ACADEMIA

The Queensland Government has hailed as a coup the announcement that a prestigious international mathematics conference, (IMACS) never before hosted in the Southern Hemisphere, will be held at the Cairns Convention Centre. State Development Minister John Mickel said the world's best mathematicians and computer modellers will gather in Cairns in July 2009 for the 18th World Congress of the International Association for Mathematics and Computer Simulation (IMACS). The IMACS World Congress will focus on applying maths and computational sciences to modelling and simulation, particularly in the environmental, biological, socio-economic and engineering fields. Minister Mickel said the conference was an internationally significant event that would further promote Queensland as a world-class destination for global business events. "The World Congress will attract up to 1000 international delegates, providing Queensland with an excellent opportunity to showcase its innovations in computer modelling and simulation to an international audience." "It will also help open up international markets for Queensland's first rate innovations." He said the Beattie Government's commitment to science, technology and innovation had made Queensland a natural destination for the international event. Convention Centre Managing Director, Geoff Donaghy, said that securing another such prestigious international event for the city and for Queensland confirms that Cairns really does deliver on its promise of serious business in Australia’s most stunning location. Other recently confirmed major conferences scheduled for Cairns include: - Pacific Rim International Conference on Protein Science, June 2008, 600 delegates - Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting, July 2008, 1000 delegates - International Symposium on Staphylococcal and Staphylococci, September 2008, 600 delegates - Australia and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Annual Conference, May 2009, 1500 delegates - International Conference on Atomic Physics (ICAP), July 2010, 600 delegates