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URL: https://simonsfoundation.org/

Proper Citation: Simons Foundation (RRID:SCR_006735)

Description: The Simons Foundation is a private foundation based in New York City, incorporated in 1994 by Jim and Marilyn Simons. The Simons Foundation''s mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. We sponsor a range of programs that aim to promote a deeper understanding of our world. The primary focus of the foundation''s Mathematics & the Physical Sciences (MPS) program is on the theoretical sciences radiating from mathematics: in particular, the fields of mathematics, theoretical computer science and theoretical physics. Although we have supported basic research in mathematics and physics for years at institutions around the globe, the mode of our support entered an important new phase in fall 2009 with the introduction of grant opportunities with open application procedures. It is intended that this will become our primary mode of operation. In 2010, the MPS program issued its first requests for grant applications. These requests offered grants to establish post-doctoral fellowships, grants to promote collaboration between researchers, grants to create professorships that combine mathematics with other fields, and a grant to endow an institute for theoretical computer science. Other projects are under way, including the Africa Mathematics Project, intended to bolster mathematics scholarship on the African continent, and an oral history project: a series of interviews with renowned mathematicians and scientists which will be made available to the public for viewing. The Simons Foundation''s initial support of life sciences work has tended to focus on research that promotes synergy between biology and mathematics. Such projects have included quantitative biology programs at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the Institut des Hautes ��tudes Scientifiques, the Institute for Advanced Study, and The Rockefeller University. The Life Sciences program is expected to expand in scope over the next two to three years. To date, the Simons Foundation''s single largest initiative has been in autism research. The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) program seeks to improve the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders by funding, catalyzing, and driving innovative research of the greatest quality and relevance. In 2007, SFARI issued its first Request for Applications, its goal being to attract the best researchers to the field. In the years since, SFARI has given grants to 150 investigators in the United States and abroad. Additionally, to facilitate the field as a whole, SFARI has created the Simons Simplex Collection of extensive genetic and phenotypic data from almost 3,000 families with a child affected by autism. Although SFARI''s immediate priority is to benefit individuals challenged by autism spectrum disorders, the program''s research is expected to yield insights into the neural mechanisms of fundamental human capabilities, complementing the mission of the Simons Foundation to advance research in the basic sciences and mathematics.

Abbreviations: Simons Foundation

Synonyms: Simons Foundation - Advancing Research in Basic Science and Mathematics

Resource Type: funding resource

Keywords: mathematics, physical sciences, computer science, physics, autism, autism spectrum disorder