Manipur Professor To Lead Indian Team At Top Mathematical Olympiad In Australia

A professor from Manipur has been appointed head of the Indian team that will participate in the 66th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) to be held in Australia in July this year.

The National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) said it has selected Shanta Laishram, professor at the theoretical statistics and mathematics unit of the Indian Statistical Institute, to lead the national team at the Australia event.

"We are sure that you will extend full cooperation and make necessary arrangements for your role as Leader of the IMO team to this important event," NBHM Member Secretary Jaya Mukherjee said in the appointment letter to Mr Laishram.

The Australian Maths Trust, which will host the 66th IMO on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, said the IMO is the largest and most prestigious of all the international Olympiads, having grown from seven countries to over a hundred each year. Australia has participated since 1981 and has hosted only once before i.e. Canberra in 1988.

Mr Laishram, 44, is from Manipur's Thoubal district. In a short introductory note, the mathematician said he grew up in a family that had "just enough to fend for ourselves".

"My father studied up to Class 8 and ran a cycle workshop and my mother is a homemaker.. My father took a keen interest in my studies and encouraged me a lot to study," Mr Laishram said. "I did pre-primary schooling from Amusana Boys LP School in Khangabok Awang Leikai... Unlike current schools, we didn't have proper benches and we used to take our sacks to sit and study on the ground."

He said his interest in mathematics grew much more after he was selected to appear for Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO) exam in 1996.

Mr Laishram said that in 1998, he boarded a bus from Manipur's capital Imphal to Assam's Guwahati, and then took a train to Chennai which took four more days, to attend the Mathematics Training and Talent Search (MTTS) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Madras).

"... That was almost my first solo journey outside Manipur. However, the four-week programme at IIT Madras was one of the turning points in my life and career. I became aware of some of the well-known institutions in India and got to know also that we can make a career in mathematics.

"The exposure there, training in how to think and approach mathematical ideas along with meeting faculty from well-known institutions in India and student peers from all over the country changed my outlook and increased my resolve to be a mathematician," Mr Laishram said.

He has been an NBHM Olympiad fellow, a deputy national coordinator for NBHM Olympiad activities, and a member of India's Olympiad Activities Committee.

The NBHM was set up by the government under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1983 to foster the development of higher mathematics, make policies for development of mathematics, help in establishment and development of mathematical centres, and give financial assistance to research projects and to doctoral and postdoctoral scholars.

NBHM functions essentially autonomously, framing its own budget taking into account the funds made available by the DAE.

IMO brings the brightest young minds from around the world and represents the culmination of many years of mathematical endeavour and hundreds of attempts at solving problems, this year's host Australian Maths Trust said.