is another story).
After Penrose talked about his experience with mathematics
institutes, the conversation turned to a discussion of the most
important innovation in technology in the twentieth century.
I believe John was trying to steer the conversation to the role
that mathematics had played. After a small pause, one of the
guests who had made his money in construction said “I figure
the backhoe was probably the biggest step forward in the last
hundred years.” I don’t think any money was raised that day.
After the Institute moved to Toronto, one of Fields
strongest supporters and users was George Elliott. The joke
was that when John Chadam showed up the first day the
Institute opened, he found George conducting a seminar.
George would often take matters into his own hands when he
did not think things were being done correctly. Feeling that
it was a great oversight that the lecture room did not have
a wooden pointer, he acquired a very long stick which stood
for many years in the lecture room. On another occasion, the
cleanliness of the Institute’s backyard became an issue. At
that time there was a small enclosed area immediately behind