Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI)

The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is an NSF Mathematical Science Institute managed by the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and hosted at the University of Chicago.

1. What is the Mission of Your Institute? What Makes it Unique?

The essential mission of IMSI is to apply rigorous mathematics and statistics to urgent, complex scientific and societal problems, and to spur transformational change in the mathematical sciences and the mathematical sciences community. This mission is based on a vision with three fundamental elements: innovation, communication, and diversity.

IMSI is animated by a commitment to furthering innovation in the mathematical sciences. This commitment is rooted in a recognition of the pervasive role of the mathematical sciences in the wider enterprise of research, science, and technology, and the influence of that enterprise on the society we live in. Insights which arise in the abstract precincts of the mathematical sciences can have profound effects on society. IMSI aims to facilitate innovation in the mathematical sciences with awareness of and responsiveness to this interdependence. Scientific activity at IMSI is focused on applications of the mathematical sciences, with an emphasis on questions of importance to society at large. Much of the activity at IMSI aligns with a set of scientific themes which have been chosen as focal points for research at IMSI. These themes will evolve over time; current IMSI themes are Climate & Sustainability, Data & Information, Health Care and Medicine, Materials Sciences, Quantum Computing and Information, and Uncertainty Quantification.

The second element of the vision for IMSI is a focus on effective communication about the mathematical sciences. Research in the mathematical sciences is generally couched in the precise and technical language developed by experts to communicate among themselves. This form of communication is essential to advancing research in the mathematical sciences, but it is often a barrier to the dissemination of ideas across disciplinary boundaries, as well as to audiences outside of the mathematical sciences. IMSI works to help participants in its programs improve their skill at communicating with new audiences as well as with potential collaborators in other disciplines. Organizing committees for long programs are expected to formulate and implement plans for facilitating communication among members of the typically interdisciplinary groups of researchers they assemble.

The third element of the vision is a focus on diversity. Research in the mathematical sciences is an activity that has the potential to bring meaning and fulfillment into the lives of those who participate in it. It achieves this through the satisfaction of doing curiosity-driven research in theoretical mathematical sciences, through the interplay of the mathematical sciences with other disciplines and domains of inquiry, and through beneficial contributions to society at large. This potential is most likely to be realized through the participation of people with a variety of insights, experiences, and perspectives. One of the fundamental intentions behind IMSI is to offer broad and equitable avenues of access to its programming and to create an environment that promotes the fullest possible flourishing of science and the human beings who engage in it.

2. What Kinds of Programs are Run Each Year?

Our research activity is generally classified into four categories: long programs, workshops, interdisciplinary research clusters, and research collaboration workshops. Long programs focus on a research area related to one or more of IMSI’s research themes, and usually last about three months. We typically host two of these each year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Workshops last anywhere from a day to a week, and typically focus on a topic in applied or applicable mathematical science. Workshops need not be connected to IMSI themes, although many are. With rare exceptions, workshops are held in a hybrid format which allows both in-person and virtual participation. Interdisciplinary research clusters (IRCs) involve small groups of researchers coming to IMSI for a period of time (typically a week or two) to work intensively on a specific project. While we are particularly interested in IRCs which connect to one of our themes, this is not required. Finally, research collaboration workshops (RCWs) are activities which involve both a research and a training component. Typically, RCWs involve teams consisting of one or two researchers with experience in a particular area working with a group of early career researchers or researchers with less experience in the area on projects which are expected to be achievable within the timeframe for the activity.

The activity we host is generated by proposals from across the mathematical sciences research community. We generally attempt to accommodate proposals for activities that do not follow standard templates if there are good reasons for nonstandard formats. We are open to proposals from researchers at all career stages. Proposals are considered in two annual cycles, with deadlines of March 15 and September 15 each year.

3. Within Those Programs, What Types of Positions Can Early Career Mathematicians Apply for?

All of our long programs, most of our workshops, and all of our research collaboration workshops are open for applications from researchers at all career stages, including graduate students. Visits of any duration up to the full length of the relevant activity are possible. IMSI does not have a standalone postdoctoral program to which early career researchers can apply.

4. What Type of Support is Available?

In most cases, IMSI can offer financial support for travel, lodging, and meals to participants who need it. In situations where participants have needs which are not addressed by these categories of support, we do our best to work with them to find solutions which make it possible for them to participate. The specific solutions we can offer depend on the situation, and must satisfy any constraints imposed by university and NSF policies.

5. Are There Any Particular Opportunities That You Want Early Career Readers to Know About?

Early Career researchers are welcome in the vast majority of the activities we host, but there are a number of activities that are specifically intended for them. These include a summer internship program for PhD students in mathematics and statistics which offers exposure to research in other disciplines and outside of academia, and summer schools such as the AI+Science Summer School which IMSI has hosted twice in collaboration with the Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago. There are also introductory and tutorial based workshops aimed at Early Career researchers such as those associated with our 2023–2024 programs Algebraic Statistics and Our Changing World and Data-Driven Materials Informatics, and workshops such as the Modern Math Workshop, which takes place in conjunction with the annual SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference and is organized collectively by the mathematical sciences research institutes under the umbrella of the MSIDI initiative. In addition, many IMSI workshops offer opportunities such as poster sessions in which early career researchers can present their work. We also offer a series of communications boot camps on topics such as Storytelling & Narrative Structure, How to Write for a General Audience, and Job Talks & Stage Presence which might be of interest.