3. Postdoctoral Program - MSRI

REPORT FROM MENTOR
June 2010
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: MSRI NSF postdoc yearly report
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:48:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: Niky Kamran
To: Hélène Barcelo
CC: Abraham Smith
It is a great pleasure to submit the following yearly report on Abe Smith's MSRI NSF
post-doc.
In his report, Abe has given a very clear account of his research activities during the year
he spent at McGill. I would like to add that the paper based on his thesis, which has been
submitted to Communications in Analysis and Geometry, is a superb piece of work,
which takes the whole field of integrable systems of hydrodynamic type, pioneered by
Novikov (and most notably developed by his student Ferapontov) onto an altogether
higher plane by giving it a formulation which goes to the essence of the geometric
content of integrability, and by the systematic introduction of the powerful tools provided
by the theory of exterior differential systems and the method of equivalence. This has
made it possible for Abe to obtain very fine classification results which would be
otherwise out of reach by direct methods. I would also like to add that the project that
Abe is currently working on is absolutely first-rate, and that it holds in my opinion one of
the keys that will unlock the mysteries associated to the rarity of the integrability property
for reasonably non-degenerate non-linear PDEs in a higher number of independent
variables. I have no doubt that Abe will succeed in this endeavor. This is work that will
have a long shelf life, and that will be a landmark in the evolution of the field.
I would like to conclude this report by expressing my admiration for Abe as a young
mathematician and colleague. During the weekly meetings we have had over the past
academic year, I have had ample opportunity to appreciate Abe's approach to research
and his way of thinking about mathematics. He has the maturity, balance and capacity to
go to the essential elements of a problem that one normally only encounters with
established mathematicians who have been successful researchers for many years. Abe is
also a model young colleague, interested in the work of his fellow post-docs and of the
graduate students, always willing and ready to offer his help and advice. In many ways,
he is already mentoring others. This is admirable.
With the presence of Francis Valiquette, a student of Peter Olver who is here on an
NSERC post-doc, and the arrival of Nabil Khaouadji, a student of Frederic Helein, who
will be coming as a CRM-ISM post-doc, I am very hopeful that Abe will continue to find
a stimulating mathematical environment here at McGill, that will enable him to attain his
research objectives and continue on the successful academic career that I see ahead of
him. For my part, I am delighted that Abe is here with us and I would like to thank the
MSRI and the NSF for having made it possible for Abe to come to McGill as a post