Nobel Prize–winning physicist Chen-Ning Yang died on October 18 in Beijing. He made multiple contributions to the fields of gauge theory, particle physics, condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics and integrable systems.
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) has awarded mathematician Stéphane Mallat the 2025 CNRS Gold Medal for his “exceptional contributions to the dynamism and influence of French research.” The award announcement highlights Mallat’s influential research on wavelets and the impact of his contributions to the fields of signal processing and artificial intelligence.
The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce the first recipients of its Scientific Software Research Faculty Fellowships. These fellowships will support new software-focused professor positions at academic institutions. In these roles, the fellows will develop scientific and mathematical software that will play a crucial role in enabling discoveries through data analysis, simulations, visualizations and calculations.
Under the leadership of Stanford University’s Surya Ganguli, the collaboration will study the fundamental scientific principles underlying artificial intelligence.
Collaboration director Scott Sheffield of the Department of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and collaboration members from other universities will work toward a unified probabilistic foundation for Euclidean quantum field theory.
Black holes are some of the most extreme places in the universe. The gravitational pull of these objects is so great that even light can’t escape them. The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the Simons Collaboration on Black Holes and Strong Gravity, a multidisciplinary community exploring strong gravity in and beyond Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
One of Jim Simons’ favorite places was the front row of the Simons Foundation’s Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium. Sitting in his customary seat, he would listen as some of the world’s leading thinkers shared the latest advances in our understanding of the universe. Even when he would occasionally doze off during a talk, he would always be ready at the end with a perceptive question.
More than 50 leading mathematicians who have received funding support from the Simons Foundation have been selected to present at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia. The ICM takes place every four years, bringing together top mathematicians from around the world for the largest conference on mathematics.
The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce that mathematical physicist Robbert Dijkgraaf has rejoined its board of trustees. Dijkgraaf was a board member from 2021 to 2022 before departing the position to serve as the minister of education, culture and science for the Netherlands.
On a moonless night, deep in the eastern Himalayan jungle, the stillness is pierced by the thunderous flapping of thousands of moth wings. The nocturnal insects fight for space on a lamplit tarp as researchers armed with digital cameras snap photos.
Story for the Simons Foundation's 2024 annual report.