(星星生活周报特稿)吴建宏作为加拿大约克大学应用数学高级教授,近日获得加拿大创新委员会及安省创新科技委员会拨款资助,率领一个研究小组,专项研究如何将纯数学与人们生活结合起来的课题。
这种获得两级政府同时拨款资助的情形,在加国并不多见。
他将诠释感性的人脑与智能的电脑在生活中的有机应用。
吴建宏教授表示,人脑与电脑、生活与数学,都是不可分割的话题。
电脑与数学这两个纯理论的东西都可以智化成应用商品。
他更提倡,中医业在国际上的发展,应依赖于大量临床数据,这就得让大量图表及数字为代表性的理论及其科学数据说话。
来自加拿大湖南同乡会的消息说,1990年以访问学者的身份赴加、长期在约克大学从事教学和研究工作,并在应用数学研究领域屡有成果的吴建宏说,人们总是认为数学是纯理论性的学问,与老百姓的生活似乎沾不上边,其实现代的科学理论与应用科学早已难分界限,可以说,稍加改变,就可以将纯理论的东西变成应用性的商品。
他率领的科研小组目前正在研究人的大脑神经线的功能,准备与电脑的智能化结合起来,以提高人工智能的开发。
吴建宏表示,不管电脑如何先进快速,但始终不如人脑的神经敏感且富有感情,现在的研究已经可以将人脑的神经线用图表划出来,并将之与电脑的智能化结合。
他认为这将会是电脑领域的另一次飞跃。
由于长期与数据、图表打交道,吴建宏对理论研究有偏爱。
他留意到近年安省华人中医针灸师在争取中医立法上所做的努力,他表示,中医师们争取中医立法是没有错的,但争取的方法并非上策,与其游说政府官员,希望从上至下达到立法的效果,不如踏踏实实做研究,向政府有关方面提供中医治疗的具有代表性数据报告,反而更加有效,目前中国国内已有中医学院与医科大学合作研究,希望使中医治疗理论化,且有大量临床数据,相信这在国际上会有说服力。
多伦多的一些专家表示,吴建宏潜心研究,在其熟知的领域再接再励,将纯数字科学与民生息息相关的科学生活拉近并结合,从而发现了一个更深入与更特别的课题。
吴建宏的成功对许多来自中国大陆的研究人才可能有所启发,不少新移民在国内是从事各种纯理论研究,抵达加拿大后往往发现找到专业对口的教学或研究工作非常困难。
吴建宏曾在湖南大学获应用数学博士学位,当时是湖南大学最年轻的博士。
吴建宏不但在学术上有较多成果,同时也非常关心加拿大当地的社区建设,作为湖南人他积极支持和参与加拿大湖南同乡会的活动,并一同与本报总裁袁志强先生被聘为该会顾问。
附吴建宏简介: Dr. Jianhong Wu, Professor of Mathematics, is a recipient of Canada Research Chair in Applied Mathematics (Senior). This is one of the highest honors for Canadian research scientists and, as a personal letter from the Prime Minister Jean Chretien states, represents a special recognition that places him“in the finest tradition of Canadian Research Excellence”. His other honors include the prestigious Erdos Fellowship from the Hungarian Academy of Science and the Humboldt Fellowship from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany).
He received all of his education from Hunan University, and started his faculty appointment with York University in 1990. He has authored over 140 papers and 4 books in a number of scientific areas including dynamical systems, mathematical biology, neural networks and data analysis. He has been serving on the editorial boards of 7 international journals. He was a member of the Council for Canadian Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society, and is a member of College of Reviewers for Canada Research Chairs Program. He is also a member of the Grant Selection Committee of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, two of the national largest science funding agencies. All of these achievements are due to his extraordinary effort to make the smooth transition from a scholar with all education gained from China to the leading position as a research scientists and to the administrative position as a formal Director of the Graduate Program in Mathematics and Statistics and a member of various executive committees at all levels of the university. During his faculty position at York University, he supervised many graduate students, three most recent Chinese PhD students were awarded the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowships and all are holding academic positions in Canadian universities. He also hosted a large number of Chinese visiting scholars and has been facilitating collaboration in industrial and applied mathematics between Chinese and Canadian mathematical communities. He has been a member, sponsor and advisor of the Hunan Fellow Association of Canada since the association established.