Mathematical Sciences Research Institute 5-Year Proposal

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This is a renewal proposal for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), which organizes and hosts a variety of working groups of mathematicians and mathematical scientists, who participate in research and training activities on topics drawn from a broad spectrum of active areas in fundamental mathematics. At any given time during the academic year, MSRI is home to 80-90 leading research professors, members, postdoctoral fellows (as well as around 15 graduate students) from around the country and the world who are organized into semester-long programs (usually two, though, occasionally, one) concentrating in a particular research area. Each program features introductory and research workshops, seminars and lectures, postdoctoral mentoring, and general collaboration between members, with the goal of assimilating and expounding the latest results in the area, stimulating new research and collaborations, and disseminating the results, through traditional publication channels as well as video streaming of lectures. The programs for the next three years include random matrix theory (2010), arithmetic statistics (2011), and quantitative geometry (2012). In addition to the semester-long research programs, MSRI organizes and hosts many workshops each year that benefit the mathematics community; subjects include mathematics education, recent breakthroughs in mathematics, graduate and undergraduate training and research, and mathematical biology. As a result of these combined activities, about 2000 mathematical scientists each year visit MSRI. Meanwhile, the training of a diverse US workforce in the mathematical sciences is a high priority, and MSRI works to increase participation in its activities of women and other under-represented groups.The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in Berkeley, CA is one of seven Mathematical Sciences Institutes (http://mathinstitutes.org/) supported by the NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences. The fundamental mission of MSRI is, first and foremost, to support first-rate mathematical research and to develop the human resources needed to sustain and apply the resulting knowledge base and, secondarily, to educate the public about mathematics, its impact and connections. The MSRI supports programs that promote fundamental research in the mathematical sciences by bringing together visiting groups of mathematical scientists from around the US and the world. It hosts semester- and year-long research programs as well as 1- to 2-week workshops, and it conducts mentoring and training of early-career mathematicians. The programs are organized around subjects proposed by members of the mathematics research community that are then developed with the advice and guidance of MSRI's Scientific Advisory Committee, which is comprised of leaders in the mathematical sciences. These programs come from a wide range of areas in mathematics, from number theory (such as the 2011 Arithmetic Statistics Program) to subjects connected to physics and computation (such as the 2012 Quantitative Geometry Program). The MSRI website (http://www.msri.org) describes upcoming and past programs, solicits ideas for future programs, offers application forms for Institute activities, and details MSRI's extensive outreach and education activities, which help expose to the public the inherent beauty and utility of mathematics in modern society.