INDUSTRY

UC Davis celebrated the opening of a new building dedicated to the study of mathematical sciences on Wednesday. The four story, 65,000-square-foot, $22 million Mathematical Sciences Building provides new office and research space for the Department of Mathematics, Department of Statistics, the Center for Computational Science and Engineering and the COSMOS (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science) program. The guest speaker at the dedication was Gayle Wilson, former first lady of California and chairwoman of the COSMOS advisory board. The pale blue and yellow building houses 165 offices for faculty, graduate students, staff and an 80-person colloquium room. Dean of the division of mathematical and physical sciences Winston Ko welcomed visitors to the building dedication and pointed out how the building is designed to be filled with natural light and energy efficient. He said the building shows UC Davis' commitment to mathematics and will help students compete in a discipline filled with computation. Peter Rock, dean emeritus, also gave remarks, explaining how the new building exemplifies shared governance between university administration and faculty. He said both are needed in running a successful university and that faculty and administration must work together toward progress. He also mentioned how mathematics is "the core of operations of the universe," which has "profound significance in other sciences as time goes on."