Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society

Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society
Title	Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society
Abbreviation	Bull. Amer. Math. Soc.
Discipline	Mathematics
Publisher	American Mathematical Society
Country	United States
History	1891–present
Frequency	Quarterly
Openaccess	Hybrid
Website	https://www.ams.org/publications/journals/journalsframework/bull
ISSN	0273-0979
EISSN	1088-9485
CODEN	BAMOAD

Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. The Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society is a premier quarterly mathematical journal published by the American Mathematical Society. Established in the late 19th century, it serves as a high-level review journal featuring expository articles, research surveys, and book reviews aimed at a broad mathematical audience. It is distinguished from its sibling research journals by its focus on accessibility and synthesis of major developments across the discipline.

History and background

The journal was founded in 1891, just a few years after the establishment of the AMS itself, which grew from the earlier New York Mathematical Society. Its creation was part of a broader movement to foster a cohesive research community in the United States, following models like the Bulletin des Sciences Mathématiques in France. Early volumes contained society news, abstracts of papers presented at meetings like those of the Chicago Section, and lists of members, reflecting its role as the primary organ of the American Mathematical Society. Over the decades, particularly under influential editors, it evolved from a society newsletter into a respected venue for significant survey articles and important announcements, such as the solution to the Poincaré conjecture or advances in Langlands program.

Scope and content

The journal's primary mission is to publish expository articles and comprehensive surveys that make recent and profound mathematical advances accessible to a wide readership. Typical content includes detailed overviews of fields like algebraic geometry, partial differential equations, or topological data analysis, often authored by leading experts such as Michael Atiyah or Terence Tao. It also features authoritative book reviews, obituaries of notable mathematicians like John Milnor, and the prestigious Colloquium Lectures delivered at the International Congress of Mathematicians. Unlike research journals like the Journal of the American Mathematical Society, it does not publish original research papers but rather syntheses that highlight connections between areas like number theory and quantum field theory.

Abstracting and indexing

The Bulletin is covered by all major scientific databases, ensuring its wide dissemination within the academic community. It is abstracted in services including Mathematical Reviews, Zentralblatt MATH, and Science Citation Index Expanded. Its articles are indexed in Scopus and the Web of Science, and it is included in the Directory of Open Access Journals due to its hybrid open-access model. This comprehensive indexing places it alongside other leading review publications such as the Russian Mathematical Surveys and the Japanese Journal of Mathematics in global visibility.

Editors and editorial board

The editor-in-chief is appointed by the American Mathematical Society and is typically a distinguished mathematician who oversees the editorial direction and peer-review process. Past editors have included influential figures like Solomon Lefschetz and Hassler Whitney. The editorial board comprises experts from diverse subfields such as combinatorics, mathematical logic, and dynamical systems, recruited from institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Institute for Advanced Study. This board assists in soliciting surveys, evaluating submissions, and maintaining the journal's high standards, akin to the practices of other elite publications like the Annals of Mathematics.

Impact and recognition

The journal holds a prestigious position in the mathematical literature, with a high impact factor for a review journal as measured by Journal Citation Reports. Its articles are frequently cited in foundational works and textbooks, influencing the pedagogy and research directions of fields from geometric group theory to stochastic processes. The publication of a survey in the Bulletin is often considered a significant scholarly event, comparable to an invitation to speak at the International Congress of Mathematicians or to contribute to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It is recognized for its role in shaping the intellectual landscape of modern mathematics.

Related publications

The Bulletin is part of a family of journals published by the American Mathematical Society, each with a distinct focus. Its sibling research journals include the Journal of the American Mathematical Society for cutting-edge research and the Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society for shorter contributions. Other related review-oriented publications are the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, which contains more informal articles and news, and the Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society for monograph-length works. Internationally, it is analogous to publications like the EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences from the European Mathematical Society and the Asterisque series from the Société Mathématique de France.

Category:American Mathematical Society Category:Mathematics journals Category:Publications established in 1891