Ideas

Terrence Blackman, Visitor in the School of Mathematics (2020–21), is a number theorist, who considers the question: “can one hear the shape of a drum?” Using the tools of spectral geometry, Terrence considers such questions as part of his research, which traces its roots back to Queen’s College in Guyana. Learn more about Terrence’s path, from his early interest in writing to a realization of the aesthetic and cultural significance of mathematics.

Ask yourself this question: Can one hear the shape of a drum?

In this episode of Scholar Spotlight, mathematician and number theorist Terrence Blackman discusses his quest to expand understanding in the realm of spectroscopy. Learn about the strides Terrence is making in both spectral geometry and in surfacing the important work of African American mathematicians through his upcoming book showcasing their contributions to the field.

In 2020–21, Allen Yuan, Visitor in the School of Mathematics and a recent graduate from MIT, is studying problems in homotopy theory and algebraic topology.

I like to give a simple-sounding...

Chris Maddison, Member (2019–20) in the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Mathematics, works on the development of methods for machine learning, with a focus on deep learning. He is an assistant professor at...

Distinguished Visiting Professor Karen Uhlenbeck, a founder of modern geometric analysis, spoke with Joanne Lipman about her Abel Prize win, the barriers that she has overcome in her career, and how elevating the role of math in society would help solve problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sanjeev Arora is Distinguished Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study. Specializing in the theory of deep learning, with an interest in natural language processing and...

The twenty-sixth annual Women and Mathematics (WAM) Program, “Topics in Geometric Analysis,” was held May 18–24, 2019, at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Participants explored dynamic shapes and surfaces, along with the equations that describe...

Avi Wigderson, Herbert H. Maass Professor in the School of Mathematics, has authored Mathematics and Computation: A Theory Revolutionizing Technology and Science (Princeton University Press, 2019).

The book serves as an introduction to computational...

The Institute's School of Mathematics held the workshop "Theory of Deep Learning: Where Next?" October 15–18, 2019, as part of the School's special year on Optimization, Statistics, and Theoretical Machine Learning.

The workshop brought together deep...

A variety of systems in natural sciences are described through physically measurable quantities that depend on “independent variables.” For instance, we routinely measure the pressure and the temperature of the air in the Earth’s atmosphere, and...