Editorial-30 August 2006

 

 

 

   

 
 
 
 

 

 

"The best students in the world in number theory all want to study with Terry"      

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What is a University and what makes it great?

 As to the definition of a university the Oxford English Dictionary states:

The whole body of teachers and scholars engaged, at a particular place, in giving and receiving instruction in the higher branches of learning; such persons associated together as a society or corporate body, with definite organisation and acknowledged powers and privileges (especially that of conferring degrees), and forming an institution for the promotion of education in the higher or more important branches of learning; also the colleges, buildings, etc., belonging to such a body.

And it is the "body of teachers and scholars... forming an institution for the promotion of education in the higher or more important branches of learning" that is pre-eminent in the definition.

 

It follows then that great universities consist of the best teachers and scholars engaged in the higher branches of learning. And it's clear that in the rankings of universities published by the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University it has made a critical attempt to quantify the definition.

 

Just over a week ago Professor Terence Tao was awarded the highest honour in mathematics, a Fields Medal, for his outstanding contributions "to partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory".

 

Terry Tao grew up in Adelaide, did his undergraduate studies and took his Masters at Flinders University before studying for his PhD at Princeton and then taking up a post at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

 

Tony Chan, dean of the Division of Physical Sciences and professor of mathematics at UCLA makes this observation, "The best students in the world in number theory all want to study with Terry. He's a magnet attracting the best students."  Chan added that he is known as "the dean of the university where Terry Tao works."


 University of California's 10 Campuses

 

John Garnett, professor and former chair of mathematics at UCLA put it this way, "Outstanding mathematicians love working with Terry. You could build the best mathematics department in the world by hiring his co-authors."

 

And UCLA doesn't do too badly in Jiao Tong University's rankings; it holds down 14th place.

 

Why did Tao choose to accept an appointment at UCLA. Because he wanted to go where John Garnett, among others, was working, though he adds, "the climate was sunnier than Princeton."

 

Now while the federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop, continues to sing the mantra composed by Prime Minister John Howard and espoused by her predecessor, Brendan Nelson that Australia's universities must be brought to heel, must cost the Commonwealth government as little as possible, and must "diversify", and quick smart though just what that really means is unclear, the University of California continues to maintain its outstanding academic rankings even with a state government whose finances can't boast Costelloian surpluses.

 

The University of California consists of 10 campuses (208,000 students, 121,000 faculty and staff,) of which seven are ranked higher than Australia's best research university.

 

Berkeley (4), San Diego (13), UCLA (14), San Francisco (18), Santa Barbara (35), Davis (42), Irvine (43) -- ANU (54)

 

In addition to the 10 UC campuses the State University of California maintains 23 campus (405,000 students, and 44,000 faculty and staff), i.e. full four year universities but with lower entrance requirements than the UC campuses.

 

In March last year Max Whitten former Chief of CSIRO's Division of Entomology wrote an open letter to the then Minister of Education, Science and Training which said in part:

May I suggest that you, and those advisers you draw upon for inspiration, read a paper delivered by Australian, Richard Newton, who is Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in November 2002: Intellectual property creation, protection and dissemination in University - Industry - Government research collaboration http://www.atse.org.au/uploads/Newton.pdf). The College of Engineering has created economic benefits worth trillions of dollars for the state of California, the United States and the world without depending on licence revenue as an indicator of good performance. How much better Australia would be if you could attract back to this country someone like Richard Newton to run an ailing institution like CSIRO, or to be Australia's Chief Scientist.

Of course there is no sign that Dr Whitten's suggestion has had any effect but if Ms Bishop really were interested in upgrading Australia's higher education system she might look into just how the UC campuses attract the quality of academic staff they do and why Richard Newton is able to state that UC, Berkeley's  College of Engineering has created economic benefits worth trillions of dollars for the state of California, the United States and the world without depending on license revenue as an indicator of good performance.

 

The Californian government punching it below the belt wasn't suggested as a cause.
 

 

Alex Reisner

The Funneled Web