Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

The Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM) is a national institute whose mission is to support and catalyze fundamental research in the mathematical sciences with a thematic focus on the fruitful interplay between mathematics and computers, explored and developed through computation and experimentation. ICERM convenes leading scientists from academia and industry, together with students and early-career researchers, in programs that generate new mathematics and that accelerate the development of tools and technology arising from new mathematics. The institute has a special focus on training the next generation of computationally skilled mathematicians and preparing them to enter a variety of scientific careers. ICERM places a priority on increasing the participation of members of groups under-represented in mathematics. To support these goals, ICERM provides a sophisticated research infrastructure as well as access to high performance computing and current software resources. ICERM programs support and broaden the relationship between mathematics and computation by expanding the use of computational and experimental methods in mathematics, by supporting theoretical advances related to computation, and by addressing, through mathematical tools, research, and innovation, problems posed by the use of the computer. Experimentation has historically been a driver of advances in fundamental research in mathematics. New technology opens up new opportunities for research and discovery through experimentation; ICERM programs aim to identify and develop such opportunities. Mathematics interacts with an ever widening range of scientific and industrial enterprises, and computation is at the heart of this interaction. ICERM programs aim to develop resources for data-driven explorations in both pure and applied areas of mathematics. ICERM serves as a national resource for mathematical activities, events, and programs that have strong computational/experimental components and that aim to catalyze development of new mathematics as well as new ways of doing mathematics. The institute runs thematic research programs together with associated international conferences, provides support for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in residence during semester-long programs, hosts team-based research programs to train graduate and undergraduate students of mathematics in the use of experimental methodologies and computer-aided tools, and conducts a variety of independent workshops, outreach activities, and special events.