US-Africa Collaborative Research Network in Mathematical Sciences

这一NSF奖项为美非合作研究网络(CRN)提供支持，其主要目标是改善美国和撒哈拉以南非洲地区的数学科学人力基础设施，特别是在代表性不足的群体中。它建立在成功的Masamu计划的基础上，该计划由南部非洲数学科学协会(SAMSA)于2010年在国家科学基金会的援助下制定，旨在通过促进国际研究合作来加强数学科学和相关领域的研究。CRN由来自46所高校和研究实验室/中心/研究所的82名研究数学家组成(撒哈拉以南非洲43人，美国29人，其余10人来自加拿大、中国和欧洲)，组成3个纯数学研究小组和4个应用数学研究小组。每个研究小组被细分为研究小组，由高级研究数学家、早期职业教师、学生和博士后研究人员组成。每个研究团队都包括美国和非洲的参与者。非洲研究人员的研究领域与美国的研究领域重叠，但有趣的是，他们使用不同的技术，解决不同的问题。因此，这一奖项为CRN提供了一个机会，以拓宽要研究的问题的范围以及回答这些问题的方法/途径，从而增加参与研究的美国研究人员的研究活动和生产率。这些团队正在研究的研究问题的解决方案在纯数学和应用数学、工业、政府和一般社会中都有重要的应用。特别是，这些数学问题的解在国家安全、网络覆盖、监视、交通、金融和统计方面都有应用。这些问题的解决方案还可以增进对疾病传播和生物多样性的理解，正如新冠肺炎危机所表明的那样，这些问题具有重要的政策影响。对肿瘤生长、细胞运动和DNA结构的研究具有重要的医学应用，涉及气候数据的数学模型将提供对气候变化对未来人类和动物行为及其相互作用的影响的准确预测。CRN组成了3个纯数学研究小组(代数和几何；分析和拓扑学；离散数学(图论、编码理论和信息理论))和4个应用数学研究小组(数学生物学和生物数学；气候变化和影响；金融和统计数学；生物统计学和数据科学)。Masamu方案的一个关键组成部分是Masamu高级研究所(MASI)和数学科学及相关领域的系列讲习班，它为这些合作提供了一个平台。SAMSA每年在感恩节期间举办为期4天的国际研究会议，Masamu计划举办为期10天的MASI，与会议期间重叠。因此，美非CRN成员利用这次会议，参加SAMSA会议、MASI和研讨会，面对面地会面，就研究问题开展工作，计划下一年的研究活动，并在会议上介绍他们的研究成果。这一NSF奖项每年为美国教职员工、学生和博士后提供就读麻省理工学院的支持。这使得该网络能够在美国和撒哈拉以南非洲地区培养出高质量的新博士、高质量的联合研究出版物以及由来自不同背景的研究人员组成的美非长期研究伙伴关系。这将对美国和撒哈拉以南非洲地区的数学科学研究合作和人类基础设施产生长期影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This NSF award provides support for a US-Africa Collaborative Research Network (CRN) with the primary goal to improve the human infrastructure in mathematical sciences in both the US and Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among underrepresented groups. It builds on the successful Masamu Program, developed by the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA) with the assistance of the National Science Foundation in 2010 to enhance research in mathematical sciences and related areas through promotion of international research collaboration. The CRN consists of 82 research mathematicians (43 Sub-Saharan Africa, 29 US, and remaining 10 from Canada, China, and Europe) from 46 colleges and universities and research laboratories/centers/institutes, forming 3 research groups in Pure Mathematics and 4 research groups in Applied Mathematics. Each research group is subdivided into research teams consisting of senior research mathematicians, early career faculty, students, and postdoctoral researchers. Each research team includes both US and African participants. African researchers work on research areas that overlap with American research areas, but interestingly use different techniques and address different questions. This award therefore provides an opportunity for CRN to broaden the spectrum of questions to be studied and of methods/approaches for answering these questions, resulting in increased research activity and productivity for participating US researchers. Solutions to the research questions being studied by these teams have important applications in pure and applied mathematics, industry, government, and in society in general. In particular, solutions to these mathematics questions have applications in national security, network coverage, surveillance, transportation, finance, and statistics. Solutions to these questions also advance understanding of the spread of diseases and biodiversity, which have important policy implications as demonstrated by the COVID-19 crisis. The study of tumor growth, cell motility, and DNA structure have significant medical applications, and mathematical models involving climate data will provide accurate predictions of the impacts of climate change on future human and animal behavior and their interactions. The CRN forms 3 research groups in Pure Mathematics (Algebra and Geometry; Analysis and Topology; and Discrete Mathematics (Graph Theory, Coding Theory, and Information Theory)) and 4 research groups in Applied Mathematics (Mathematical Biology and Biomathematics; Climate Change and Impacts; Mathematics of Finance and Statistics; and Biostatistics and Data Science). A key component of the Masamu Program is the Masamu Advanced Study Institute (MASI) and Workshop Series in mathematical sciences and related areas, which provides a platform for these collaborations. SAMSA holds a 4-day international research conference during Thanksgiving week each year, and Masamu Program runs a 10-day MASI that overlaps with the conference period. US-Africa CRN members thus take advantage of this gathering and participate in the SAMSA conference, MASI, and workshops to meet face-to-face, work on research problems, plan research activities for the subsequent year, and present their research findings at the conference. This NSF award provides support for US faculty, students, and postdocs to attend MASI each year. This enables the network to produce high quality new PhDs in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa, high quality joint research publications, and long-term US-Africa research partnerships consisting of researchers from diverse backgrounds. This will have long-lasting impacts on research collaboration and human infrastructure in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa in mathematical sciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.