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Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM)

Dimitri Shlyakhtenko
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The Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) is an NSF Mathematical Science Institute⁠Footnote1 located on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, California.

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NSF grant: DMS-1925919.

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

IPAM fosters the interaction of mathematics with a broad range of science and technology, builds new inclusive interdisciplinary research communities, promotes mathematical innovation, and engages and transforms the world through mathematics. IPAM’s programs connect mathematics and other disciplines, or multiple areas of mathematics. IPAM’s programs are designed to initiate and promote collaboration between groups of researchers. Our programs also feature a relatively short lead time, with even the longest programs planned about two years in advance. Many of our programs have the effect of vastly expanding the collaboration network of our participants. For many past participants, an IPAM program enabled them to break out into a new field, or to learn important techniques and results from other fields to be used in their own research. IPAM has played a key role in a number of spectacular advances in mathematics, including topics such as compressed sensing, machine learning and AI, and applications of mathematics to physical and material science.

2. What Kinds of Programs are Run Each Year?

IPAM runs two 14-week-long programs per year, September–December and March–June. Each program has a specific scientific focus. Through an application process, each long program recruits approximately 50 long-term visitors that work collaboratively throughout the program. Accepted participants are provided with funding for housing and travel to and from the program. Each program starts with a week of tutorials whose purpose is to break down linguistic and notational barriers. Throughout the program, participants self-organize working group and seminar series. As part of the long program, we also run 3–4 workshops that bring in additional speakers and visitors for shorter terms. Active participants in our long programs are invited back for two reunion conferences that take place 1.5 and 2.5 years after the end of the long program at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. In this way we do our best to sustain and nourish collaborations that get started during our long programs. It is not an overstatement to say that many of our long-term participants gain a lot at IPAM—new ideas, new research directions, new collaborators, and new lifelong friends.

Besides long programs, IPAM runs stand-alone workshops (usually in the winter months, January–February, though sometimes we squeeze one in when we have availability at other times of the year). In most cases, registration is open to anyone interested; there is an application process for participants seeking financial support to attend. Many of the workshops feature poster sessions in addition to talks.

IPAM also runs graduate summer and winter schools (these are usually 1–3 weeks in duration). These offer a combination of talk series by eminent researchers in a particular field as well as opportunities for participants to work on concrete problems, and collaborate with others. Despite their name, these schools could be attractive to early career mathematicians who have already obtained their degree but are interested in learning about a new subject, or branching out in new research directions. There is an application process to participate, and financial support is available.

We also have programs aimed at undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in applied mathematics research in the industry setting. Those interested should check out our RIPS and GRIPS programs, several of which are run in collaboration with international partners.

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

We absolutely encourage the participation of early career researchers in all of our programs. IPAM doesn’t really have special positions; for the most part, our programs just have participants.

Our long programs recruit their participants through an open application, and most of the participants receive funding for their stay (unless they don’t need it, e.g., they are local). We start making decisions on a rolling basis approximately six months before the program starts. Participation in our long program can have long-lasting (and sometimes career-changing) positive impact on our visitors, especially the early career visitors. Approximately 2/3 of our long program participants are mid- or early career; many of them are graduate students or postdocs. The application process is not particularly complicated. The main components are a (short) research statement explaining why the applicant is interested and is a good fit for the program, as well as a (very short) letter of reference from their research advisor or mentor.

For most of our workshops, prospective participants have the option of registering (if they have their own funding), or applying for funding, in which case there is an application process similar to that of a long program. The workshops are organized by a committee and scientific directors at IPAM working together. We create opportunities for active engagement of early career attendees through short lightning-round talks, stimulating panel discussions, or encouraging them to contribute to the poster session. Graduate summer schools and (G)RIPS have similar application processes with slightly different deadlines and requirements.

Early career, as well as more senior researchers at primarily undergraduate and minority serving institutions, may also be interested in the recent NSF Partnerships for Research Innovation in the Mathematical Sciences (PRIMES) program, which not only offers funding for a research visit to an NSF institute, but provides additional funding for things like teaching buyouts.

4. What Type of Support is Available (Including Childcare Support)?

IPAM’s goal is to ensure that its participants can come to IPAM and focus on science 100% of the time—or as near to it as possible. For example, our normal support package for long-term participants involves an allowance for their living expenses, as well as roundtrip airfare from their home institution. In addition, we work with all participants (short and long-term) based on their individual needs to find a suitable support package. This includes special circumstances such as short- or long-term childcare, which is of course more complex than just financial support—prospective participants should reach out to us about their particular situation.

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

One new initiative that we are starting, aimed specifically at early career mathematicians, is Applied Mathematics skills Improvement for Graduate studies Advancement (AMIGAs). Its aim is to help graduate students interested in applied mathematics through a critical transition period as they move more heavily into research at the start of their second or third year of graduate school. The inaugural program ran in summer 2023; in the future it will be organized jointly with other math institutes within the Mathematical Sciences Institutes Diversity Initiative (MSIDI).

There are several other ways to get involved with IPAM that are perhaps less widely known. One opportunity is for mid-career mathematicians (usually recently tenured associate professors). It is to come to IPAM to serve as an associate director. It’s a 2–3 year rotator position that gives insights into scientific program management, but is also an opportunity to help create exciting mathematical programs.

And, last but not least, what about organizing a program at IPAM? A number of our organizer teams at IPAM have in the past included junior researchers, often teaming up with more senior colleagues. There are instructions on how to propose a program on our web site; in most cases a (not very complicated) proposal is due in late September of every year. We are happy to discuss your ideas and help you formulate a proposal—feel free to email us.

Credits

Logo is courtesy of Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics.