EMS Handbook: European Congress of Mathematics

4.2.2 Guidelines and timeline for set-up of the Scientific Committee and the Prize Committees

General setting: The EC has the prerogative to appoint the Scientific Committees (SC) of the congress and three prize committees to decide the congress programme and to choose the laureates of the EMS Prizes, Felix Klein Prize, and the Otto Neugebauer Prize. The EC should seek advice from the broad mathematical community within the frame set by the appropriate constitutive documents. Appointing the SC, the EC trusts it with choosing a diverse and balanced list of excellent speakers taking also into consideration the speakers’ ability to communicate. The prize committees are trusted with choosing prize winners with the most remarkable achievements within the scope of each prize description. The selection process should respect the principles of the EMS ethical policy.

Involvement of member societies: The EC is obliged to solicit in due time suggestions for committees’ members from its members societies including both names of the candidates and indications of their areas of expertise. While the members of the previous congress committees are generally ineligible for the same role, the societies should also be encouraged to check a longer congress history at https://euromathsoc.org/ecm and make their suggestions with the preference for new people and ideas.

Balance requirement: Based on proposals of the member societies and its own, the EC should choose the SC and the EMS Prize Committee in a way covering as much as possible all areas of mathematics, pure and applied, in a topically balanced way. The selection should also be inclusive in terms of geography, gender, minorities, etc.

Nomination process: After collecting all the suggestions, the EMS President will chair a discussion of the EC leading to the committee’s appointment and the choice of their chairs. This discussion includes as observer(s) the congress convener(s) who signed with the EC the Memorandum of Understanding about organization of the congress.

The timeline: The member societies should be invited to make their suggestions not less than 39 months prior to the ECM, and they should deliver them not less than 33 months before the ECM. The EC has to complete the nomination in such a way that the committees begin to work not less than 27 months prior to the ECM. EC forms the ECM Scientific Committee at spring EC meeting in year Y – 2.