Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
Encyclopedia
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), founded in 1982, is an independent nonprofit mathematical
research institution
whose funding sources include the National Science Foundation
, foundations, corporations, and more than 90 universities and institutions. The Institute is located on the University of California, Berkeley
campus, close to Grizzly Peak
, on the hills
overlooking Berkeley
.
MSRI was founded in 1982 by Shiing-Shen Chern
, Calvin Moore, and Isadore M. Singer
. MSRI hosts about 85 mathematicians and postdoctoral research fellows each semester for extended stays and holds programs and workshops, which draw approximately 2,000 visits by mathematical scientists throughout the year. Unlike many mathematical institutes, it has no permanent faculty or members, and its scientific activities are overseen by its Directorate and its Scientific Advisory Committee, a panel of distinguished mathematicians drawn from a variety of different areas of mathematical research.
Its main activity consists of holding four semester-long research programs on specific mathematical topics each year (two at a time), in which senior professors, research members, and postdoctoral fellows stay for extended periods. The paired programs are often related, and, occasionally, a program will span both fall and spring semesters. MSRI has also held "double (or jumbo) programs" (such as the Algebraic Geometry program in Spring 2009) that consist of a single program of twice the typical size. In addition, many visitors come for shorter periods or for more focused weeklong workshops connected with each program (including partially expository introductory workshops at the commencement of each program).
MSRI also hosts research workshops that are unconnected to the main programs, such as its annual workshop on K-12 mathematics education, Critical Issues in Mathematics Education. During the summer, workshops for graduate students are held.
MSRI sponsors programs for middle and high school students and their teachers as part of the Math Circles and Circles for Teachers that meet weekly in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland. It also sponsors the Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad (BAMO), the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, and the U.S. team of girls that competes at the China Girls Math Olympiad.
James Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies
and a University of California, Berkeley
mathematics alum is one of the most generous supporters of MSRI.
The lectures given at MSRI events are videotaped and made available for free on the internet.
, actor and writer Steve Martin
, playwright Tom Stoppard
, and actor and author Alan Alda
. MSRI also collaborates with local playwrights for an annual program of new short mathematics-inspired plays at Monday Night Playground at the [Berkeley Repertory Theater], and co-sponsored a series of mathematics-inspired films with UC Berkeley's [Pacific Film Archive] for MSRI's 20th anniversary. It also created a series of mathematical puzzles that were posted among the advertising placards on San Francisco Muni
buses.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
research institution
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
whose funding sources include the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, foundations, corporations, and more than 90 universities and institutions. The Institute is located on the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
campus, close to Grizzly Peak
Grizzly Peak (Berkeley Hills)
Grizzly Peak is a summit in the Berkeley Hills above Berkeley, California. The peak is located on the border between Alameda and Contra Costa counties, within the boundaries of Tilden Regional Park, and directly behind the University of California, Berkeley campus.The peak was named for the...
, on the hills
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
overlooking Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
MSRI was founded in 1982 by Shiing-Shen Chern
Shiing-Shen Chern
Shiing-Shen Chern was a Chinese American mathematician, one of the leaders in differential geometry of the twentieth century.-Early years in China:...
, Calvin Moore, and Isadore M. Singer
Isadore Singer
Isadore Manuel Singer is an Institute Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
. MSRI hosts about 85 mathematicians and postdoctoral research fellows each semester for extended stays and holds programs and workshops, which draw approximately 2,000 visits by mathematical scientists throughout the year. Unlike many mathematical institutes, it has no permanent faculty or members, and its scientific activities are overseen by its Directorate and its Scientific Advisory Committee, a panel of distinguished mathematicians drawn from a variety of different areas of mathematical research.
Its main activity consists of holding four semester-long research programs on specific mathematical topics each year (two at a time), in which senior professors, research members, and postdoctoral fellows stay for extended periods. The paired programs are often related, and, occasionally, a program will span both fall and spring semesters. MSRI has also held "double (or jumbo) programs" (such as the Algebraic Geometry program in Spring 2009) that consist of a single program of twice the typical size. In addition, many visitors come for shorter periods or for more focused weeklong workshops connected with each program (including partially expository introductory workshops at the commencement of each program).
MSRI also hosts research workshops that are unconnected to the main programs, such as its annual workshop on K-12 mathematics education, Critical Issues in Mathematics Education. During the summer, workshops for graduate students are held.
MSRI sponsors programs for middle and high school students and their teachers as part of the Math Circles and Circles for Teachers that meet weekly in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland. It also sponsors the Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad (BAMO), the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, and the U.S. team of girls that competes at the China Girls Math Olympiad.
James Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies
Renaissance Technologies
Renaissance Technologies is a hedge fund management company of about 275 employees and more than $ billion in assets under management in three funds...
and a University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
mathematics alum is one of the most generous supporters of MSRI.
The lectures given at MSRI events are videotaped and made available for free on the internet.
List of Directors
- 1982-1984 Shiing-Shen ChernShiing-Shen ChernShiing-Shen Chern was a Chinese American mathematician, one of the leaders in differential geometry of the twentieth century.-Early years in China:...
- 1984-1992 Irving KaplanskyIrving KaplanskyIrving Kaplansky was a Canadian mathematician.-Biography:He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, after his parents emigrated from Poland and attended the University of Toronto as an undergraduate. After receiving his Ph.D...
- 1992-1997 William ThurstonWilliam ThurstonWilliam Paul Thurston is an American mathematician. He is a pioneer in the field of low-dimensional topology. In 1982, he was awarded the Fields Medal for his contributions to the study of 3-manifolds...
- 1997-2007 David EisenbudDavid EisenbudDavid Eisenbud is an American mathematician. He is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley and was Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute from 1997 to 2007....
- August 1, 2007-present Robert BryantRobert BryantRobert Bryant is an American mathematician specializing in differential geometry. As of 2007, he has served as the chairman of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute . He is known for his work in exterior differential systems, special holonomy, and Finsler geometry. He is also a senior...
Outreach
MSRI has sponsored many events that reach out to the non-mathematical public. Its Simons Auditorium hosts special performances of classical music. Mathematician Robert Osserman has held a series of public "conversations" with prominent artists who have been influenced by mathematics in their work, such as composer Philip GlassPhilip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, actor and writer Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
, playwright Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
, and actor and author Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
. MSRI also collaborates with local playwrights for an annual program of new short mathematics-inspired plays at Monday Night Playground at the [Berkeley Repertory Theater], and co-sponsored a series of mathematics-inspired films with UC Berkeley's [Pacific Film Archive] for MSRI's 20th anniversary. It also created a series of mathematical puzzles that were posted among the advertising placards on San Francisco Muni
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
buses.