What happens in Zurich stays in Zurich

At about 2:30 am, I am going to be picked up by Supershuttle for my early-morning flight to Zurich, where I will be attending the 2007 International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics, a grand gala that takes place every four years. I considered attending the 2003 conference in Sydney, but the logistics and my finances ended up making it untenable. By the way, this conference is the applied mathematics analog of the International Congress of Mathematics, which leans more towards pure math, also takes place every four years, and is where the Fields Medals are announced. There won't be any new Fields Medalists this week, but some major awards are being given. For me, however, it's partly about the spectacle at attending such a huge conference but even more about crossing off another city from the list of ones I want to visit. I was able to get a travel award from SIAM (the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics), which is not easy to get, so I'll be able to afford it. The award won't cover my entire cost of staying at the conference, but I can probably eat some of my Oxford travel funds to take care of the rest.

I promise to stay neutral during my entire visit to Switzerland. And I also hope to eat lots of good chocolate...

My layover for both sides of my trip is in Philadelphia because it has to be somewhere. (If you don't know the reference, I am referring to a short play called "The Philadelphia", which I was unsuccessful in googling in my attempt to provide a good link.)