A message from the president//Brief words from the editor-in-chief

This is the final issue of 2025, but it also marks the start of the new year, so happy new year to all. A new year means that we say both welcome and goodbye to colleagues that work tirelessly to support the EMS. Several of our standing committees will get a new chair. I would like to thank Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb who chaired the Committee for Applications and Interdisciplinary Relations (CAIR), Balázs Szendrői who chaired the Committee for Developing Countries (CDC), and Mikaela Iacobelli who chaired the Committee for Women in Mathematics (WiM) for all the hard work they offered the EMS and I would like to welcome the new chairs: Robert Scheichl (CAIR), Conall Kelly (CDC), and Marjeta Kramar Fijavž (WiM). I am looking forward to working closely with you in the new year.

One of the really big changes in the EMS is that we have had to say goodbye to our community engagement manager, Enrico Schlitzer. Enrico, who was the first to be appointed in this new position in 2024, decided for personal reasons to leave the EMS. We were very disappointed to lose Enrico, who had lots of ideas about how EMS could improve its communication and engagement with the European mathematical community and how it could support all aspects of mathematics in Europe. In an earlier message I had mentioned some of Enrico’s ideas, particularly those that engage younger researchers. I want to thank Enrico for the efforts he made for the EMS and for shaping the role of the community engagement manager. The role is among many other things to create awareness of the EMS and of our publishing house EMS Press within the broader European mathematical community through social media and other communication initiatives. Luckily, we were only without community engagement manager for a short time as we were able to hire Markus Juvonen who is about to finish his PhD at the University of Helsinki. Markus has made a fantastic effort to secure a smooth takeover of the responsibilities both in what happens behind the scenes, e.g., in facilitating our many calls for support and what happens more openly concerning our engagement with the community. It is therefore a great pleasure to use this opportunity to thank Markus and introduce him to all of you. We have decided to expand the community engagement manager role to include administrative support for our officers and for EMS Press. All the EMS administration has been run through the secretariat in Helsinki, until recently almost single-handedly by Elvira Hyvönen. It has never been quite clear to me how Elvira manages all that work. As the EMS is expanding its activities, we have been relying more and more on the volunteer work of devoted members of our society. This is not sustainable, and for this reason we have decided to increase the responsibilities of the community engagement manager.

The main goal is still to create greater awareness and visibility of the EMS. Our hope is that these efforts will also increase our individual membership. While we are very happy with the number of institutional members we have, we would value many more individual members. It is wonderful that the national mathematical societies that are institutional members of the EMS each have a substantial membership base, but many are not members of the EMS. I think this is unfortunate not only because the EMS need their support but also because I strongly believe it is very important that we unite not only on a national level but also internationally. Many of the challenges we face regarding both education and research are the same or at least similar independently of where we live. We should of course not focus only on challenges but also on opportunities. Mathematics is a striving field with applications that have important implications in all aspects of society. The role of mathematics in society may often be hidden, but it is the ambition of the EMS to showcase it. We can only do this if we stand together. If you are not a member of the EMS, please join today. It is easy (and fairly cheap). If you are a member, ask a friend or colleague to join.

The Society has or is in the process of launching new initiatives to strengthen the ties within the community and our visibility to stakeholders.

The EMS has launched—and continues to develop—new initiatives to strengthen ties within the mathematical community and improve our visibility among politicians and stakeholders. I hope to tell you more in the new year. Let me just mention here that one initiative has been to engage with the European Research Council. Another initiative that I also highlighted earlier is the EMS Lecture Series on Mathematics Education⁠¹⁠https://euromathsoc.org/news/ems-lecture-series-on-mathematics-education-190 organized by the EMS Education Committee. I hope you will join us for this impressive list of speakers for this Spring. This should be of interest broadly, so please help us spread the word. Everyone can watch the live stream or see the recordings later. Finally, let me point you to my joint contribution with Moritz Schubotz to this issue of the Magazine on Fraudulent publishing in Mathematics: a European call to action and how information infrastructure can help. I hope you will also enjoy reading everything else in the Magazine.

With this I wish you all a happy and productive 2026.

Jan Philip Solovej President of the EMS

Dear readers of the EMS Magazine,

This is the last issue published in 2025. The overall balance of the year is highly positive: the articles we published span a wide range of topics, including interviews, scientific insights, education, gender issues, generational perspectives, and equity.

As usual, this issue will contain many interesting articles on a wide range of topics. Without diminishing other contributions, I would like to particularly highlight the new series of interviews whose title is “Side by side.” In this new interview series for the EMS Magazine, each article brings together two mathematicians who share something—such as a research area, a passion, or a professional context—but differ in other ways, as for instance age, gender identity, background, or geographical location. Sitting “side by side,” they reflect on their personal and professional journeys, their views, and the worlds they live in. The series is conducted by Raffaella Mulas and was born sharing some ideas together with Apostolos Damialis (editorial director of EMS Press).

With the current issue, two new editors are starting their duties in the editorial board: Jesse Railo, who will take care of the Young mathematicians column and Boris Adamczewski, who will be responsible for the contacts with the French Mathematical Society. A short biographical note of each of them can be found at the end of the issue. I thank them, and I am grateful to them for accepting to dedicate part of their time to our Magazine.

Our contributions continue to draw interest from other societies, confirming the relevance and impact of our work. This growing visibility encourages us to maintain the same level of commitment and quality in the coming year. I am grateful to all authors, reviewers, and readers who have supported the Magazine and helped it evolve. As we look ahead to 2026, I am confident that new ideas, collaborations, and voices will further enrich our publication and strengthen our community.

Finally, I warmly wish all of you a new year rich in inspiration, collaboration, and discoveries. Let us continue to share ideas openly, engage in meaningful dialogues, and build a truly inclusive space where every voice can contribute to advancing knowledge.

Donatella Donatelli Editor-in-chief

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   https://euromathsoc.org/news/ems-lecture-series-on-mathematics-education-190