Foundation Hosts First MPS Annual Meeting
On October 10 and 11 the Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) division held its inaugural Annual Meeting. This gathering of Simons Investigators and Simons Fellows was an opportunity for foundation staff to become acquainted with the outstanding mathematicians, theoretical physicists and theoretical computer scientists whom the foundation supports, and for the awardees to get to know each other and their work, stimulating the flow of ideas across disciplines, and perhaps encouraging new interactions and collaborations.
The meeting featured nine lectures over two days, all held in the Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium at the Simons Foundation in New York City, and represented the full breadth of the science that MPS supports. “We heard wonderful lectures and it was extremely educational for me personally and, I believe, for many others,” says MPS director Yuri Tschinkel.
Equally important were the opportunities for casual discussion, evolution of ideas and, perhaps, the beginnings of collaborations.
“The feeling of intensity in the auditorium and during coffee breaks and lunches was very impressive,” says associate director of physics Andy Millis. “We hope the meeting leads to the creation of a strong community in these fields — and it looks like that’s starting to happen.”
Attending the meeting were 74 Investigators and Fellows from MPS’ three areas of focus — mathematics, theoretical physics and theoretical computer science. MPS intends this meeting to be an annual event, bringing the foundations ‘family’ of scientific leaders together for two days of discussion of the most exciting ideas at the research frontier.
