Barbara Keyfitz, professor of mathematics, will receive the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) award for service to the profession at their next annual meeting.

Keyfitz took office as the first woman president of SIAM's international counterpart, ICIAM, (the International Congress for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) in October, 2011. She said, "I was thrilled and a bit surprised."

"What the award recognizes, of course, is service to professional societies, and I've always been fond of SIAM as a society -- it has a very nice, inclusive culture. In addition, I feel that professional societies play an important role in one's professional life. Unlike other institutions (departments or funding agencies) they really belong to their members."

"In that sense, they're a bit like unions--a voice from the trenches. It's noticeable that in many other countries there is not a culture of strong, member-driven professional societies -- and I think the working lives of our colleagues there are the poorer for it. That's one reason that I'm now involved in the international version of SIAM -- that is, ICIAM, of which I'm now the president."

This award has been given annually for about 20 years to a mathematician who has made significant contributions to further applied mathematics on the national level.