National Science Foundation renews Brown’s national mathematics institute with $16.5 million

(Press-News.org) PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new $16.5 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will enable Brown University’s Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM) to continue its mission of supporting groundbreaking research at the intersection of computation and mathematics for the next five years.

“Progress is made in mathematics when people come together to share ideas,” said ICERM Director Brendan Hassett, a professor of mathematics at Brown. “For 15 years, ICERM has sponsored programs that not only spur progress in math, but also make important connections with computer science, neuroscience, engineering and other fields, providing an opportunity for mathematicians to find new applications and collaborators in science and industry. We’re thrilled that NSF has chosen to support our work for another five years.”

NSF announced the award, along with awards to support the nation’s five other federally funded mathematics institutes, on Wednesday, July 30. ICERM was launched in 2010 with a $15.5 million grant from NSF, which was renewed in 2015 and 2020. This latest renewal will fund ICERM through its 20th anniversary in 2030.

“ICERM is a great example of Brown’s collaborative approach to research and innovation,” said Greg Hirth, Brown’s vice president for research. “ICERM breaks down disciplinary barriers with a focus on supporting emerging research that could generate breakthroughs with the potential to impact areas as diverse as quantum computing, machine learning, advanced engineering materials and national security. We’re pleased that NSF has validated that approach yet again in its third renewal of ICERM’s funding.”

The institute’s mission is to expand the use of computation and experimentation in mathematical research, bringing new technologies and techniques to bear in studying topics spanning pure and applied mathematics. Full-semester programs, weeklong workshops and other events bring together renowned mathematicians and students from across the world to share new ideas and collaborate on research projects. ICERM also supports public lectures and educational opportunities including GoGetMath, a weeklong mathematics summer camp for high school students.

ICERM programs draw an average of 2,000 visitors each year to the institute’s space at 121 South Main St. in Providence. Hassett said those gatherings not only drive progress in math and science, but also make significant contributions to the economies of Providence and Rhode Island. 

“ICERM is a problem-solving powerhouse and this NSF grant recognizes its output, promise and potential,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee who has worked since 2009 to support ICERM and has brought top NSF officials to Brown to see the center in action.  “Federal investment in ICERM has netted Rhode Island a significant ‘brain gain’ — attracting innovative mathematicians to the Ocean State, strengthening local research networks, and spurring outside investment. In turn, specialized researchers at Brown collaborate across diverse fields and industries to improve everything from AI, to economic development, to America’s core competitiveness.”

Hassett is the principal investigator on the grant along with co-investigators and Brown faculty members Javier Gómez-Serrano, a professor of mathematics; Caroline Klivans, a professor of applied mathematics; Björn Sandstede, a professor of applied mathematics; and Jill Pipher, a professor of mathematics and former vice president for research at Brown.

In recent years, ICERM programs have addressed critical topics in both pure and applied mathematics. One program focused on the ways in which theoretical study of neuroscience interfaces with mathematical fields including geometry, topology and algebra. Another explored how mathematics can be used to understand genetic and evolutionary relationships between species and populations. Weeklong programs have focused on changing wave dynamics in the Arctic Ocean, the study of gravitational waves that ripple through the universe, and intersections between computational science and machine learning.

Over the next five years, Hassett says that a major focus of ICERM’s efforts will be the interface between mathematics and artificial intelligence. Programs will address the ways in which AI can improve efficiency in key areas of scientific computing — simulating turbulence around an airplane wing, for example, or optimizing the physical properties of structures. There are also plans to examine the use of large datasets in AI training.

“For AI models to produce useful insights, they have to be trained by large datasets,” Hassett said. “We’ve increased our programming in areas of pure mathematics involved in developing algorithms and datasets to support AI-enabled discovery in the mathematical sciences.”

ICERM programs will also investigate ways in which mathematics can serve as a means of improving AI itself — offering an opportunity to better understand how AI systems arrive at their answers and occasionally produce puzzling hallucinations.

“Pure math is a great proving ground for AI systems because it’s an area in which one can say definitively whether or not something is true and why,” Hassett said. “In that way, math problems can provide objective feedback to AI models that can help to improve the results they generate. That’s immensely helpful in the development of more reliable artificial intelligence.”

Another key research area for ICERM will be metric algebraic geometry, an emerging field of mathematics that explores the shapes and structures of solutions to polynomial equations by studying them using tools that measure distance, size and curvature.

“Metric algebraic geometry is a good example of an emerging area where ideas from core mathematics disciplines are moving into new areas of application,” Hassett said. “In recent years, there’s been growing interest in using these ideas for a wide range of practical problems in industrial design and modeling, which we look forward to exploring.”

Hassett says he the institute’s scholars are excited to dig into those topics and many others at ICERM over the next five years.

“So much of what’s driving progress in mathematics is its intersection with computer science and technology, which is what we’ve been exploring for 15 years,” he said. “By providing a place for people to share their work, find new collaborators and discover new research directions, we’re helping mathematicians to succeed and pushing the field forward.”

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