2016 Edition

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simonsfoundation.org sfari.org TABLE OF CONTENTS 2016

Greeting Letters from the President and the Chair 2

Flatiron Institute Flatiron Institute 4

Center for Computational Biology: Biophysical Modeling 8

Center for Computational Astrophysics: Gaia Sprint 10

Collaborations and Funding Simons Collaborations 12

Funding Early-Career Scientists 14

Simons Society of Fellows 16 Cover MPS Mathematics and Physical Sciences Simons Observatory 18 This illustration depicts the abstract concepts of gathering together and moving as a current. Simons Investigator: Alexei Kitaev 20 The graphic was inspired by models simulating LS the flocking behaviors of birds, and also by the Life Sciences Gradients Cruise 22 theme of this report: meetings and interfaces, SCGB both real and virtual. Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain 26 SFARI Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative Sparking Autism Research 28

Simons Variation in Individuals Project 30

SFARI Research Roundup 32 E&O Education & Outreach Digital Gatherings: Spectrum and Quanta Magazines 34

Science Sandbox: Unlocking Scientific Thinking 36

Math for America: MT2 38

Simons Foundation Financials 40

Investigators & Fellows 42

Education & Outreach Support 53

Supported Institutions 54

Advisory Boards 55

Staff 57

Board of Directors 59 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

After delivering an eloquent and passionate speech on the thrill of scientific research and discovery, the Nobel Over the course of 2016, we have been focused on building — both literally and figuratively — our new Flatiron Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter took questions from the audience. The participants — administrators and Institute. This in-house unit is a generalization of the biology-focused Simons Center for Data Analysis (SCDA), researchers from multiple universities — were there to discuss the importance of increasing private philanthropic which we started three years ago, to a series of centers focused on different areas of computational science. SCDA support for basic science research. There was a discussion of the challenges of communicating the importance of is now called the Center for Computational Biology. To house this effort, we acquired an 11-story building directly scientific research to the public, when the frontiers of science have moved so far beyond what most of us learned in across the street from our present quarters on 21st Street. It is now undergoing extensive renovation and, when school. Perlmutter’s responses were uplifting and inspiring: He talked about the value of building relationships with completed in June 2018, will house 250 scientific workers. It will also include a new 100-seat auditorium and a everyone and having a sense of partnership in discovery. He spoke about the remarkable discoveries that are possible dining hall with capacity to serve all Simons Foundation personnel. Three of the floors are now occupied, with when scientists and funders work together toward a common goal, forming strong long-term relationships. With others gradually coming on stream. stirring words and dynamic gestures, he conveyed the message that we could be part of something bigger and greater than ourselves when we work as a group to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge and understanding. The seed of this idea was planted in 2012. In June of that year, we hosted a roundtable of distinguished scientists at the Buttermilk Falls Inn in Milton, New York, to discuss the desirability of the foundation funding long-term, goal- What better example of what we can accomplish collectively than the detection of gravitational waves, which was driven collaborative research projects. As part of the discussion, attendees were invited to “propose interesting announced in February 2016? This remarkable success was made possible through the hard work of more than a programs poised for progress that we might consider funding over a 10-year period.” Suggestions came from thousand researchers and the steadfast support of the National Science Foundation. Predicted by Albert Einstein various fields, and we have gone on to establish a number of them through our collaborations. But one participant, in 1915, ripples in the fabric of space-time were observed for the first time as two black holes in a distant part of the mathematician Ingrid Daubechies, had a slightly different proposal — to establish a permanent center for the universe merged, sending gravitational waves to Earth, where they were detected by the Laser Interferometer computational science. Given that I had made the money to start the foundation through sophisticated statistical Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). While the LIGO experiment is paradigmatic of the tremendous possibilities analyses of financial data, I loved the idea, and wanted to start such a center within the walls of the foundation itself to be realized through large-scale scientific collaboration, there are many other examples, large and small, of fruitful so I could contribute to its development. partnerships of scientists, mathematicians, and public and private donors. Our initial effort was focused on biology, and we were fortunate to recruit Leslie Greengard to head the effort. At the Simons Foundation, we also support science through a host of cooperative, collaborative projects. In this Greengard, an outstanding applied mathematician with deep knowledge of biology, came to us from New York year’s annual report, you will read about our own new research center, the Flatiron Institute, which brings together University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He recruited a marvelous team of computationally inclined in one building computational scientists from different fields, in the hope of developing mathematical research tools biologists, and after two years, things were going so well we decided to generalize the program. that can be applied to their own field as well as others. You will also read about the Simons Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile, where research teams representing four institutions are working together to detect information from The next area we determined to establish was computational astrophysics, and again we were fortunate to recruit an our very early universe by studying the cosmic microwave background. In our SFARI program report, you will learn outstanding leader, David Spergel from Princeton University. He came in September 2016 with nine people, and about our efforts to build a dataset for autism research, thanks to the help of thousands of families and individuals — many more will be arriving in September 2017. In the seven months that Spergel has been with us, he has created a and facilitated by the internet and social media. whirlwind of activity, turning what is now called the Center for Computational Astrophysics, or CCA, into the hub of computational astrophysics in the Northeast. Throughout this annual report, you will learn about group efforts in a myriad of forms: research institutes, multi- institutional efforts, interdisciplinary collaborations, teams, partnerships, conferences, workshops, lectures and The third area of focus is quantum physics, condensed matter physics with a bent toward materials science, and even social media. We explore the different ways collaborations may be fruitfully organized in our article on Simons depending heavily on extensive computation. Once again we found a great leader, this time in Antoine Georges of the Collaborations. Even the illustrations we’ve chosen for this report reflect our theme of confluence and convergence. Collège de France, and he will arrive this coming September with seven or eight recruits. Our own Andrew Millis, who Like Saul Perlmutter, we share the view that, together, we can do amazing things. has headed physics on the grant-making side, will move over to the Center for Computational Quantum Physics as Georges’ co-director. As we ponder in awe our new understanding of the world around us, from fundamental particles to the cosmos, we can delight in all that we have learned and eagerly anticipate many more new discoveries. Each of these centers will grow to roughly 55 people, and there is room in the building for one more, the area of which has not yet been determined. Knitting the centers together is the Scientific Computing Core, servicing all of the We hope you enjoy reading about our work. discipline-oriented units and headed by two remarkable people, Nick Carriero and Ian Fisk, formerly of Yale University and CERN, respectively. This team is expected to grow to 15 people.

Somewhere along the line, we realized that this enterprise needed a name, and given that the foundation is located in the heart of Manhattan’s Flatiron District, ‘Flatiron Institute’ seemed perfect.

Having learned of its origins, you may read of its activities and accomplishments in the pages that follow. Marilyn Hawrys Simons, Ph.D. President

Jim Simons, Ph.D. Chair FLATIRON INSTITUTE SIMONS FOUNDATION 4 A fourthresearchcenteronayet-to-be-decided subject As SCDAthrived,thefoundationdecidedtousesame (also currentlyassociatedirectorforphysicsatthe University. Inadditiontothese centers,Flatironwillsoon Unlike theSimons Foundation’s grantsprogramsthat Simons Foundation). France andAndrewMillisofColumbiaUniversity In 2013,theSimons Center forDataAnalysis(SCDA) Simons Foundation, whichbeganoperationsin2016 directed byDavidSpergel,anastrophysicistatPrinceton Currently, theFlatironInstitute comprisestheCCB drawn fromscienceandtreatthemwithmathematical will completetheinstitute,filling thelasttwoofitseight art lecturehallthatseats100people. Theinstitutealso where wecouldtakeonlong-termproblemsthatwere sciences. “Theideawastocreatearesearchenvironment work closelyoncomputationalproblemsinthebasic was launchedattheSimons Foundation withagoalof and theCenter forComputationalAstrophysics(CCA), and nowdirectoroftheCCBatFlatironInstitute. scientists arefull-timefoundationemployees.The support researchersatacademicinstitutions,Flatiron and employs60scientists—sofar. eventually cometobetheseedprojectformuch amounts ofdatabeinggeneratedandcollectedinbiology. creating newcomputationaltoolstoanalyzethevast has adatacenterinthebasement withthecapacityto have aCenter forComputationalQuantumMechanics, larger-scale FlatironInstitute,anewdivisionofthe be hometoadininghall,boardroom andastate-of-the- research floors.Theremainingtwo floorsandroofwill rigor,” saysLeslieGreengard, foundingdirectorofSCDA institute isaplaceforresearchersandprogrammersto is anintramuralresearchprogram,anditsworking model inotherareasofscience.SCDA,laterre-named to beco-directedbyAntoineGeorges oftheCollègede the Center forComputationalBiology, orCCB,would INSTITUTE FLATIRON “Academia hasnot foundawaytoprovidecomfortable Avenue withglass-walledconferenceroomsand offices, The FlatironInstituteaimstoprovideaplacewhere of maintainingandimprovingexistingcodes. San Diego.Plansareunderwaytoaddmorecomputing Scientific ComputingCore(SCC),co-directedbyNick designed forthetypesofproblemsthatariseinbasic Greengard says.TheFlatironInstituteanswersthat of thefoundation.TheSCCmaintainsabout4,200 Carriero, formerlyofYale University, andIan Fisk, Research attheFlatironInstituteissupportedby source software. science everywhere,andthecodes beingwrittenwill scientists andprogrammersarefree toprioritizethat academic modeltendstoprioritizenewproductionsat and gettenure.Furthermore, after aprogramiswritten, academic modelmakeslong-termcomputationalprojects science research.Thetraditional‘publish-or-perish’ power andcool250kilowattsofequipment.Architects computational work.Allthisiswith aneyetoadvancing storage atsatellitefacilitieslocatedonLongIslandandin gigabytes) attheinstitute,withadditionalcoresand as someofthecomputationanddata-intensiveactivities cores intheupcomingmonths. cores and4petabytesofstorage(apetabyteis1million computing infrastructureneedsfortheinstitute,aswell aquaria encouragemeditativethought. at NewYork City-basedPerkins Eastmanfilled162 Fifth couches. Blackboards encouragecollaborationandvirtual classrooms, andlarge,openspaceswithcomfortable untenable forscientistswhoaretryingtowritegrants unmet needforhigh-quality, well-supported software home forthecomputationalsciencesinhouse,” be madeavailabletothebroader community asopen- it needsupdatingandongoingsupport.Thestandard formerly ofCERN.TheSCChandlesthesignificant the expenseoflessglamorousbutnecessarywork 250 scientistsandprogrammers University andFlatiron.This The othergroupfocusesongalaxy The CCAcurrentlyhastworesearch The CCBtacklesquestionsin Somerville, whoholdsajoint David HoggofNewYork University, Each Flatironcentersupports Foundation colleagues. Flatiron isexpectedtoemploy Flatiron, andGreg Bryan,who datasets rangingfromexoplanets of 162Fifth Avenue, thescientists position atRutgersUniversityand various smallerresearchgroups. group, whichSpergelco-leadswith groups. Thestatisticalastronomy algorithmic work,”saysGreengard. experimental dataintothekindof and error-prone. “Converting and automaticanalysisisdifficult especially inmicroscopy, wherethe avenue ofresearchfortheCCB at asub-cellularlevel.Another and structuralbiology. Researchers systems biology, signalprocessing attending lunch,lecturesandstaff established andstaffed. Although group’s focusisondeveloping cosmological measurements. learning tounderstandandpredict have also,bydesign,beenabsorbed holds ajointpositionatColumbia by thetimeallfourcentersare formation andisco-ledbyRachel noisy datasets.Thegroupapplies information fromlarge,complexand is developingnewmethodstoextract it drivesasignificantpartofour interpret isacomplexproblem,and information biologistscanusefully raw datatendstobequitenoisy is imageandsignalprocessing, modeling fluid-structureinteractions noncoding variantsinDNA,and for example,haveusedmachine from theCCB’sgenomicsgroup, biophysics, genomics,neuroscience, meetings alongsidetheirSimons into foundationlifeacrossthestreet, to starsinourowngalaxy these methodstoastrophysical their biophysicsgrouplooksat to becontainedwithintheconfines the Flatironscientists’ worktends “This projectistoobigforanyone (such ashowdensegasisconverted The SCC,inadditiontoproviding The galaxyformationgroupwill The breadthofexpertisethatwe The FlatironInstituteisforming over avastrangeofscales:from often requiressomecollaborative do withanysimulation,”Somerville database ofthesimulationoutputs of theformationgalaxiesand programs ontheirowndesktopor what’s limitingtheirprogress.” scientists typicallyprototype and betterbyadaptingthemto all-important computingcapacity, available willallowotherstobenefit says. Making thisdatabasefreely supermassive blackholes.Oneof sophisticated numericalsimulations effort,” Carriero says.“We wantto are readytomovefromtheirlaptops and mockobservationscreatedfrom also servetheresearchcommunity gather attheCCAenablesusto gain intolarger-scale simulations. and implementingtheinsightsthey energy emittedbyaccretingblack a novelapproachtothisproblemby computational resources.Flatiron cosmological scalesofbillions close relationshipswithuniversities computing cluster. Whenscientists carrying outnumericalexperiments helps researchers’ codesrunfaster laptop computers, but the techniques holes affects theirhostgalaxies) light-years. Thegroupplanstoadopt by creatingapubliclyavailable make efficient useoftheinstitute’s from theworkdoneatFlatiron. individual starsandblackholesto is theresultofprocessesacting formation isthatgalaxy make surethecomputingisnot run wellonahigh-performance need tobemodifiedinorder realistically takeonaprojectlike researcher tobeabletackle. into starswithingalaxies,orhow the challengesofmodelinggalaxy to anSCCcluster, “thattransition that workonsmallcomputersoften them. “There’s alwaysmoreyoucan this,” saysSomerville. to studythe‘small-scale’ processes “Our ongoingcollaborationshave “We wanttomakesurethatthe In thelongrun,researchershope Spergel says. Flatiron willmakeitpossiblefor disciplinary workaswell.Although In thehallwaysofinstitute, different centerstoworktogether, of galaxies.Still,weusethesame of cells,oursareappliedonthescale do fluiddynamics,biologists different fromthemixanywhere fluid dynamics,”Spergelsays.“Their people cometolearnnewalgorithms whose experimentsinfluence we spanfields,havethepotential same computationaltaskscome generated alotofenthusiasmon questions takenonintheCCB. says. Asaresult,Flatironresearchers and otherresearchinstitutes. startup. “Themixofpeoplehereis expect atanambitious,one-of-a-kind scientists andotherstaff haveall and approaches.Becauseoftheway already becomingaplacewhere equations areappliedonthescale computational biologywedoistied else Iknow,” Spergelsays.“At computational biologistsdon’t run up indifferent scientificareas, lunch. Here, wedo.” both sides.” it isnotalwaysobvious,manyofthe information, approachesand researchers inthedifferent areas it easyforresearchersfromthe fundamental equations.”By making from biologytoastrophysics.“We into computationalphysicistsat most universitiesandindustrylabs, that theinstitutewillsupportcross- the modelinganddataanalysis typically haveoutsidecollaborators to concreteproblems,”Greengard the spiritandmomentumyou'd techniques betweenareas,” to beauniqueplaceintransferring to learnfromoneanother. “We are “The idea was to create a research environment where we could take on long-term problems that were drawn from science and treat them with mathematical rigor.”

- Leslie Greengard FLATIRON INSTITUTE SIMONS FOUNDATION 8 COMPUTATIONAL “All ofthismovementfactorsintohow cellswork Computational BiologyintheFlatironInstitute,a The DNAinsideacell’s chromosomes contains a Shelley andhiscollaboratorsare developing Shelley putsit,“howbiologicalsystems putthemselves waiting toberead.Instead,tiny‘machines’ withinthe blueprint forassemblingandregulatingallthecell’s proteins, butthatblueprintisnotsimplylyingopen, there’s physicsinthere,andfluiddynamicstoo.” the fibersofDNAtobringcertainregionstogether together.” Unifyingsoft condensedmatterphysicswith form andchromosomesmove.Their workispartof mathematical modelstodescribe howspindles matter ofmoleculesandchemicalreactions— structure pushesandpullsthemintoformation into usefulcombinations.Andwhenacelldivides,the an emergingfieldcalled‘active matter’ thatstudies,as division oftheSimons Foundation. “It’s notjusta of thebiophysicalmodelinggroupatCenter for and howtheydivide,”saysMichaelShelley, leader escorts themintothenewlyborncells. chromosomes getmovedaboutevenmore:Aspindle cell areconstantlythumbingthroughthepages,moving BIOPHYSICAL CENTER FOR MODELING BIOLOGY: Active matterfocusesonsystems—spindles inacell, Doing sowillrequireadeepunderstandingofthe Fluid flowisadrivingforceinboth microscopicsystems, New York University. Shelley, whoisalsoanappliedmathematicianat fluid iswhatletsindividualsinasystem‘talk’ toeach bring researchersclosertoaquantitativetheoryof generate motionormechanicalstresses.Finding the push eachother, butthefluid they movecanorganize the heartoffundamentalaspectsbiology,” says the lifesciences,active-matterproblems“go rightto swarms ofbacteria,schoolsfishorflocksbirds— some oflife’s centralphenomena. made upofmanyindividualcomponentsthatcollectively theory ofsuchsystems.Inmicroscopic systems,the special challengewhenitcomes to establishingaunified such asschoolsoffish. Yet fluid dynamicsalsoposesa such ascellularspindles,andmacroscopic systems, them collectively.” role fluidsplayinsuchsystems,Shelleysays.“The equations governingthesecollectivebehaviorscould other remotely,” hesays.“Individuals mayrunintoor For now, Shelley’s groupisfocusing Reconciling theimmediatelossof fluid alsostopsmovingand fluid communicatesthemotionof between acell’s fluidcytoplasm,its the vortextrailsleft byanairplane, schools offishandflocksbirds the waterandairthroughwhich spindles andothercellularstructures. its lingeringeffects inotherswillbe information insomesystemswith move, informationcanliveon,like and simulationsoftheinteractions on developingcomputermodels a challenge,Shelleysays. even ifthecomponentsstopmoving. almost instantly. Iftheindividual one componentacrossthesystem communication ceases.But in component stopsmoving,the The collapsingnetwork generates material stresses thought to be A computer simulation of anetwork of microtubules that hascontracted of theCCB’s biophysical modelinggroup. due to thepullingaction of dyneinmotor proteins traveling along them. Flatiron research fellow Wen Yan andstaff scientist Sebastian Fürthauer important toimportant theshapeof many mitotic spindles. This simulation isby “It’s goingtobeexcitingfiguring “In thiscellular-mechanics world, Shelley says.He hopeshisteam’s fluid dynamicsthatnooneelsedoes,” we’re doingalevelofcomputational will allowresearcherstoworkon thinking aboutproblemswemight says. “It’s goingtopushallofusinto not everconsiderotherwise.” numerical andcomputationaltools other groupsinthecenter,” Shelley out howwecaninterfacewiththe other problemsinactivematter. 10 FLATIRON INSTITUTE SIMONS FOUNDATION COMPUTATIONAL When wegazeatthesegalaxies,itcanbehardtoimaginetheintimateinteractionstheyhavehadwitheachother, and This wastheCCA’s firstlarge meeting,butmanymoreareexpectedtofollow. Jo Bovy, aCCAconsultantand anastrophysicistattheUniversityofToronto, usedthedatatomakemostprecise In September, Gaia missionscientistsreleaseddatafromthespacecraft totheastronomycommunity. Eagertodiginto Hogg, anastronomeratNewYork Universityandaconsultantatthe FlatironInstitute. Launched intospacein2013,theGaia probewasdesignedtomeasurethelocationandmotionofstarswithin During theweeklongworkshop,attendeesgaverapid-firetalkson whattypesofquestionstheywouldusethe Gaia data willtransformwhatweknowaboutthephysicsofstarsandformationevolutiongalaxy,” saysDavid Bovy says. On adarknightintheSouthernHemisphere, theMilkyWay arcsacrosstheblue-blacksky. Off toonesidearetwo data toanswer, andthen‘hacked’ thedata,lookingfornewinsightsintostructureandevolutionofgalaxy orbits aren’t simplecircles. “They’re somuchmore complex,probablyasaresultoftheMilkyWay’s spiralstructure,” Milky Way. By 2018,itwillhavecollecteddataonabout1billion stars,roughly1percentofstarsinthegalaxy. “This with theMilkyWay andtheorbitsofstarswithinourgalaxy arebecomingabitclearer. with ourowngalaxy. But withdatafromtheEuropeanSpaceAgency’s Gaia spacecraft, theMagellanic Clouds’ history and itsstars. calculations todateoftheOortconstants. Namedfortheirdiscoverer, astronomerJan Oort,theconstantswere first hazy splotchesofstars,theSmallandLargeMagellanic Clouds,twooftheMilkyWay’s nearestneighboringgalaxies. it, HoggandothersatFlatiron’s Center forComputationalAstrophysics(CCA)held the first Gaia SprintinOctober. measured in1927.Theydescribe howstarsorbitthecenterofgalaxy. Bovy’s calculations showedthatstarsnear the sunorbitgalacticcenterwith aspeedof220kilometerspersecond.His analysisalsoconfirmedthatthese ASTROPHYSICS: GAIA SPRINT CENTER FOR

Also, astreamofhotyoungstars Way thanthehotyoungstars.“This His analysisshowedthatsomeof Belokurov usedtheGaia datato Cloud, asiftheyweretornfromthe Cloud totheLargeMagellanic Cambridge astrophysicistVasily flows fromtheSmall Magellanic small cloudandpulledtowardthe star intheMilkyWay andinthe stars sitalittlebitclosertotheMilky haven’t observedbefore.According larger one,somethingastronomers rather areflowingbetweenthem. in eitherMagellanic Cloud,but neighboring Magellanic Clouds. identify aspecifictypeofvariable those variablestarsactuallyaren’t to Belokurov’s analysis,thevariable Sprint havebeenpostedonline.The Since October, morethanadozen CCA planstoholdmoremeetings suggests thattheMilkyWay has papers thatbeganwiththeGaia says. Ifconfirmed,thediscovery analyses. Theirsuccessandothers’, attended theGaia Sprint,theymight and Belokurovsaythathadtheynot establish itselfasanewglobalnexus and conferencesinthefutureto could helpastronomersdescribe been bullyingtheclouds,pushing not havebeenabletoperformthese for computationalastronomy. Bovy the MilkyWay. the hot,gassyhalothatenvelops their gasesaround,”Belokurov Hogg says,gothimthinkingabout first Gaia Sprintshowsthatweare.” scientific community. “We wantCCA to beaplaceofdoers,”hesays.“The the roleCCAmightplayin An artist’s rendering of theGaia spacecraft. Launched in2013, Gaia precise measurements of more the galaxy. Copyright European than 1billionstars intheMilky Way, enablingmyriadnew inquiries Space Agency. into thephysics andevolution of is sendingback to extremely Earth 12 COLLABORATIONS AND FUNDING SIMONS FOUNDATION COLLABORATIONS “We weregettingadvicefromsomereallythoughtful This investigationintocognition’s ‘blackbox’ ismade Because ofthis“powertoconvene,”thediscussions It wasthecollaborationthatbegatmorecollaborations: distinguished scientist.“Thegoalistounderstandthe of thebrainincoordinatedpatternstoproducenotjust Global Brain(SCGB).Theterm‘global brain’ referstothe One ofthefirstinitiativestoemergefromconvention on theuniquewaysthatscientistsanddiscovery-driven disciplines suchasphysics,biology, mathematicsand Nearly twodozeneminentscientistsgatheredtogetherat people —that’s thepowertoconvene.” possible bynewtechnologiesthat allowresearchers external stimuli,”saysGerald Fischbach, thefoundation’s and physicalaction,butalso“decisions, perceptions, externally observableprocessessuchassensoryreception are nowcomingintotheirownandservetoshedlight and brainresearch.Thefirstcollaborationstolaunch ambitious programscalledSimons Collaborations—10 at Buttermilk Falls servedasthegenesisofahost advance certainareasofscience,”Jim Simons recalls. coding anddynamicsofneuronsduringsuchinternal collaboration insuchprojectsmightbeausefulwayto computer science—toswapideasabouthowtake had invitedtheresearchers—allgroundbreakersin mental states.Whathappenswhen you’re justthinking?” memories —thingsthatdon’t dependonnecessary neuronal processesthatcascadeacrossdifferent regions in Buttermilk Falls wastheSimons Collaborationonthe investigators collaborate. months oryears.“Ithoughtlarge-scale,goal-driven might unfurloverthecourseofdecades,ratherthan identifying ambitious,cross-disciplinaryprojectsthat research tothenextlevel.Theywerechargedwith to date—inmathematics,physicalsciences,lifesciences the foundation’s supportforpath-findingbasicscience two daysofintensivediscussion.TheSimons Foundation the Buttermilk Falls InninMilton,NewYork, in2012for to observebrainbehaviorattheso-called ‘mesoscopic SIMONS “We couldjusttakethesameamountofmoneyand Although thesecollaborationshave notbeenrunningfor Unlike experimentalphysicists,whocancoalesceby Theory alsotakescenterstageinthesevencollaborations otherwise beworkingtogether.” of creativeworkdonejointlybypeople whowouldnot domains isanexperiment:adifferent modeofworking Fischbach says.“But that’s notthecasehere.”Building But beneathSCGB’sadvancedmethodsliesabrandof Glass Problem,”theoreticiansnowcultivatefruitful or thousandsofindividualneuronssimultaneously. Millis, thefoundation’s associatedirectorforphysics.But and notrequirethemtotalkeachotheronaregular simply giveitasdirectgrantstoeachoftheindividuals, your theoryofwhat’s goingon.” without directhelpfromotherpeople,”saysAndrew world, theexperimentalistssticktotheirexperiment scale’ —effectively measuringtheactivityofhundreds as “TheNon-Perturbative Bootstrap,”“SpecialHolonomy and don’t thinkmuchaboutthemathematicsinvolved,” grant isawardedjointlytoapairofinvestigators:one connections withoneanotherbysharingtheirworkand certain neuralsystemsatthisscale,you’ve gottodescribe collaboration thatisequallyrevolutionary. EachSCGB long, theindicationslookgood:We havelotsofexamples hosted bytheMathematics &PhysicalSciencesdivision. how you’re goingtoanalyzethedatabeyondsimple basis,” saysMillis.“But whatwe’re doinginthese in Geometry, AnalysisandPhysics” and“Cracking the in newandcolorfullynamedSimons Collaborations such number crunching,”Fischbach says.“You haveto instrument (thinkCERN’sLargeHadron Collider), is essentialtoSCGB’ssuccess.“Ifyouwantrecord in thisunusualcollaborationatthefoundationallevel that wehopewillproducenewandbetterscience. their ideasatregularcollaborationmeetings. theoreticians “can domostoftheirday-to-daywork the hundredsaroundasingle,immenselyexpensive theorist andoneexperimentalist.“Intherestof are shown interconnected by lines Collaboration ontheGlobal Brain they have worked ontogether. that represent papers orprojects Scientists intheSimons Life (SCOL),whichsynthesizes on earlyEarthtalktoastronomers other —whomighthavetrouble Collaboration ontheOriginsof disciplines freelyintheSimons division, experimentalistscross Meanwhile, intheLifeSciences who thinkaboutwhatmolecules wouldn’t normallyeventalktoeach and directoroflifesciencesatthe even understandingthescience stubborn mysteries.“We create attempt tosolveoneofEarth’s most lab,” saysMarian Carlson, geneticist might havebeenbroughthere reactions thatcouldhaveoccurred foundation. “Chemistswhoare interactions amongpeoplewho multiple scientificspecialtiesinan trying tounderstandchemical that’s beingdone in eachother’s Yet evenin2017,sometimesadose ocean microbiologyatmultiple Ocean, northofHawai’i. SCOPE deep watercolumninthePacific Collaboration onOceanProcesses of 19th-century-styleexpeditionary different levelofbroadeningone’s fieldwork isnecessarytomovethe seaborne dronesplayanimportant although computersimulationand scales oftimeandspace.And aims tocomprehensivelymodel and Ecology(SCOPE)provides,in sciences. That’s what theSimons scientific perspective.” remote sensingfromsatellitesand needle onotherquestionsinthelife from space.It’s justawhole to StationALOHA,a4-kilometer- the formofrepeatedresearchcruises “you stillhavetoactuallygooutthere 10 years—butwe’ll probablyhave But foralloftheirvariedformats, of theseambitiousformsscientific advanced thesubjectsafairamount says. “Idoubtthatwe’ll knowall getting expertstoconvene,”Simons good scientists.” adventurers inadditiontobeing experiments onamovingship.You are incrediblyhardconditions,doing and look,”Carlson says.“And these collaboration functioninessentially lab bench.Thesepeopleareamazing have toboltyourmicroscopethe role intakingmeasurements, in theprocess.” fellow discoverers.“We’re goodat the answerstothesequestionsin the sameway: bygettingadvice from 14 COLLABORATIONS AND FUNDING SIMONS FOUNDATION CAREER SCIENTISTS FUNDING EARLY- “I wouldbeentirelyoutsidemycomfortzone,andhavetolearneverythingfromscratch,”shesays. “Young peopleoften havethemostinnovativeideas,”saysMarian Carlson, theSimons Foundation’s directoroflife “Early-career scientistsrepresent thefutureofscienceinthiscountryandworld,”Carlson says.“Ifwedon’t enable — atopicsheenjoyed,butonecouldn’t seeherselfpursuinglongterm.Shehadrecentlytakenanintensivetwo- As Yunji Wu DavenportwasfinishingupherPh.D.atthe California Instituteof Technology in2015,shedecideditwas Award andtheSimons Investigators intheMathematical Modelingof LivingSystemsfellowships—somearein While someoftheseprogramsaresoloefforts bythefoundation—forexample,SFARIBridgetoIndependence Through itsearly-careerawards,aswithotherprograms,thefoundation triestofillgapsinfederalfunding—by Research. Daringly, she“simplywrotedowntheprojectandideasthatmostexcitedme,withoutmuchregardforwhat Davenport decidedtoapplyforapostdoctoralfellowshipoffered bytheJane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Davenport’s three-year fellowshipisoneofseveraltypesawardstheSimons Foundation offers to supportscientists Gates Foundation, theLifeSciencesResearchFoundation andtheEstherA. &JosephKlingensteinFund. Combining of atenure-trackfacultyappointment.Theseyears—inwhichscientistmustdefineresearchprogramandthen sciences, notingalsothatearly-careergrantsrequirelessmoneytoleveragemuchgreaterfuturepayoff. would befundableorpopular,” shesays.“IdecidedthattryingtodotheresearchIreallywantedwasworth supported bytheSimons Foundation toencouragemorepeoplemoveintothatfieldofresearch—andthesubject supporting internationalscholars,researchprojectsthataretoorisky tosecuregovernmentsupport,andimportant gradually takeontheresponsibilitiesofafacultymember—areamongmostvulnerableinscientist’s career, but and Evolution Awards coverascientificfieldthat,despiteitsimportanceforunderstandingtheenvironment, receives collaboration withotherphilanthropies,includingtheHowardHughes Medical Institute (HHMI),theBill&Melinda had capturedherimagination.Davenportwantedtochangeresearchfocus,buttheprospectwasintimidating. little fundingfromthefederalgovernmentorotherphilanthropies, andsoisparticularlydifficult forearly-career month courseonmicrobialdiversityattheMarine BiologicalLaboratoryinWoods Hole,Massachusetts —aprogram but underfundedareasofscience,forexample.TheSimons EarlyCareer InvestigatorinMarine MicrobialEcology resources allowstheseorganizations’ awardsprogramstoreachevenmoreoutstanding researchers,Carlson says. in theearlystagesoftheircareers,fromfirstpostdoctoralpositionthrough,somecases,eightyears microbial smallmolecules. risk offailure.”Davenport’s passionforhersubjectcameacross:Shewasawardeda three-yearfellowshipsponsoredby researchers tobreakinto. time tofaceupseveralyears’ worthofsoulsearching.DavenporthadbeenstudyingHIVantibodiesandantigens they canalsobeamongthemostexciting. the Simons Foundation andisnowatHarvard University, wheresheisstudyingthediscoveryandcharacterizationof them tolaunchtheircareerssuccessfully, we’ll justmissoutonagenerationof scientists.” “SFARI isknownforbringing — aresimplyrequiredtospendat The primarygoalofmanythese The Faculty Scholarsprogram“will Foundation alongwithHHMIand For instance,Faculty Scholars— demands ofgrantees,manySimons doing research. In autismresearch,wherethe designed tohelpseniorpostdoctoral Other awardsfocusonhelping developed tohelpsustainthenext programs imposefewrestrictions. whatever itistheydobest.So,unlike scientists thetimeandspacetodo awards istogiveearly-career provide thesescientistswithmuch- who arefundedbyaprogram program: tolearntakeonstudents postdoctoral positionandatenure- perilous watersbetweenamentored president andchiefscientificofficer. young investigatorstrugglingtoget says DavidClapham,HHMI’svice everything going.” grant. “That’s alotoftimefor says, andtheymustoften write established scientistsatcompeting scientists arelessproficientthan and trainpostdocsbeginto a lotofeffort tolaunchyourown early-career scientistsnavigatethe scientist. “And theBTI awardwas says AliceLuo Clayton,SFARIsenior can followtheirbestresearchideas,” generation ofthesescientistsinthe least halfoftheirprofessionaltime launched in2016bytheSimons research grantsthatmakespecific been decreasingevenasinterestin by fundingoutstandingsenior needed flexibleresources,sothey number oftenure-trackpositionshas many applicationstoreceivea for largeresearchawards,she investigators fromotherdisciplines,” new bloodintotheautismfield fellows advancetofacultypositions. Bridging theGulf the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation to Independence(BTI) Award is the fieldgrows,SFARIBridge teach,” Carlson says.Early-career track facultyappointment.“Ittakes Understanding thecompetitive The awardallowedherto semi-annual gatherings of SFARI Investigators. (second from right) at the April2016SFARI Science I wasinterviewingforpositions,” Independence Award mademea Nebraska, wheresheisnowstudying deal considerablyforaninstitution meeting. SFARI customarily invites finalists to its Nowakowski (secondfrom left) andRui Peixoto Bridge to Independence Award finalists Tomasz program: Awardees whoarehired she soonenlistedtwotechnicians she says. autism andcancer. “TheBridgeto genetic driversthatarecommonto at Creighton UniversityinOmaha, support overthefirstthreeyearsof as facultyarepromisedgenerous added auniquefeaturetoitsaward a criticaljunctureintheircareer.” autism field,byprovidingsupportat credits theawardwithhelpingher considering ahire.HollyStessman immediately setupherlab,where more competitivecandidatewhen faculty-hiring landscape,SFARI two completelydifferent diseases: to winanassistantprofessorship their appointment,sweeteningthe As forDavenport,whosummoned during thefirstfewyearsofmy field lendsitselftoalotofsecond- provided oneotherkeybenefit: paths after herPh.D.,receiving pursue morecomplexexperiments validation ofherleapintothe support willenableher, shesays,“to and anundergraduatestudent.This and ithasgivenmetheconfidence guessing,” shesays.“Receiving career, insteadofhavingtowaitfor unknown. “Movingintoanew up thecouragetoswitchresearch increasingly independentscientist.” my newposition.” my firstawardtolandafter starting to continuetakingrisksasan to putmoretrustinmyinstincts, the JCCfellowshiphasallowedme the Jane Coffin Childsfellowship 16 COLLABORATIONS AND FUNDING SIMONS FOUNDATION SIMONS SOCIETY “Imagine color-coding thestarsbyamountof When Keith Hawkins finisheshisthree-yearstintasa Society ofFellows seniorfellow, saystheprogramwas Hawkins says.He addsthattheSimons fellowship European SpaceAgency’s Gaia spacecraft isstartingto Previously, datatodothistypeofmappinghas Gerald D.Fischbach, thefoundation’s first Simons onto thedomeapictureofMilkyWay thatnoonehas Museum ofNaturalHistory inNewYork Cityandproject pursue innovative researchideas.“Thisisatime that potentially eventhegeneralpublic,whichiswhyhe provide spectroscopicdataonmany, manymorestars, pop outimmediately. That’s whatwecallchemical seen before:oneinwhicheachpointofstarlightwould share hiswork. about communicatinghisworktootherscientistsand an ambitiousprojectasmakingalarge-scalechemical gives himthefreedominhisresearchtopursuesuch around beingabletodogalacticchemicalcartographyfor globs ofstarswithtonsmagnesium,theywilljust cartography,” saysHawkins, apostdoctoralresearcher be color-coded byitschemistry. been limitedtoafewthousandstars.However, the founded in2014tofosteryoung scientists’ ability to is consideringtheHayden Planetariumasaplace to map oftheMilkyWay. Italsohasforcedhimtothink research programhereasaSimons fellowis designed in astronomyatColumbiaUniversity. “Myentire magnesium presentintheiratmospheres.Ifthereare junior fellowintheSimons SocietyofFellows, hewants to walkintotheHayden PlanetariumattheAmerican the firsttime.” OF FELLOWS “One benefitofthisfellowshipprogramisthatthejunior To continue toimprovetheirabilityspeakeach Bringing togetherthisdiversegroupofyoungand other abouttheir work,thejuniorfellowsestablished a of yourscience.Thisshapeshowyouspeakabout New York, withitsoutstandingacademicinstitutions,as professor ofpathologyandcellbiology, neuroscience veteran scientistsinspireseveryonetoworkon a waythatmakesitmoreaccessible.” and thisfellowshiphelpsyoutothink aboutyourworkin am interestedinisimprovingscience literacyintheU.S., science canunderstand,”Hawkins says.“SomethingI work inawaythatthosewhoaren’t formallytrainedin science withotherscientists,andalsomaybeframeyour work andencouragesyoutobeabletalkaboutyour years topursuetheirideaswithouthavingworry and lifescience,astronomy. ‘Neverthethreeshall areas ofscience:physicsandmathematics,neuroscience and ophthalmicscienceatColumbiaUniversity. “With a campusofitsown,”saysseniorfellowCarol Mason, and seniorfellowsareinthecity, soyoucanenvision about fundingorajobsearchatthesametime.”The communicating theirresearchtoothers.“You’re forced centers inNewYork City. beginning andmoreseasonedindividualsfromdifferent meet,’ usually,” Mason says. interactions acrossdisciplinesandresearch fellowship isalsodesignedtoencourageintellectual fellowship givesthesescientiststhreeuninterrupted is verycriticalforayounginvestigator,” hesays.“The to interactwithpeoplewhodon’t knowthetechnicalities this ‘city campus,’thefellowshipprogrambringstogether

University’s CourantInstituteof The juniorfellowsarechosenfor I havepersonallyfoundtheshort of theseniorfellowsgive10-minute It isathree-yearprogram,and of thefellowship,sheexplains. Mathematical Sciences. Mason says.“Theypropose,and people areresearchingfromour postdoctoral researcheratNewYork weekly dinners.“Whilewegeta six oftheyoungscientistsandone symposium series,inwhichfiveor projects comesfromthestructure questions. Duringthesetalks,the young researcherscallthejunior scientists whorecommendthese accessible manner, andforpushing articulating theirresearchinan conversations attheweeklydinners, about 10fellowschoseneach exceptionally selective,withonly execute, innovativeresearchthat has thepotentialtochangetheir reasonably goodideaaboutwhat into theirworkthantheydoat in arelaxedsettingbutgodeeper fellows candiscusstheirresearch fellow BenjaminHarrop-Griffiths, a in-depth understanding,”saysjunior respective fields.” Such ability fellows pioneering,andit’s true,” talks ontheirresearchandtake their respectivefields.“Thesenior the envelopeofknowledgein talks tobeagreatwaygainmore to pursuecutting-edgeresearch That canbehardtodowhenyou The opportunitytotakesuchrisks Leistedt andHawkins alsosay Mason says. problems withambitiousprojects. postdoctoral researcherincosmology what academicpositionstheywere proposal thatishigh-risk,especially a jobapplication.” are applyingforfellowshipsand says juniorfellowBorisLeistedt,a young researcherscandothis,” year. With fellowshipsgivenby a reputationandcareer, youhave astronomy, thesedaysthejobmarket at NewYork University. “In competitive onthejobmarket, as thepoolofmoneyshrinks.“Here, fellows becausetheyoffer insight maybe somethingtoocrazytoputon risks andtheytriedsomethingcrazy, major advancesbecausetheytook in atthetime,youseetheymade record ofwhodiscoveredwhatand idea. Whenyoulookatthetrack not necessarilytakeonasupervisor’s independence todoyourownproject, is forthreeyearsandyouhavethe nice aboutthisfellowshipisthatit is essentialformakingthemselves is verydifficult. Ifyouwanttobuild it’s hardertoobtainfundingfora jobs everyyear,” hesays.“What’s that theyenjoymeetingthesenior to takerisksandsolvedifficult the NationalInstitutesofHealth, “We alsogetinsightintowhatthese You getverydifferent ideasabout Hawkins sayshealsoappreciates of birdfeathersorbiogenetics,”he doing andlearnaboutthephysics distinct initshistoryandculture.” different fieldswerelikeinthe1970s world thanastronomy. It’s nicetobe says. “Many aredoingworkthatmay with theseniorfellowsisunique. searching forinnewtenure-track astronomy anditsabilitytoadvance share withotherstheexcitementof and highlytechnical,soit’s niceto significantly moreaboutthescience astronomy fellowship.Itwouldbe and 1980s.Beingabletointeract looking fornow?’”Hawkins says. hiring now, whatwouldyoube human knowledge.” have amoredirectimpactonthe hear aboutwhattheotherfellowsare kind ofcommunityinaprestigious recruits. “We canask,‘Ifyouwere into whathiringcommitteesare reminded ofthatandalsobeableto fellowship. “You wouldn’t havethis the communityaspectof the different fieldsbecauseeachis A total of 27fellows attended thefour-day retreat inBalHarbour, Florida, inApril 2016. Simons Society of Fellows 18 MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES SIMONS FOUNDATION — forhintsaboutwhattheuniverselookedlikeinits ‘baby picture’ oftheuniverse. Yet inthissnapshot,the‘baby’ isalreadyabout380,000 380,000 years,andcosmologistswouldliketoknow The SimonsArray willintegrate more than22,000detectors operating infour frequency bandsat oneof the For morethan50 years,scientistshaveprobedthecosmic No lightreachesusfrombeforethat time,butatheory meters elevation. world’s premier cosmological observinglocations: Chile, of theAtacama northern Desert which liesat 5,200 precisely what. years old,becausebeforethattimetheuniversewasa escape. Alothappenedintheuniversethosefirst signature onthecosmicmicrowave background.And earliest momentsoftheuniverse haveleft adistinctive called ‘cosmic inflation’ suggeststhateventsfromthe cosmologists thattheBigBangtheorywascorrect,andit comes atusfromalldirections,iswhatfirstconvinced hot, opaqueplasmathatdidnotallowanyphotonsto has sinceallowedthemtocapturewhatbeencalleda now, twoteamsofcosmologistsarejoiningforcesto infancy. Theexistenceofthiscosmicradiation,which microwave background—theafterglow oftheBigBang OBSERVATORY SIMONS “With this collaboration,weareproposingtodo University. “We aretakingthesearchforsignalsof University, whohasledtheACT projectalongwith The theoryofcosmicinflationproposes that Simons Foundation’s FlatironInstituteandofPrinceton of asecondafter theBigBang,universeunderwent Page ofPrincetonUniversity, andDavidSpergelofthe Chile’s Atacama Desert.Theinitiativewillmergeand Observatory, anewastronomyfacilityunderwayin Mark DevlinoftheUniversityPennsylvania, Lyman an exponentiallyfastexpansion.If thatdidindeed approximately atrillionthof ofatrillionth something grand,”saysSuzanne StaggsofPrinceton with theaimofbringingcosmicmicrowavebackground cosmic inflationtoanentirelynew scale.” experiments tothenextlevel. and theAtacama CosmologyTelescope (ACT)project, expand twopreviousprojects,knownasPOLARBEAR try toreadthissignature,bymeansoftheSimons The first of three SimonsArray 2012. In2018, itwillbeequipped University; andtheLawrence The Simons Observatoryaimsto That projectcouldeventuallyhave The effort willhelpsetthestagefor coupled bolometer arrays to contamination from images. San Diego;theUniversityof Foundation, with afive-yeargrant Foundation andtheHeising-Simons Department ofEnergyandthe Pennsylvania; theUniversityof occur, tinygravitationalwavesthat National ScienceFoundation. Berkeley NationalLaboratory. Itaims California, Berkeley; Princeton measure thecosmicmicrowave neutrinos andremove foreground with advanced ‘sinuous’ antenna- primordial gravitationalwaves patterns bigenoughtopotentially patterns inthecosmicmicrowave B-mode polarization, constrain would inturnhavestretchedand extremely faintsignals. sensitive enoughtopickuptheir project operatingtoday. telescopes, inoperation since gotten stretchedintowaveswith arose outofquantumfluctuations create justsuchaninstrument.The still initsconceptualstage,that an evenlargerresearchinitiative, the properties of ghostly cosmic condensed space,creatingswirling about 10timesasmanyanyother as 50,000light-collectingdetectors, background’s large-scale be detected,byaninstrument background knownasB-modes— initiative isfundedbytheSimons macroscopic wavelengths.These in theearlyuniverseshouldhave may besponsoredbytheU.S. to theUniversityofCalifornia, that willbeequippedwithasmany to constructseveralnewtelescopes “might evenbethefirst,andonly, Alternatively, ifB-modesarenot University ofCalifornia, Berkeley. of ghostlyelementaryparticlescalled For instance,they couldhelp Data fromtheSimons Observatory data possibletosupportoroverturn of theprojectistocollectbest observed, theSimons Observatory of theSimons Observatory. Keating California, SanDiego,anddirector Detecting B-modeswouldprovide open problemsincosmology. deeper understandingoftheearliest operating onmultipletelescopesat physicists,” saysBrianKeating, a waves, perhapsweakeningthe would putastringentlimitonthe says, thedatacouldleadtoamuch gravity —asortofholygrailfor experimental evidenceforquantum strong supportforthetheoryof amplitude ofprimordialgravitational cosmologists determinethemasses ground-based observatoriesaround as many500,000detectors case forcosmicinflation.Thegoal cosmologist attheUniversityof cosmic inflation.Theirdetection has alsoledthePOLARBEARproject, neutrinos, andprovidenewinsights inflation, Spergelsays.Eitherway, he may alsohelpresolvemanyother moments oftheuniverse. the currentconceptionofcosmic together withAdrian Leeofthe the world. “There’s acomingtogetheroffairly The collaborationischanging The POLARBEARandACTteams detector technologiesanddata people,” Staggssays.“Graduate personally aboutthisworkiswhat especially forthenewlymintedor students, post-docsandyoung we willdiscoverbeyondprimordial and theyarenowsharingwisdom. analysis techniques,Staggssays, are currentlyworkingtogether gravitational waves,”Staggssays. how goodtheyareatleading.” now haveanopportunitytoshow not-yet-tenured researchers.They roles inthisproject,whichisgreat, faculty aretakingonsignificant background researchinotherways, big personalities,whicharereally melding well,”shesays. matter andenergy. “Whatexcitesme into theformationofstructurein too. “We’re involvingatonofyoung the cultureofcosmicmicrowave teams havepreviouslyuseddifferent telescopes anddetectors.Thetwo to designasetofstate-of-the-art the universeandnatureofdark black hole. To tackle the problem, Kitaev is also pursuing one of at a quantum scale. “I just hope Kitaev is studying a ‘toy model,’ a the holy grails of physics: how to that studying models of black holes simplified system of assumptions quantize gravity. Many researchers where both quantum mechanics and equations that makes the have looked to string theory as a and gravity play important roles will SIMONS question more tractable by paring potential solution to the problem, eventually help to construct a more down the number of dimensions but once again, Kitaev is hoping that general theory,” he says. studied. “I started from scratch by studying simpler models he may and looked for the simplest model be able to obtain insights that can be possible,” he says. leveraged toward a more complete INVESTIGATOR: understanding of how gravity works ALEXEI KITAEV One of Kitaev’s models: spins with a particular designed set of interactions may form a topologically non-trivial state.

τ 푥 τ 푥 τ 𝑧 𝑦 𝑧 Simons Investigator Alexei Kitaev’s work has decisively disrupted by environmental changes. Kitaev introduced τ τ τ e 𝑧 𝑦 𝑧 influenced many areas of quantum and condensed- theoretical models with topologically protected degrees of τ τ matter physics. Kitaev is Ronald and Maxine Linde freedom and showed that these models can be organized 𝑦 Professor of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics at into a universal quantum computer capable, in principle, τ 푥 τ 푥 τ 푥 τ 푥 20 the California Institute of Technology and has been of performing all needed operations. His models also τ τ 𝑦 𝑧 𝑦 e a Simons Investigator since 2015. He was awarded a provide key suggestions for creating physically realizable τ τ τ 𝑦 𝑧 𝑦 MacArthur ‘genius’ fellowship in 2008, a Fundamental systems. Although current technology does not yet τ Physics Prize in 2012, the Dirac Medal in 2015 and the enable a quantum laptop, Kitaev’s ideas are a key part 푥 2017 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, which of the basis for a worldwide effort to realize quantum τ 푥 τ 푥 e2 he shares with Massachusetts Institute of Technology computation and topological data storage. τ 𝑧 𝑦 𝑧 physicist Xiao-Gang Wen. τ τ τ 𝑧 𝑦 𝑧 Insatiably curious, Kitaev has now shifted his research τ τ Kitaev’s most widely known work — for which he from quantum computing to questions about black e1 was awarded the Buckley Prize — is credited with kick- holes and quantum gravity. One of the questions he is τ 푥 τ 푥 τ 푥 τ 푥 starting the field of topological quantum computation. tackling is related to the black hole information paradox: τ τ 𝑦 𝑧 𝑦

SIMONS FOUNDATION A topological property is a global feature of a surface or Is information permanently destroyed when matter falls τ τ τ space that is not changed by smooth deformations. For into a black hole? The standard theory of black holes 𝑦 𝑧 𝑦 e τ 3 example, if you have a sheet of dough with holes in it, the suggests that the answer is yes, but the standard theory number of holes does not change if you bend or twist the of quantum mechanics predicts otherwise. Several years τ 푥 τ 푥 dough without tearing or breaking it. ago, Ahmed Almheiri, Donald Marolf, Joseph Polchinski τ and James Sully sharpened the question to one having 𝑧 𝑦 τ τ It has been known for decades that topological to do with the fate of an observer who crosses the event 𝑧 𝑦 τ properties are important in physics; last November’s horizon of a black hole. Do they sail through as though Nobel Prize was awarded for work along these lines. nothing has happened, or do they abruptly encounter a Kitaev’s contribution was to extend those properties to so-called firewall? quantum systems: specifically, he found that topological invariants of quantum mechanical wave functions “I’m not sure if the question has a solution,” Kitaev says. e e e can be used to encode information (‘qubits’) in a “There may be no consistent picture.” Even understanding quantum computer, and that the topological nature whether there is a solution would require wrangling with = 푥 cos 0 + 𝑦 sin 0 MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND PHYSICAL MATHEMATICS of the properties means that the qubits cannot be entanglement between entities inside and outside the 훶 훶 훶 {0훶} = {0,2π/3, 4π/3} 22 LIFE SCIENCES SIMONS FOUNDATION “We setuptoexplicitlytestsomeoftheassumptions “We wereontheedgeofgyres,”saysArmbrust, Armbrust andAngelicqueWhite,workedtotestthe Technology. TheDarwinProject—fundedbythe The physicalandgeochemicalcomponents oftheocean Subtropical Gyre withthesubpolargyre,andmarine Simons Foundation, theGordonandBettyMoore Ecology (SCOPE)Investigators.Follows isaprofessor From lateApril toearlyMay, oceanographersonboard Steaming northfromitsoperationalbaseinHonolulu, Foundation, the NationalScienceFoundation and ocean circulation,biogeochemistryandtheassociated NASA —workstodevelopalarge-scaleglobalmodel Merge modelswithfieldobservations,warmwater picocyanobacteria ProchlorococcuswithSynechococcus— principal investigatoroftheGradients program. productive watersofthesubpolargyre.Themost cold, low-nutrientwaterswithhigh,theNorthPacific and theresultis2016Gradients Cruise. simulations forthemodelhavebeen aroundsincethe ecosystem modelalongthetransitionbetween and predictionsthatcomeoutoftheDarwinProject communities ofplankton. component. “[Themodel]iscontinually evolving,sothe latest oceanecosystemsmodelfromMickFollows. All been developing,extendingandadvancing theecological in themarinebiogeochemicalmodelinggroupcalled mid-1990s. Overthelast10years, Follows’ grouphas interesting locationforthescientists,however, wasthe nutrient-sparse subtropicalgyreandintothecooler, mathematical modelers,traveledoutofthewarmer, for marinemicrobialcommunitiesbasedonmodelsof the DarwinProjectatMassachusetts Institute of three areSimons CollaborationonOceanProcesses and the researchvesselKa`imikai-O-Kanaloa,ledbyGinger two gyres.” transition zone,wherethetwogyrescometogether. the ship,withitsmixedteamofexperimentalistsand GRADIENTS CRUISE “We anticipatedadeclineofProchlorococcusandan “When youbringthosewaterstogether, youhavethe “However, asthecruisecontinued northwards,the Yet infact,althoughthemodelaccuratelypredicted Armbrust says. Synechococcus populationdeclinedandProchlorococcus The datacollectedonthecruisehaveprovidedFollows distinct ecosystem.(Water massesareoften characterized organisms. Thesubtropicalgyrelacksnitrogen,whereas optimum nutrientratiothatwillallowforenhanced during theexpedition,severalsurprisesarose. Most unexpectedwasaresurgenceofthesubtropical productivity —measuredbyanincreaseinmicrobial predictions usedforGradients werebasedonourmost productivity,” Armbrustexplains. which microorganismscansurvivethereandhowlarge and mixedinaratiocompatiblewiththedemandsof and histeamwithmuchinformationtomodify allows amorediverseandproductivesystem. cyanobacteria Prochlorococcusafter theshipcrossed same whentheshipsailedbackthroughtransition cells —acrossthetransitionbetweengyreswhereiron, limitations onthemicrobialpopulationsandpotentially by theirmostlimitingnutrient,asitusuallydetermines increase ofSynechococcusasweapproachedthetransition into thetransitionzone. nitrogen compoundsandothernutrientsaredelivered improve themodel.Theteamexpectedtoseeenhanced recent iterationjustpriortothecruise,”hesays. many ofthebig-pictureecosystemchangesseen not justtransientfeatures—these arerealfeatures,” rallied, becomingabundantagain.”Theresultswerethe zone fromthesouth,whichwesee,”saysFollows. zone, indicatingthatthedataare “reallyreproducible, the subpolarisshortofiron:Each,therefore,hasa that populationcangrow.) Amixedsystemreducesthe Syn isthattheshipencountereda Synechococcus-dominated waters. The mostlikelyexplanationforthe Follows says.“This resurgenceis But althoughthemodelcannot Refining themodelmeans dramatic changesinthemodeled of picoplanktonand,specifically, other tweakssuchasreclassifying Overall, themodelpredictedlarge- fine-scale oceancirculationthatled predicted bythemodelsimulations, predicting aspecificindividual predation bygrazersinthemodel phytoplankton andthelackof picoeukaryotes observed.Itcould within thetransitionzone,itmight simulate thespecificdetailsof all ofthefine-scaledetails standing orrecurringfeatureof water massmayalsobealong- within thetransitionzone.This water thathadmaintainedstructure an eventthatmightbeexpected circulation,” Follows says. and modeledorganisms,mayhelp a changetothemodel,alongwith case isnotpossible.” elemental compositionofparticulate size structureofparticlesandthe view ofwhattoexpectasthe shift betweenProchlorococcus-and also helppredictthepronounced community compositionalongthe also gaveaqualitativelyaccurate scale ecosystemchangeswell;it likelihood ofsucheventsoccurring, low abundanceofmodeled be abletocapturethestatistical nor couldweexpectittopredict region. “Thisspecificdetailwasnot better predicttheabundances remnant oraneddyofsubtropical resurgence ofProandadeclinein is, insomesense,toostrong.”Such rethinking somebaseassumptions, matter. “Iwaspleasantlysurprised,” the recentoceancirculationin to occurfromtimetime,but to theresurgenceinProchlorococcus the relationshipsbetweenobserved transect bothsuggesttomethat too high,”Follows says.“The too. “Isuspectdeathratesare For Follows, thesuccessof Follows says.“Thesearerelatively on themodelingside.” determining howtoimprovethe Gradients Cruise comesfrom ocean carboncycle.” a closerrelationshipbetween and unusualtoworkcloselywith efforts tomodelandunderstandthe believe, isveryfruitful.Ifeelthatit is stimulatingmorerapidprogress modelers andempiricistswhich,I models. “Ithasbeenreallyfun framework andsignificantinour new aspectsofourmodeling latitude the empiricists—ithasdeveloped

10 20 30 40 50 -160 The research vessel Ka`imikai-O-Kanaloa traveled from Hawai'i, This image depicts thecourse of the2016Gradients Cruise. and back again. The colors shown correspond to seasurface Ribalet of theUniversity of Washington. temperature asmeasured by satellite. Courtesy of Francois in the North Pacificin the North Subtropical Gyre, gyre north to the subpolar -150 -140 longitude -130 -120 -110 16 23 31 8 0

Temp (Deg C) Synechococcus sp. strain WH8102, courtesy of Gazalah Sabehi, Lihi Shaulov, Amnon Harel and Debbie Lindell, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. This cell is about to finish dividing into two cells.

Prochlorococcus sp. strain MED4, courtesy of Sarit Avrani, Lihi Shaulov and Debbie Lindell, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. This is a cell that appears to have just finished dividing into two cells. SIMONS COLLABORATION ON 26 SIMONS FOUNDATION THE GLOBAL BRAIN COLLABORATION What motivatesustotrainforamarathon?Howdowe (SCGB), launchedin2014,exploresthesequestionsby The SCGBwasmadepossiblebyarecenttechnological SCGB investigatorsareemploying thesetoolstodecipher decide betweenchocolatecakeandapplepie?Andwhat of neuronsatsingle-cellresolutionusingvarious produce ourthoughtsandactions. Theywillexplorehow play incognition. powerful computationalandmodelingtechniques.The pairing newtechnologiesformonitoringthebrainwith workings ofthebrainhavetraditionallybeendifficult and onwithlight—thentesttherolethoseneurons are geneticallyengineeredsothattheymaybeturnedoff activity withoptogenetics—amethodbywhichneurons arrays totrackelectricalchangesandmoleculartools and anexecutivecommittee,supportsinteractive community of73scientists. collaboration, ledbyDavidTank ofPrinceton University history, researcherscanmonitor theactivityofthousands neurons usetocommunicate— change overtimeto role doourmemoriesplayinsuchchoices?Theseinner neuron activity. Scientistscan also manipulateneuronal innovative sensors.Theseincludehigh-densityelectrode revolution inneuroscience:For thefirsttimeinfield’s to examinehowsuchneuralcodes —thelanguagethat the electricalandchemicalactivity ofneuralcircuitsand to study. TheSimons CollaborationontheGlobalBrain to assaycalciumconcentration,anindirectmeasureof GLOBAL BRAIN SIMONS ON THE “The individualprojectsarediverse, dealingwithmemory, Today, thegreatmajorityofSCGBawardsinclude Because thescientistsalsoneednewmathematical dynamic patternsofactivityrecallamemory, imaginethe decisions, judgmentsandotherinternal mentalstates, California Institute ofTechnology andSCGBinvestigator. other talk,”saysMarkus Meister, aneuroscientistatthe data beinggenerated,theSCGBfundscollaborations projects. Andtheysharedataasitemerges,”alevelof year, bothwithintheSCGBand beyond.“TheSCGBisa great catalystforbringingtogether mathematiciansand scientist andfellowatthefoundation. approaches tomakesenseofthehugevolumeneural stimulating neuralpopulationswiththemostpowerful collaborations haveemergedaswell.SCGBinvestigators collaborations, saysGerald D.Fischbach, distinguished between experimentalistsandtheoriststhatcombine neuroscientists inaseriousway— notjusttoheareach reported morethan50newlyformedcollaborationslast mechanistic understandingofbrainfunction. future orperformmentalarithmetic.With theanswers interaction thatmakestheSCGBdistinctfromother models andcomputationsthatimpacttheirindividual frequently todiscussexperimentalapproaches,theory, forms ofanalysisandmodeling.“Investigatorsmeet two ormoreinvestigators,butanumberofinformal to thesequestions,neuroscientistscanbeginbuilda the latestinnovativetechnologiesforrecordingand

— todefinealgorithmsbywhich These dots correspond to They foundthatiftheybriefly They discoveredthatthememory colors indicate that some During thetask,scientists (brighter colors) duringa Druckmann andSvobodadrewthis of anobjectforashortperiod. Campus inAshburn,Virginia, are For example,computational are less active (darker colors). memory task, whereas others neurons are highly active premotor cortex; thevarying Medical Institute’s Janelia Research populations ofactivenervecells working tounderstandhowthebrain silenced theneuralactivityonjust and righthemispheresofthebrain. short-term memory. appears tohaveabackupsystemfor system isdesignedwithredundancy says Fischbach. cortex, whichspansboththeleft conclusion bywatchingrodents and experimentalistKarelSvoboda, correspond tointernalmentalstates,” functioning neurons inthe holds information,suchasaphone backup memorysystems,thebrain but theyallshareacommongoal region knownasthepremotor recorded neuralactivityinabrain in mind:Just ascomputershave number, inshort-termmemory. both fromtheHowardHughes neuroscientist ShaulDruckmann trained torememberthelocation The rodents’ brains restoredonlythe Even moresignificantwasthe damage. Druckmannsaysthisis one side,theactivitypatterntied only onesidewhentheconnection of thepremotorcortex,orsilenced discovery thatthebrainseemsto published inNature,suggestthat study. “Itmeansthattheconceptof activity areresilientorresistantto essential componentsofneural engineers buildbackupsystems activity patternthatwasmosttightly select whichneuralactivitytoprotect. similar tothatwhichoccursunder and restoringactivitytoapattern can actasabackupcopyforshort- but notforthedispensableparts, between hemisphereswassevered, back, undoingthetemporaryfreeze into importantandnon-important for thecriticalpartsofamachine neural activityinonehemisphere normal conditions.However, if taking activityanddecomposingit the mostimportantoutcomeof the brainseemstoensurethat tied totheobject’s location.Just as to thatmemoryquicklybounced term memory. the memorywaslost.Thefindings, the scientistssilencedbothsides “The brainalsorespectsthisprinciple — itdoesn’t bothertocorrectthe The DruckmannandSvobodalabs want topushthepatternsaround parts thataren’t important.” parts isnotjustsomethingweas a bitandseehowtheyrearrange and todeterminewhetherchanging short-term memorymorespecifically, experiments, theyhopetoidentify even moreprecisely. Infuture are nowextendingthecutting-edge neural activitypatternsrelevantto themselves,” Druckmannsays. those patternsaltersbehavior. “We technology tosilenceneurons theoreticians liketodo,”hesays. SIMONS FOUNDATION AUTISM 28 SIMONS FOUNDATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE AUTISM RESEARCH “So 50,000familiesbecamethe goal forSPARK.” Wendy Chung,theinitiative’s principalinvestigator (Simons Foundation Powering Autism Researchfor The pastdecadehaswitnessedtheconfirmationof But between500and1,000genesarebelieved to SPARK’s missionismuchbroader thancreatinga Having geneticdatafrom50,000familiesshould bring Knowledge), aninitiativethatwillcollectbehavioral of genetic,biologicalandbehavioraldatafrommore one ofourbasicbeliefsisthatatrueunderstanding profiles andDNAsamplesfrom50,000familiesaffected such astheSimons Simplex Collection—arepository affected bythecondition.Sequencingstudiesofcohorts gene mutations—andthatthegenesresponsiblemay genes andseveralhundredmorecandidategenes. established morethan70high-confidenceautismrisk and unaffected parentsandsiblings—havealready and families.Allfamilieswhojoin SPARKagreetobe and SFARI’sdirectorofclinicalresearch.“At SFARI, catalog ofautismgenes.Theinitiative alsoaspiresto underlie thecondition,andresearchershavelong understanding thebiologicalmechanisms,”Chungsays. larger numberoffamilies.To tacklethis challenge, known thatuncoveringthemallwillrequireamuch has enrolledmorethan20,000individualswithautism. be discoveredbysequencinglargenumbersoffamilies idea thatautismisfrequentlycausedbyspontaneous by autismoverthenextfouryears.Already, theinitiative in April 2016SFARIannouncedthelaunchofSPARK foster amutuallybeneficialcommunity ofresearchers than 2,600familiesconsistingofonechildwithautism the geneticcausesofautismwillanchorusinterms terms ofcatalogingthegeneticcausesautism,says the autismresearchcommunitycloserto‘saturation’ in SPARKING “The challengesarenotthesameforeveryoneon “A researchercontactedmerecently, forexample,asking As researcherscarryoutstudiesontheSPARKcohort, The initiative’s leadershopethatthisrelationshipwilllay Families whoenrollinSPARKhavetheoptionofbeing Because ofitsheterogeneity—bothgeneticand will beabletoreturnresults5 to 10percentoffamilies phenotypic —autismhascometobeseennotasa grows, thatnumberwillincrease.” accounts fortheindividual’s autism.“We believethatwe spectrum, andthesupportstreatmentswon’t be single condition,butasmanyrelatedconditions. Building Partnerships people meetthecriteriafortheirstudies.” so SPARKcouldhelpovercomeoneofthebiggest and searchableonlinesoresearcherscanseehowmany scientific director. “SPARKwillmakethisdataavailable enrolled inSPARK,”saysPamela Feliciano, SPARK’s enough participantswhoareeligiblefortheirstudies. in thebeginning,”Feliciano says.“As ourknowledge informed iftheinitiativediscoversamutationthat hurdles individualautismresearchersface:recruiting notified ofopportunitiestoparticipateinfuturestudies, research communityforaverylongtime.” investment tocreateaninfrastructurefortheautism increasingly valuable,Chungsays.“Thisisalong-term me howmanyverbalchildrenbetween6and10are the sameeither,” Chungsays. the datatheyaddtocollectionwillmakeSPARK the foundationforautismresearchyearstocome.

As SPARKenrollsmoreand 50,000 families,SPARK’screators To enabletheinitiativetoscale The familieswillalsotellresearchers, Individuals canregisteronline SPARK notjustasaresearchcohort, Chung hopes,abouttheissuesthat Chung says.SPARK’swebinarsinits SPARK’s creatorswanttheinitiative Project, whichcurrentlyprovidesa of about50different geneticvariants first ninemonthsofoperationshave particular geneticsubtypesofautism participate infurtherresearch.Doing with sharedgeneticcausestoform so willallowresearcherstostudy with anyoneoftheknownautism grants to24clinicalsitesacross samples athome,whicharereturned and collectfamilymembers’ saliva and thenfilloutaquestionnaire she says. and familieswithautism.“We view are mostimportanttoindividuals attracted about1,800attendees. all thesedataforresearchers,but sure thatwe’re notjustkeeping we’re learning,wewanttomake webinars ontopicsrelatedtoautism, who participate,soinadditionto autism. Itwillalsoallowfamilies and, downtheroad,potentially genes, itwillidentifyindividuals and providesindividualizedfindings communities, potentiallythrough create customizedtreatmentsfor can cometogether. have triedtomakeiteasyjoin. families, theinitiativehasgiven but asapartnershipwithfamilies,” bring totheirhealthcareproviders risk geneswhocanbeaskedto families anddiscoversnewautism for eachchild,whichfamiliescan from thebehavioralquestionnaires families, theinitiativealsooffers returning geneticresultstosome forum inwhichfamilieswithany1 the countrythathostmajorautism to SPARKbymail.To recruit themselves atthesametime,” that thefamiliesarelearningabout to helpinformthechild’s care.“As to berewardingforthefamilies the Simons Variation inIndividuals SPARK’s investigatorsplantodo when combinedwiththeright variants thatdon’t necessarilycause genetic angles,”Chungsays. environmental triggers.“We hope autism individually, butthatmight autism, andgenotyping,whichwill saliva samples.Theseanalyseswill genomic analysesonparticipants’ and advocacygroups,whichare centers. SPARK’sleadershavealso highlight morecommongenetic help identifyraregenesthatcause helping togetthewordout. be responsibleforthecondition mix ofothergeneticvariantsor include bothsequencing,whichwill reached outtoautismcommunity that thisapproachwillcoverall The initiativeisgeneratingan So far, theinitiativehassequenced Chung says.“We’re allstartingto are SPARK from participants pictures andcommentaryunderthe Lake Tapps,Washington. website andonsocialmedia,posting affected byautism,manyofwhom enthusiastic responsefromfamilies soon asitisready.” available toeligiblescientistsas says. “SPARKwillmakedata scientists’ usein2017,Feliciano about 500families.Itplansto come together.” Sawyer, age 7, andOwen, age 9, has beenincrediblygratifying,” hashtag #WeAreSpark. “That have sharedtheirstoriesonSPARK’s release thesegeneticdatafor SIMONS FOUNDATION AUTISM 30 SIMONS FOUNDATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE SIMONS VARIATION Variation inIndividualsProject(Simons VIP),which 16p11.2. Thosedatahavegivenrisetomorethan25 The project,initsnewform,has enrolledmorethan569 To trytounderstandthedifferent geneticversionsof These studiesprovidecompellingevidencethatautism In theyearssinceSimons VIP’sstart,whole-exome From this‘gene first’ conceptwasbornthe Simons SSC startswithfamiliesthathaveachildanautism Simplex Collection(SSC)werepinpointingspecific one oftheseriskfactors,andstudyingtheirfeatures? diagnosis, andlooksforgeneticriskfactorsunderlying In 2010,asgeneticanalysesoffamiliesintheSimons project hasreinventeditselfasavirtualmeetingplacefor variants, dozensoffamilieshave beenrecruited;less greatly expandeditsscopeoverthepasttwoyears.The autism —withthehopeofeventuallycomingup sequencing oftheSSCandothercollectionshasledto common variantshaveturnedup fewerfamilies.“These genetic variantsassociatedwithautism,SFARIscientists individuals withgeneticvariants. For someofthe genetic researchers andindividualswithmutationsin1ofmore related conditions. is notasinglecondition,butcollectionofmany began bycollectinggenotypicandphenotypicdatafrom research papers. members, withvariationsinagenomicregioncalled more than200individuals,alongwiththeirfamily recognized theopportunitytoinvertexperiment.The than 50autism-linkedgenes. tailored therapiesforthem—theSimons VIPhas the discoveryofdozensgenesimplicatedinautism. the otherdirection:startingwithindividualsthathave the condition.Whatcouldbelearned,then,bygoingin IN INDIVIDUALS PROJECT Whereas thefirstincarnationof Simons VIP The projectenablesfamiliestoconnectwitheachother SFARI researchersattended.“We hadfamiliesfrom SFARI Base. Simons VIP—havebeenmadefreelyavailable through Finding otherswithashareddiagnosiscanbe aprofound did a‘deep dive’ studyofindividualswith16p11.2 phenotypic informationonline,tomakeiteasierfor variations, bringingfamiliesintoclinicsforbehavioral scientific meeting,contributingandlearning.” around theworld,”Chungsays.“Theywerein arising fromthatstudy—likealldataassociatedwiththe electroencephalography studiesof10individualswith and directorofclinicalresearchatSFARI. says Wendy Chung,theproject’s principalinvestigator are notjustrareconditions,they’re ultra-rareconditions,” scientific director. “It’s beendeeplymovingforeveryone experience forfamilies,saysJohn Spiro,SFARI’sdeputy registered families—heldanin-personmeetingduring family group—SCN2A,whichincludesmorethan73 meeting onDecember1,2016.Thelargestsingle-gene mutations intheautismriskgeneSCN2A.Thedata researchers andfamiliestogether. Already, forinstance, families tojointhestudy. Italsofocusesonbringing neurological exams,theexpandedprojectinsteadcollects nobody withdryeyesatthesemeetings.” the summerof2016,whichseveralSimons VIP and to researchers.Theprojectranitsfirstvirtualfamily to sharewisdom,andalsocommunicatequestions the Simons VIPtocarryoutclinicalevaluations and the pharmaceuticalcompanyRochehaspartneredwith testing, collectionofbiospecimens,brainimagingand to seethefamiliessupporteachother,” hesays.“There’s A deeperunderstanding of thestructure of thechannel should aidinthe development of molecules that seem to confer riskfor autism, whereas mutations of inother thechannel parts confer riskfor epilepsy. among themost recurrent riskfactors for autism. Interestingly, of mutations thechannel insomeparts working withfamilies that carry mutations inSCN2Ato gainadeeperunderstanding of therelationship Image courtesy of Arthur J. Campbell andFlorence Wagner, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at Mutations inthe SCN2Agene, which codesfor thesodiumchannel Nav1.2, are now recognized as the Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts through the(blue)channel pore. between genotype andchannel function/behavioral phenotype. Pictured here isasodium ionpassing interact withitto modifyitsfunction, potentially offering therapeutic benefit. TheSimons VIP hasbeen SIMONS FOUNDATION AUTISM 32 SIMONS FOUNDATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE SFARI RESEARCH Activating SHANK3intheadultmicedoesnotreverse A newstudysuggeststhatitmaybepossibletoreverse Their work spans awiderange of subjects —from The SimonsFoundation Autism Research Initiative Investigator Guoping Feng oftheMassachusetts Institute of identifyingdevelopmentalwindows inwhichautism did theiranxiety. Thefindingshighlighttheimportance February 25,2016,inNature. SHANK3, neuronsinabrainregioncalledthestriatum SHANK3 isoneofmanygenesinvolvedintheformation of Technology andhiscollaboratorslooked atmicewith of controlmice.But turningthegeneoninadulthood of synapses,thejunctionsbetweenneuronsthatallow (SFARI) currently funds more than350researchers, understanding how hypersensitivity to touch groundbreaking autism research across theglobe. all thetraitsrelatedtomutation:Themicecontinue autism aslateadulthood,atleastinmice.SFARI some behavioraltraitslinkedtoaparticularformof grooming andsocialdeficits,theresearchersreported gets turnedon,eveninadulthood. such asobsessivegroomingandsocialdeficitsifthegene communicate atsynapseslesseffectively thandothose cases. Theyfoundthatthesemicecanrecoverfromtraits may relate to socialdifficulties. Below are some having troublebalancingonarotatingrod.But when believed tocontributeabout1percentofallautism mice —anagecorrespondingto childhoodinpeople— nonfunctioning copiesofSHANK3,anautismriskgene reverses thisdeficitandalsorescuesthemice’s obsessive Reversing Autism Symptoms highlights of SFARI Investigators’ research in2016. building brain cellsfrom scratch inthelabto known asSFARI Investigators, whocarry out the mice’s motordeficitseasedand,tosomeextent, so the researchersactivatedSHANK3 inthree-week-old to showsignsofanxietyandmotordifficulties, suchas them tosendsignalseachother. Inmicelacking ROUNDUP Although autismresearcherstendtofocusonthebrain, Yet theyalsooffer hopethatsomesymptomsmaybe Touching Anxiety July 14, 2016, inCell. By contrast,micethatlackMECP2 Hypersensitivity totouchmaybelargelyresponsiblefor of potentialtherapies.Such treatmentsmayneedto Ginty’s teamfoundthatmicelackingtwoother outside thebrainshownodifferences inanxietyorsocial GABRB3) inneuronsthatrelaytouchsignalstothebrain MECP2 orGABRB3,touchsignalsruntothespinalcord Medical Schoolandhiscolleaguesreportedthe findings peripheral neuronsaffects socialbehavioronlyifdone peripheral nervoussystem—whichconnectslimbs without thedampeningthatusuallyhappensinhealthy with autism.Unlikedrugsthatactonbraincells, and hiscolleaguesfoundthatturning off thegenes in social difficulties. sensitivity totouch,andthenewresultssupport autism-related genes,SHANK3andFMR1,arealso and spinalcorddevelopanxietysocialproblems autism, anewmousestudysuggests.Miceengineered and organstothebrainorspinalcord—mayplayan hypersensitive totouchstimuli.Andinmicelacking later inlife.SFARIInvestigatorDavidGinty ofHarvard before adulthood. be administeredearlyindevelopment, however: Ginty blood-brain barrier, whichgreatly expandstherange behavior comparedwithhealthymice. idea thatthissensitivitymayunderlietheseindividuals’ mice. Many peoplewithautismreportheightened in somecorticalneuronsbutnotthetouch important roleineasingthesocialproblemsassociated reversible evenlateinlife. to lackoneoftwoautism-linkedgenes(MECP2or the anxietyandsocialdifficulties thatarehallmarksof that actonperipheralneuronsdonothavetocrossthe the newstudysuggeststhattreatmentstarget therapies maybeadministeredwiththegreatestefficacy. Administration totreatobesity, may A mousestudypublishedOctober 19, 2016,inNeuronpinpointssome Two recentstudiesbySFARI The researchersfoundthattheloss RAI1 fromexcitatoryneurons Smith-Magenis syndrome,arare drug thatactivatesHTR2C,already deleted inthecerebralcortex.But if of RAI1inexcitatoryneurons(ones Liqun Luo ofStanfordUniversity, Researchers hadpreviously RAI1 areobeseandstrugglewith Autism Disorder of thebiologicalunderpinnings didn’t knowwhichgenes.Thenew difficulties. Similarly, micethatlack Magenis syndrome. problems, intellectualdeficiencies produces thesymptomsofSmith- syndrome controltheirweight. approved bytheU.S.Food andDrug appetite. Thestudysuggeststhata expression ofHTR2CandBDNF, and obesity. Inparticular, deleting apparent effect whenthegeneis study, ledbySFARIInvestigator a genecalledRAI1,ischaracterized syndrome, causedbyadeficiencyof examining micethatlackRAI1 assembly ofneuronalcircuits.By genes thatareinvolvedinthe expression ofothergenes,butthey established thatRAI1controlsthe condition linkedtoautism.The help individualswithSmith-Magenis has identifiedasubgroupofthese learning, memoryandbalance. researchers haveoffered botha in thehypothalamusdampens by motorproblems,obesity, insight intohowthegene’s absence in particulartypesofbraincells, intellectual disabilityandsocial Pinning Down Microglia’s Role Unpacking theMechanisms of an the brain’s residentimmune cells— toolbox forstudyingmicroglia— two genesinvolvedinreducing the brain,micedevelopmotor the geneisabsentinotherpartsof that promotebrainactivity)hasno the researchteamhasprovided Technology hasdevelopedamethod The researchteambehindthe The teamalsogrewmicrogliafroma Investigator RudolfJaenisch of Instead, microglia’s rolemaycome Now, ateamledbySFARI Parkinson’s disease,Alzheimer’s Hospital, hadpreviouslyshownthat Beth StevensofBostonChildren’s disease andschizophrenia.Ithas of neurologicaldisorders,suchas Rett syndrome.Thisautism-related Meanwhile, however, asecond Microglia, whichareinvolved primary driverofRettsyndrome. people —forexample,theyare postmortem brains,whicharein were exceptionallysmall,offering short supply. way tostudyhumanmicrogliain study, ledbySFARIInvestigator study suggeststhatMECP2 stem-cell linethatcarriesamutation quickly towardinjuredbraincells. and otherbraincells,travel created expressmanyofthe cells. Themicrogliatheresearchers cells reprogrammedfromskin assess thesecells’ rolesindetail, and movementdifficulties, and and physicalregression,breathing syndrome ismarkedbycognitive capable ofengulfingsmallobjects, and newinsightsintotheirrolein however. Untilrecently, theonly behaviors ofmicrogliainliving for makingmicrogliaoutofstem been difficult forresearchersto but alsoinpruningsynapses,are into playlargelyinthefinalstagesof mutations inmicrogliaarenotthe role inthecondition. researchers ahintaboutthecells’ for Rettsyndrome.Thesemicroglia in MECP2,thegeneresponsible move throughacultureofneurons not onlyindestroyingpathogens intellectual disability. the Massachusetts Instituteof the syndrome. the labwastousemicrogliafrom thought toplayaroleinvariety 26, 2016ineLife,Stevens’ group The studysuggeststhatmicroglia Knocking outMECP2onlyin other typesofcellsinthecentral of themouse’s life.Thissuggests Rett syndromeprunetoomany weakened bythelossofMECP2in part ofnormaldevelopment.In and thesemicrogliabehavenormally. symptoms inmice,theteamfound, exacerbate it. condition bydismantlingcircuits contribute totheendstageof connections —butonlyneartheend nervous system. microglia doesnotproduceRett-like role inthedisorder, butinstead found thatmicrogliainmicewith in thebrainsofhealthymiceas microglia pruneweakersynapses that microgliadonotplayacausative the newwork,publishedJuly SIMONS FOUNDATION AUTISM 34

RESEARCH INITIATIVE / SIMONS FOUNDATION QUANTA MAGAZINES EDUCATION & OUTREACH Autism canbeaheated topicofdiscussion,but Spectrum keepsitscommentssectionconstructive by Spectrum’s workisvaluableforbothscientistsand Spectrum andQuanta,thetwoeditoriallyindependent Spectrum aimstomakecurrentadvancesinautism autismandtheirfamiliesfriends. our approachistoavoidjargonandwriteatalevelthat But theyhavealotincommonaswell.Bothcover topics on autismresearcharereallydiverse,”saysApoorva Mandavilli, editor-in-chief ofSpectrum . Theyare posting clearguidelinesandmoderating comments scientists. Somearecliniciansandothersworkinlabs strive tofostercommunityandlivelyconversationamong computer science,aswellbasicresearchinbiology. completely different topics:Spectrumcoversautism have thesamebackgroundorusejargon,so from postingmedical adviceorpromotinganyproducts. rules ofcommondecency, commentersmustrefrain interested layreaders,whotendtobepeoplewith is clearandaccessible,”Mandavilli says.Asaresult, remote frompeoplewiththecondition.“Theydon’t all neuroscientists, geneticists,psychologistsandbehavioral research, andQuantafocusesonmath,physics magazines fundedbytheSimons Foundation, cover research asaccessiblepossible.“Scientistswhowork that donotconformtothem.Inaddition torespecting their readers. the dedicatedsciencewriterstocoverin-depth,andboth that mainstreammediahasneithertheresourcesnor SPECTRUM GATHERINGS: DIGITAL Spectrum alsocreatescommunitythroughitsfree Lay readerscanaskquestionsoftheresearchers,butthey discussions inthecommentssectionandonsocial Claire Cameron, thesite’s engagementeditor, follows opposite ofwhatI’veseen,’”Mandavilli says.“It’s an doesn’t) withtheirownexperiencesofautism.“Often place fortheautismcommunity. People withautismand when wecoverapaper, they’ll say, ‘Thisisexactlymy want ittobeadiscussion.” also seenthereverse:peoplesaying,‘Thisisexact experience; thisishowI’vedealtwiththings,’butwe’ve ask questions,sheoften relaysthosequestionstothe and webinars,Spectrumnotonlyservesthescientific answer session.Througharticles,commentssections, each other,” Mandavilli says. ground fortheseoften-separated communitiestotalk to encounter. “Overtime,oursitehasbecomeamiddle about theirworkfrompeoplethey mightnotnormally can alsogivefeedbackabouthowtheresearchaligns(or community, buthasalsobecomeauniquemeeting researchers themselves.“We don’t wantpeopletothink media sitesandsyndicationpartners’ sites.Whenpeople monthly webinarseries,inwhichscientistsgive interesting perspectiveforusandscientists.” might affect theirlives—andresearchersgetfeedback they’re justshoutingintoavoid,”shesays.“We reallydo talks ontheirresearch,followedbyaquestion-and- their familiescangainaccesstoresearcherswhosework AND AND

a Spectrumfeature story by Deborah Rudacille, depicts the precariousness of livingboth asaperson withautism andasa Pep Boatella’s lead illustration from “Living Between Genders,” transgender person. Quanta Magazine sparkslively And readersaretakingnote.Asa 261 commentswere approved,“Iwas Whereas Spectrumengagesthe Like Spectrum,Quanta Does darkmatterexist?Howdo discussions aboutmathematics, of discoursehigh.Editorsrelay often neglectedbytraditional occasionally offer tocollaborate. offer thoughtfulcritiques;others prime numbersbehave?”editor- physics, theoreticalcomputer particularly interestingorinsightful science media.“Whatisgravity? science andbasicbiology—areas autism researchcommunity, an informed,civilconversation, questions toauthorsofarticlesand a popularQuantaarticle,forwhich curious peoplewholovetodebate carved outanicheforscientifically use thecommentssectionto moderates commentstocultivate fundamental ideas.” in-chief ThomasLinsays.“We’ve in toanswer. Someresearchers reader namedJoshcommentedon taking painstokeepthelevel to researchers,whooften chime “There’s awholesubcommunity “We’re notafraidtoaskourreaders Quanta deliverstoitsreadership Quanta andSpectrumsyndicate The Atlantic, Wired andother Actual sourcesbeingcited.Whatif To reachandengagenewaudiences, Darwin/Science/Physics/Chemistry developed apassionatefollowing. detailed featurestories,shorterblog debate, butthese[comments]are puzzles canbequitechallengingand posts, interviewswithscientistsand publications. Andconversations also aregularpuzzleseriesthathas a varietyofcontenttypes:long, scientists debatingandwhatnot.… great. Lookslikechemistsand expecting theusualCreationism vs. articles often spillovertoheavily articles toScientificAmerican, centered aroundthispuzzlecolumn,” computer programstosolvethem. he says. involved —somereadersevenwrite inspired byQuantaandSpectrum to thinkalittlebit,”Linsays.The the wholeinternetwaslikethis?” trafficked socialmediaplatforms An illustration by Mrzyk&Moriceau, from Facebook. Linsays:“Thoughitcan different audiencesengagewiththe Beauty problem hasdividedprobability people shareourstoriesacrosssocial such asReddit,Hacker Newsand theorists, decisiontheorists andphilosophers by Pradeep Mutalik. The famous Sleeping for more than15years. Quanta’s “Why Sleeping Beauty IsLost in Time,” big, newideaswewriteabout.” media. It’s anopportunitytoseehow fascinated bywhere,howandwhy feel liketheWild West attimes,I’m 36 EDUCATION & OUTREACH SIMONS FOUNDATION SCIENCE SANDBOX: These efforts arelikelighthouses:Theybeckonpeople These projectsarenotlighthousesbutinsteadlike The Simons Foundation’s neweducationandoutreach on publictelevisionorbrowsedaneducationalwebsite. Philanthropic efforts tointroducelayaudiences described as‘meetingpeoplewheretheyalreadyare.’ visited amuseumexhibit,tunedintodocumentary who arealreadycomfortablesailingover. That’s where science tendtofallintotwocategories:Thefirst,more support toprojectsthatseekinspire scientificthinking scientific thinking.Theinitiativeprovidesgrantsand expose themtothethrillsofscientificprocessand approach inmind—tomeetpeoplewheretheyareand can relateto. lighthouse, butyoucanplacemoreofthemstrategically brightly andilluminate,buttheytendtosummonthose brightly coloredbuoys—theymaynotbeckonlikea may notevenbeawarethatscience issomethingthey museum, maynotwatchpublictelevision regularly, or in peoplewhomaynotliveacity withaworld-class initiative, ScienceSandbox,wasdesignedwiththelatter in thewater. traditional, approachisfamiliartoanyonewhohasever the complementaryapproachcomesin,whichcouldbe UNLOCKING SCIENTIFIC THINKING “A Brief History ofFat” wassupportedbyScienceSandbox, Vice’s scienceandtechnologyvertical—Motherboard To actasacatalystfor‘unlockingscientificthinking,’ Science Sandboxfunctionsasmorethanagrant-maker. Science Sandboxtakesitsnamefromtheplacewhere Its charterincludeslanguageabout“amplify[ing] our own worlds.ScienceSandbox’s diverseboardofadvisers, Developed in2016andpubliclylaunchedearly2017, Education &OutreachattheSimons Foundation. developed in-house,”saysBoyana Konforti,directorof passive participantsinlearning,weshouldtreatthemas which includesaccomplishedscientists,educators, what theyalreadyare:naturallyactiveexplorersoftheir proved especiallyfruitful.“Typically, Motherboard entrepreneurs andartists,reflectsthisexpansiveview. and collaborativeexperimentation—thesamevalues and filmmakerElliotKirschner, whosedocumentaryfilm awardees’ impact” inextra-monetary ways,whichoften children often gettheirfirsttasteofself-directed curiosity and Vice don’t showanyfilmthat isn’t producedand happens intheformofinformalintroductionsthat makes clearthenotionthatinsteadoftreatingpeopleas initiative’s manifesto—‘unlockscientificthinking’ — foundation facilitates.Adistributionpartnershipbetween that underpindiscovery-drivenscienceresearch.The “This waswhentheZika virusand “We didnotdoanythingmorethan ‘edit-a-thons’ hostedatexisting Association fortheAdvancement Another placewherescience 2016 meetingoftheAmerican Wikipedia Year OfScience2016 The ScienceSandbox-supported D.C. Theseeventsnotonlyreach Konforti recallsofthatfirstAAAS draw themintodiscoursealready of Science(AAAS)inWashington, of termpapers.Thisproject scientists wheretheyalreadyare,but writing Wikipedia entriesinstead were reallyhittingthenewspapers,” areas ofexpertise. edit articlesthemselves,intheir and encouragingthemtowrite scientific conferences,suchasthe and outreach’ byrecruiting expanded theconceptof‘education encouraged scienceeducators and atmassivescale—isWikipedia. education happensnaturally— storytelling, andtheyfoundavery very sophisticatedscienceand happening onWikipedia byteaching researchers toparticipateinthe natural waytoworktogether.” by Elliot’s abilitytobringtogether but Motherboardwasveryintrigued bringing thetwoentitiestogether, them thebasicsofeditingcontent to chargetheirstudentswith the discoveryofgravitationalwaves “total scienceilliterate” whoattended ‘pheromonal communications,’and Yes,” shesays.“You couldgothere York totheHouseofYes, anedgy Another ScienceSandbox-supported Wikipedia usersisjustincredible.” Wikipedia pagesforalmostsixhours, Sensory SpeedDatingwithher For Madeline Kaye,aself-described other participants’ odorstodetect Participants experimentedwith on anyordinaryTuesday, andit’s drive ourbehavioranddesires.” of thesubconsciousprocessesthat performance-art venueinBrooklyn’s staring intoeachother’s eyesfora as donningpulsemonitorsto such unorthodoxdatingrituals glitter andgo-godancers.Notexactly experience “a greaterunderstanding gathered peopletogetherinapeer- and U.S.-basedGuerilla Science,also event in2016,producedbyU.K.- and thepageswereviewedmany edit-a-thon. “Scientistsedited choice ofvenuethatfirstpiquedher conference. That’s avery, verybig boyfriend, itwasGuerilla Science’s full minutewithoutspeaking. identify flutteringhearts,inhaling interest. “I’mabigfanofHouse industrial districtofBushwick, to invited singlesandcouplesinNew reach, andtheimpactthatyougeton to-peer way. SensorySpeedDating tens ofmillionstimessincethe “amorphous” sexualattraction.“It “science identity” inmembersofthe “The foundationiskeentosee “The pointofsomethinglikeSensory Speed Datingisn’t remembering director, describestheorganization’s Mark Rosin,Guerilla Science’s U.S. Marilyn Simons, presidentofthe public justlikeKaye—whichisn’t we’ll perceivecertainsignalsin we’re stillanimals,”shesays,“and what shehadpreviouslyconsidered energy totheroom,”butalsothatit a squarecrowd.”Sheleft theevent sense ofplaywefeltaschildrenin experimentation —andrevivethe and partnerswillrelaythejoyof will undertakenextyear,” says what newprojectsScienceSandbox are, andwhatsciencehastooffer certain waysnomatterwhat.” content hadlent“an additional had broadenedherunderstandingof between people’s interestsasthey building aculturalconnection really comesdowntothefactthat feeling notonlythatthescientific foundation. “We hopeourgrantees microbe,” hesays.“It’s about mission asbuildingupasenseof the playgroundsandbox.” those interests.” the exactLatinnameofaparticular the samethingasteachingfacts. of a ‘match.’of daters explore touch asa means to increase chances Guerilla Sciencespeed 38 EDUCATION & OUTREACH SIMONS FOUNDATION FOR AMERICA:MT² “Math isn’t fundamentallyaboutnumbers—it’s awayofthinkingabouttheworld,”saysJohnEwing, presidentof Alexander Dvorak andShannonGuglielmo. The event—scheduledtocoincide withElectionDayonNovember8—drewalmost200teachers toManhattan’s The titleofthisyear’s MT²was“TheStateof STEM-ocracy,” withtalksfrom11Master Teachers focusingon In itsownwords,MƒAworksto“maketeachingaviable,rewarding,andrespectedcareerchoiceforthebestmindsin Flatiron District,wheretheywere joinedbymorethan100teachersonline(theeventwasstreamed). “Every year, democratic fairnessanddueprocess inscience,technology, engineering andmath(STEM)educationsociety. MƒA pridesitselfonwhatitcallsa“teacher-to-teacher” approachtoprofessionaldevelopment: MƒAteachersleada Math forAmerica(MƒA). Front row, from left to right: MƒAMaster Teachers MarvinAntebi-Gruszka, DeeDyer, Andrew Wille, variety ofcourseseachsemesterforandwiththeirpeers.Aspart of thiscommunity-buildingactivity, MƒAholdsan and ongoinglearning.Thegoalistoinspireoutstandingteachers tostayintheclassroom,aswellamplifytheir science andmathematics.”To thatend, MƒAidentifiesoutstandingK-12mathematicsandscienceteachersawards says Ewing. “Theteacherswere fieldingalotofquestionsintheirclasses,andwewantedtobring thoseconversations we trytohookintosomethingthat’s goingoninthe restofthecountry, andthisyear thehookseemedprettyobvious,” share theirexpertisewiththeMƒAcommunity. annual eventcalledMT²—Master Teachers onTeaching —inwhichMƒAMaster Teachers giveTED-styletalksand impact whiletheyarethere.Therecurrentlymorethan1,000 MƒA teachersinNewYork City. renewable four-year fellowships,whichprovidestipendsandconnectteacherswithoneanothertofostercollaboration to thewholecommunity.” MATH

Antebi-Gruszka drewattentionto Among theMaster Teachers

The themeofdemocraticequityas Rug.” AsmostSTEMeducators driven processesthatunderliethe Not toJust SweepThemUnderthe Confusion andIgnorance:Why own highschoolclassroom. Collaborative StudiesintheBronx, of votingcanproduceunexpected ocracy” wereAdam Zaid, whogave delivered asurprisingpresentation out inwaysunrelatedtonational Marvin Antebi-Gruszka, a Michelle Sims, ahighschoolalgebra without encouragingthemistake- points toNewYork City’s public politics aswell.MƒAMaster Teacher work togetherinsmallgroups,with who bridgedtheskillsgapforher was inspiredbyatalkgivenan an equallynecessarypartofthe students masterthecurricula, approached theevening’s theme speaking tothethemeof“STEM- who demonstratedhowstudents a variationonthesameideainher elementary schoolmathteacher a talkabouthowthemathematics elections, andShannonGuglielmo, can designtheirowngraph-theory understanding ofthoseanswers, learning STEMsubjects? learning process:confusionand level ofproficiency. After hearing lessons targetedtotheirparticular lessons aboutthelayoutofaccess logic maynothave‘fairness’ built how eventherulesofmathematical be subtlycorruptingtheprocess of focus onproducing‘rightanswers,’ failure. He asked:Couldteacher necessarily focusonhelpingtheir from anunusualanglewithhis fourth-year MƒAMaster Teacher, incoming studentsbyhavingthem majorities andpluralitiesin it impactsSTEMeducationcame into them. inspired byLewisCarroll, about talk, “CleaningUpOurIdeason the talk,Sims decidedtoimplement teacher atMorrisAcademy for transit system.AndAndrewWille “It’s reallyimportantasteachers And incaseswheretherearenotjust And mathcanhelpusseeinequities Antebi-Gruszka cleanedupthe Antebi-Gruszka says.“Mostpeople Events suchasMT²notonly didn’t understandhowIcouldget disappointing mymother,” who Gruszka offered upapainful don’t necessarilycomewiththat don’t cometousasprodigies,” way theyensurevalidelectionresults. states redistrictthemselves.It’s the very difficult tobringthatlevelof what Ihaddonewrong,and who becometeacherstendto process isfair. Thetruthis,math is strategize aboutbuildingtheir an election,it’s the waycandidates everywhere inelectionsandcivic also highlightthecentralityof empathy toourownstudents.” where wearedividingthingsup,and shine lightontotheplacesinsociety and unfairness,”hesays.“Itcan always foundfaultintheway experience fromhisownchildhood: experience ofwhatitwaslike campaigns: usingmathematics. life,” Ewing says.“It’s intheway house. “Ijustdidn’t understand have donewellinschool,sowe help peopledeterminewhetherthe better,” herecalls.“And it’s often mathematics insociety. “Math is foster MƒA’s missiondirectlybut intellectual empathygap,Antebi- for ustorecognizethatstudents not quitesoabstractthesedays.” two butthreeorfourcandidatesin the “week-in,week-outprocessof to struggleorfail.”To fillinthis MƒA Master TeacherMƒA Marcelle Good, FINANCIALS BALANCE SHEET

2016 Grant Payment Assets 12/31/16 12/31/15 by Category Cash and Cash Equivalents 160,564,010 169,844,932 Flatiron Institute Autism Investment Portfolio 2,653,820,929 2,440,414,626 0.05% 18.44% Property and Equipment, Net 206,583,733 20,931,788 Other 3,214,330 3,479,954 Discretionary Giving Total 3,024,183,002 2,634,671,300 0.25% Education & Outreach 13.70 Liabilities 12/31/16 12/31/15

Accounts Payable 9,615,952 8,524,426 Deferred Lease Liability 151,455,946 4,159,666 Mathematics & Physical Grants Payable 524,286,998 526,432,734 Sciences Deferred Excise Tax Liability 20,410,979 17,842,402 29.02% Total 705,769,875 556,959,228

Net Assets 2,318,413,127 2,077,712,072

40 Life Sciences INCOME STATEMENT 38.54%

Proportions of Expenses For 12 Months Ended For 12 Months Ended (Cash Basis) $’s in Millions Revenue 12/31/16 12/31/15

Grants Paid Contributions 80,250,000 53,625,959 Program Investment Income 467,433,950 510,250,269 General and Administrative Total 547,683,950 563,876,228 Capital Expenditures SIMONS FOUNDATION

For 12 Months Ended For 12 Months Ended Expenses 12/31/16 12/31/15 231.7 233.7 250 Grants Paid 231,726,910 233,732,496 Change in Grants Payable (2,954,477) 137,769,224 200 Program 54,272,854 43,836,811 General and Administrative 15,563,652 12,670,144 150 Depreciation and Amortization 3,618,989 2,952,560 Taxes 4,754,967 6,031,389 100 Total 306,982,895 436,992,624 50.3 24.4 39.4 45.8 18.5 3.1 50

0 Net Income 240,701,055 126,883,604 FINANCIALS 2016 2015 MATHEMATICS & PHYSICAL SCIENCES MATHEMATICS & PHYSICAL SCIENCES INVESTIGATORS INVESTIGATORS

Simons Investigators Awardees Simons Collaboration on Simons Collaboration on the Cracking the Glass Problem Algorithms and Geometry Many Electron Problem Mina Aganagic Andrea Liu Kam Arnold Ludovic Berthier Ian Agol Madhav Mani Vijay Balasubramanian Alexandr Andoni Garnet Chan Giulio Biroli Igor Aleiner Lisa Manning Sam Brown Sanjeev Arora Michel Ferrero Patrick Charbonneau Andrea Alu Vladimir Markovic Dmitry Budker Tim Austin Antoine Georges Eric Corwin Rajeev Alur James McKernan Mark Devlin Mark Braverman Emanuel Gull Silvio Franz Sanjeev Arora Pankaj Mehta Robbert Dijkgraaf Jeff Cheeger Gabriel Kotliar Jorge Kurchan François Baccelli Maryam Mirzakhani Tony Ezome Subhash Khot Evgeny Kozik Andrea Liu Ngô Bao Châu Joel Moore Peter Graham Bruce Kleiner Olivier Parcollet Lisa Manning Andrei Beloborodov Andrew Mugler Terrence Hwa Elchanan Mossel Nikolai Prokof’ev Sidney Nagel Andrei Bernevig James O’Dwyer Brian Keating Assaf Naor Mark van Schilfgaarde Giorgio Parisi Manjul Bhargava Andrei Okounkov Christopher Klausmeier Ran Raz Guifre Vidal David Reichman Dan Boneh Hirosi Ooguri Jane Kondev Oded Regev Lucas Wagner Matthieu Wyart Michael Brenner Bjorn Poonen Adrian Lee Michael Saks Steven R. White Francesco Zamponi Garnet Chan Frans Pretorius Simon Levin Amit Singer Dominika Zgid Moses Charikar Eliot Quataert Richard Lifton David Steurer Shiwei Zhang Simons Collaboration on the Ingrid Daubechies Leo Radzihovsky Elena Litchman Non-Perturbative Bootstrap Maarten V. de Hoop Raphaël Rouquier Edward Lungu Simons Collaboration on It From Qubit: Simons Michael Desai Andre Scedrov M. Cristina Marchetti Homological Mirror Symmetry Collaboration on Quantum Fields, Christopher Beem 42 Daniel Eisenstein Paul Seidel Pankaj Mehta Gravity and Information Miguel Costa Alex Eskin Amit Singer Surjeet Rajendran Mohammed Abouzaid Andrew Fitzpatrick Jonathan Feng Christopher Skinner William Ratcliff Denis Auroux Scott Aaronson Thomas Hartman Paul François Rachel Somerville Alvaro Sanchez Ron Donagi Dorit Aharonov Jared Kaplan Victor Galitski Dam Thanh Son Diaraf Seck Kenji Fukaya Vijay Balasubramanian João Penedones Surya Ganguli Kannan Soundararajan Terrence Sejnowski Ludmil Katzarkov Horacio Casini David Poland Sharon Glotzer Dan Spielman Boris Shraiman Maxim Kontsevich Patrick Hayden Silviu Pufu Shafi Goldwasser Anatoly Spitkovsky Suzanne Staggs Bong Lian Matthew Headrick Leonardo Rastelli Ben Green Iain Stewart Alex Sushkov Tony Pantev Juan Maldacena Slava Rychkov Alice Guionnet Madhu Sudan Mukund Thattai Shing-Tung Yau Alexander Maloney David Simmons-Duffin Larry Guth Terence Tao Christopher Tully Donald Marolf Balt van Rees SIMONS FOUNDATION Christopher Hacon Daniel Tataru Massimo Vergassola Special Holonomy in Geometry, Robert Myers Pedro Vieira Oskar Hallatschek Shang-Hua Teng Kalin Vetsigian Analysis and Physics Jonathan Oppenheim Patrick Hayden Senthil Todadri Howard Weiss Joseph Polchinski Chris Hirata Chris Umans Bobby Acharya John Preskill Russell Impagliazzo Salil Vadhan Robert Bryant Leonard Susskind Piotr Indyk Mark Van Raamsdonk Simon Donaldson Tadashi Takayanagi Randall Kamien Kathleen Veit Sebastian Goette Mark Van Raamsdonk Marc Kamionkowski Ashvin Vishwanath Mark Haskins Charles Kane Anastasia Volovich Hans-Joachim Hein Anton Kapustin Michael Weinstein Dominic Joyce Richard Kenyon Horng-Tzer Yau Jason Lotay Subash Khot Xi Yin David Morrison Alexei Kitaev Olga Zhaxybayeva Johannes Nordstrom Jon Kleinberg David Zuckerman Simon Salamon INVESTIGATORS & FELLOWS INVESTIGATORS Kirill Korolev Song Sun MATHEMATICS & PHYSICAL SCIENCES FELLOWS SFARI INVESTIGATORS

Mathematics Theoretical Physics Ted Abel Gerald Crabtree Robin Goin-Kochel Gregory Abowd Michael Crair David Goldstein Jinho Baik Aaron Lauda Robert Brandenberger Alexej Abyzov Michelle Craske Peyman Golshani Anthony Bloch Radu Laza Eugene Demler Douglas Allan Lisa Croen Matthew Goodwin Fedor Bogomolov Tao Li Steven Furlanetto Dima Amso Colm Cunningham Alessandro Gozzi Lev Borisov Hans Lindblad Charles Gammie Elissar Andari Mark Daly Ann Graybiel Alexei Borodin Liping Liu Michael Gutperle David Anderson Mirella Dapretto Michael Graziano Nigel Boston Guozhen Lu Zoltan Haiman Dora Angelaki Sandeep Datta Nicola Grissom Jeff Brock Mitchell Luskin Lawrence Hall Shernaz Bamji Graeme Davis Adam Guastella Fioralba Cakoni Dan Margalit Jeffrey Harvey Nuno Bandeira Yves De Konnick James F. Gusella Xiuxiong Chen Robert McCann Wick Haxton Michiel Basson Bernie Devlin Kurt Haas Ted Chinburg Curtis McMullen Petr Horava Helen Bateup Adriana Di Martino Michael Halassa Octav Cornea Andrew Neitzke Elizabeth Jenkins Mark Bear Scott Dindot Joachim Hallmayer Pallavi Dani Lenhard Ng Clifford Johnson Carrie Bearden Bogdan Draganski Ellen Hanson Henri Darmon Adam Oberman Catherine Kallin Jacques Beckmann Catherine Dulac Antonio Hardan Laura DeMarco Martin Olsson Eun-Ah Kim Kevin Bender J. Christopher Edgar Neil Harris Tyrone Duncan Robert Pego Dong Lai Amanda Bennett Robert Edwards Christopher Harvey John Etnyre Robin Pemantle Patrick Lee Jeffrey Berman Evan Eichler Xin He Alan Frieze Robert Pollack Tom Lubensky Raphael Bernier Britta Eickholt Myriam Heiman Dennis Gaitsgory Bjorn Poonen Aneesh Manohar Somer Bishop Mayada Elsabbagh Mark Henkelman 44 Maria Gordina Florian Pop Adilson Motter Matthew Black Cagla Eroglu Ian Hickie Allan Greenleaf Mihnea Popa Stephen Naculich Randy Blakely William Fairbrother Charles Hoeffer Julia Grigsby Sorin Popa Mark Newman Mark Blumberg Jin Fan Ellen Hoffman Daniel Groves Cristian Popescu Maxim Perelstein Susan Y. Bookheimer W. Andrew Faucett Mady Hornig Samuel Grushevsky Dinakar Ramakrishnan Andrew Strominger Mark Boothby Evelina Fedorenko Yi-Ping Hsueh Yan Guo Nicolai Reshetikhin Timo Thonhauser Andreas Buja Carl Feinstein Z. Josh Huang Thomas Haines Richard Schwartz Frank Timmes Alma Burlingame Daniel Feldman Kimberly Huber Julia Hartmann Timo Seppalainen Nandini Trivedi Joseph Buxbaum Guoping Feng Jun Huh Christopher Hoffman Avraham Soffer Pavel Wiegmann Nicola Camp André Fenton Lilia Iakoucheva Vera Mikyoung Hur Bernd Sturmfels Jessica Cardin Cathy Fernandes Ivan Iossifov Michael Hutchings Alexander Varchenko Steven Carr Gordon J. Fishell Sébastien Jacquemont SIMONS FOUNDATION Eleny Ionel Brian White Steven Chance Eric Fombonne Daoyun Ji Adrian Iovita Dapeng Zhan Steve Chang Loren Frank Fulai Jin Gautam Iyer Hongkun Zhang Chinfei Chen Michael Frank Capitanio John Kresimir Josic Shou-Wu Zhang Simon Chen Maria Freire Rebecca Jones Vadim Kaloshin Michael Zieve Anjen Chenn Robert Froemke Kristopher Kahle Vitali Kapovitch Wendy Chung Menachem Fromer Zsuzsanna Kaldy Kiumars Kaveh George Church Lawrence Fung Nancy Kanwisher Sean Keel A. Ercument Cicek Joseph Garner Sabine Kastner Rowan Killip Mark Clements Daniel Geschwind Raymond Kelleher Sergiu Klainerman Barry Connors Jay Gibson Albert Keung Bryna Kra Diego Contreras Charles Gilbert Margaret Kjelgaard Nicolai Krylov Edwin Cook David Ginty Eric Klann Greg Kuperberg Hilary Coon Santhosh Girirajan Bonita Klein-Tasman Thomas Lam Greg Cooper Joseph Gleeson Alexander Kolevzon INVESTIGATORS & FELLOWS INVESTIGATORS 46 INVESTIGATORS & FELLOWS SIMONS FOUNDATION Anthony Lamantia Abba Krieger Adrian Krainer Angela Morgan A. KimberleyMcAllister Alea Mills Vinod Menon W. Ian Lipkin Todd Levine Thomas Maynard James McPartland John Lowry Jason Lerch Judith Miles Elizabeth Mellins Steven McCarroll Sarkis Mazmanian Eleni Maneta Robert C.Malenka Daniel MacArthur Liqun Luo Dan Littman Paul Lipkin Bo Li Daniel Levy Gary Landreth Kenneth Kwan Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown Kenneth Kosik Colleen Morris Linda Mitchell Carolyn Mervis Clark McKown Gabor Marth Oscar Marin Catherine Lord Christopher Loewen Genevieve Konopka Guo-Li Ming Mollie Meffert Matthew Lerner Maria Lehtinen Markita Landry Michael Merzenich Margaret McCarthy SFARI INVESTIGATORS Alysson Muotri Alice Richman Alexandre Reymond Alex Nord Aaron Quinlan Theo Palmer Tim O’Connor James Murray James Noonan James Rehg Jennifer Philips Shrikanth Narayanan Srikantan Nagarajan Scott Murray Pratik Mukherjee Eric Morrow Brian Nieman Richard Myers Irving Reti Danny Reinberg Shenfeng Qiu David Pitcher Ben Philpot Eva Petkova Elior Peles Paul Pavlidis Karen Parker Dimitrios Pantazis Damon Page Lucy Osborne Brian O’Roak Ruth O’Hara Gaia Novarino Catherine Rankin Karen Quigley Lucas Pozzo-Miller Brenda Porter Christopher Pittenger Geoffrey Pitt Craig Powell Carlos Portera-Cailliau Mor Nahum Massimo Pasqualetti Mani Ramaswami Michael Platt Agata Rozga Antoinette Sabatino Wendy Stone Vikaas Sohal Thomas Südhof Tim Roberts John Rubenstein James Sutcliffe James Sikela Jonathan Sebat Jean-Baptiste Rivière Joel Richter Beth Stevens Paul Sternberg Hanno Steen Hongjun Song Stelios Smirnakis Cora Taylor Guomei Tang Helen Tager-Flusberg David Sulzer Garret Stuber Pawan Sinha Peter Sims Steven Siegelbaum Song-Hai Shi Stephen Sheinkopf Saunak Sen Ethan Scott Robert Schultz Laura Schrader Stephan Sanders Lawrence Rothblat Kathryn Roeder Nicole Russo-Ponsaran Lisa Shulman Frederick Shic Elliott Sherr Nenad Sestan Celine Saulnier Christian Rosenmund Matthew State Michael Talkowski Mriganka Sur Matthew Siegel Alexander EckehartUrban Anthony Wynshaw-Boris Vanessa Troiani Tonya White Tara Wenger Zachary Warren Xiaoqin Wang Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele Janet Woodruff-Borden Jeremy Willsey Je-Hyun Yoon Sara Webb Shelley Velleman Roger Vaughan Flora Vaccarino Erik Ullian Daniela Tropea David Traver Henning Tiemeier Di Tian Emma Thomas Brian Theyel Shinya Yamamoto Rachel Wevrick Lauren Weiss Dennis Vitkup Pam Ventola Gina Turrigiano R. Suzanne Zukin Larry Zipursky Kun Zhang Feng Zhang Haiyuan Yu Larry Young Lei Xu Fei Xu Christopher Wright Chaolin Zhang Melanie Woodin Michael Wigler Michael Wangler Mark Zylka Masayuki Yazawa Mark Yandell SFARI INVESTIGATORS Anibal Gutierrez Amanda Gulsrud Arzu Forough Amy Esler Terry Katz Joseph Piven Juhi Pandey James McCracken Jennifer Gerdts Joseph Cubells Lisa Prock Karen Pierce Kate Palmer Brian O’Roak Stephen Kanne Suma Jacob Susan Hepburn Opal Ousley Cesar Ochoa-Lubinoff Charles Nelson Patricia Manning Rachel Loftin Rebecca Landa Pablo Juarez Ellen Hanson Robin Goin-Kochel Sandra Friedman Daniel Coury Eric Courchesne Eric Butter Elizabeth Berry-Kravis Raphael Bernier Robert Annett David Amaral Leonard Abbeduto Catherine Lord Eric Fombonne Craig Erickson Gabriel Dichter Carolyn Bridgemohan Michael Morrier Melissa Hale Michael Alessandri SPARK Awardees Angela Rachubinski Zachary Warren James Sutcliffe Jennifer Smith Ericka Wodka Dianna Varady Sarah Spence Christopher Walsh Latha Soorya Christopher Smith Robert Schultz Dustin Sarver Nicole Russo-Ponsaran Cordelia Robinson Catherine Rice Mary Sharp Mustafa Sahin LIFE SCIENCES INVESTIGATORS LIFE SCIENCES INVESTIGATORS

Simons Collaboration on the Project Investigators Simons Early Career Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Global Brain Investigators in Marine Microbial Awards in the Neurosciences E. Virginia Armbrust Ecology and Evolution Larry Abbott Markus Meister Karin Öberg György Buzsáki Benjamin Arenkiel Ryan Adams J. Anthony Movshon Matthew Powner Penny Chisholm Andrew Alverson Stephen Brohawn Misha Ahrens William Newsome Didier Queloz Rob DeSalle Jake Bailey Solange Brown Emre Aksay Liam Paninski Nita Sahai Zoe Finkel Tanja Bosak Anne Churchland David Anderson Joseph Paton Dimitar Sasselov Gordon J. Fishell Otto Cordero Mark Churchland Dora Angelaki Pietro Perona Burckhard Seelig Wayne Goodman Karen Lloyd Jeremiah Cohen William Bialek Bijan Pesaran Roger Summons Brian Hammer Alyson Santoro Dion Dickman David Brainard Jonathan Pillow John Sutherland David Haussler Frank Stewart Felice Dunn Carlos Brody Xaq Pitkow Jack Szostak Bonnie Hurwitz Jacob Waldbauer Monica Dus Elizabeth Buffalo Alexandre Pouget George Whitesides Debora Iglesias-Rodriguez Evan Feinberg Matteo Carandini Fred Rieke Rudolf Jaenisch HHMI-Simons Faculty Scholars Liang Feng E.J. Chichilnisky Nicole Rust Simons Collaboration on Ocean Thomas M. Jessell Lisa Giocomo Anne Churchland Bernardo Sabatini Processes and Ecology Laurie Juranek Neal Alto Michael Halassa Mark Churchland Maneesh Sahani Eunsoo Kim Thomas Bernhardt Benjamin Hayden Marlene Cohen C. Daniel Salzman E. Virginia Armbrust Elizabeth Kujawinski Jesse Bloom Biyu He John P. Cunningham Krishna Shenoy Dave Caron Robert Miller Edward Boyden Ryan Hibbs Sandeep Robert Datta Eero Simoncelli Penny Chisholm Raghuveer Parthasarathy Clifford Brangwynne Mehrdad Jazayeri 48 James DiCarlo Spencer Smith Matthew Church John Pringle Jose Dinneny Daniel Kronauer Brent Doiron Haim Sompolinsky Edward DeLong Stephen Quake Michael Fischbach Andrew Kruse Shaul Druckmann Michael Stryker Sonya Dyhrman Gene Robinson Elizabeth Haswell Byungkook Lim Uri Eden Karel Svoboda Michael Follows Ramunas Stepanauskas Martin Jonikas Conor Liston Florian Engert David Tank Anitra Ingalls Lisa Stubbs Luciano Marraffini Wenqin Luo Adrienne Fairhall Doris Tsao Seth John Richard Tsien Frederick A. Matsen IV Dengke Ma Michale Fee Brian A. Wandell David Karl David Valentine Coleen Murphy Carolyn McBride Ila Fiete Xiao-Jing Wang Debbie Lindell Brian A. Wandell Samara Reck-Peterson Evan Miller Loren Frank Byron Yu Dan Repeta William Wcislo Michael Rust Katherine Nagel Jeremy Freeman Manuel Zimmer Benjamin Van Mooy Joao Xavier Elizabeth Sattely Yuki Oka Winrich Freiwald Steven Zucker Joshua Weitz Anthony Zador Jan Skotheim Brian O’Roak SIMONS FOUNDATION Stefano Fusi Angelicque White Gurol Suel Engin Özkan Surya Ganguli Simons Collaboration on the Jonathan P. Zehr Benjamin Tu Todd Roberts Lisa Giocomo Origins of Life Feng Zhang Dragana Rogulja Mark Goldman Daniel Zilberman Daniela Schiller Kenneth Harris Donna Blackmond Tiffany Schmidt Mehrdad Jazayeri Tanja Bosak John Tuthill Roozbeh Kiani Dieter Braun Michael Yartsev Adam Kohn Irene Chen Brian Lau Jason Dworkin Daniel Lee Gregory Fournier Andrew Leifer Gerald Joyce Michael Long Lisa Kaltenegger Zachary Mainen Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy Valerio Mante Sheref Mansy INVESTIGATORS & FELLOWS INVESTIGATORS 50 INVESTIGATORS & FELLOWS SIMONS FOUNDATION Alexandria Johnson Aaron Koralek Vikram Gadagkar Vlada Stamenkovic Teresa RuizHerrero Ziwei Liu Xiaoyin Chen John Long James Heys James Saenz Sarah RugheimerMacGregor Elizabeth Bell Evan Schaffer Braden Purcell Ian Oldenburg Scott Linderman Raghav Poudyal Claudia ElNachef Clara Blättler Liang Danique Jeurissen Sophie Aimon Stephanie Valleau Chunyu Duan Katherine CoraAmes Dmitry Zubarev Li Zeng Rui Wang Falk Wachowius Marino Pagan Malavika Murugan Matthew Kaufman Maria Dadarlat Origins of Life Postdoctoral Global Brain Postdoctoral Fellows Fellows Simons Collaboration onthe Simons Collaboration onthe LIFE SCIENCES FELLOWS Aakash Basu Yunji Davenport Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Tin ChiSolomonChak Thomas Boothby Tina Han Joseph Castellano Joshua Weinstein Josep Vilarrasa-Blasi Joshua Modell Sarah Davies Scott Behie David Booth Brittany Belin Rayka Yokoo Longfei Shu Benjamin Ross Lena Pernas Dipti Nayak Hoong ChuinLim Ricardo Laranjeiro Robert Jinkerson Romain Darnajoux Rogier Braakman Patrick Mitchell Duncan Leitch Christopher Whidden Ophelia Venturelli Caroline Runyan Constance Richter Michele LeRoux Fund for MedicalResearch Simons Fellows of the Sciences Research Foundation Simons Fellows of theLife Arthur Prindle Tomas Pluskal Tania J.Lupoli Jeremy M.Rock Lihui Feng Eleanore J.Clowney Olena Zhulyn Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Simons Fellows of the Amanda Weltman Tjitske Starkenburg Jerry Ostriker Jo Bovy Justin Alsing Elijah Visbal Francisco Villaescusa-Navarro David Spergel Rachel Somerville Sigurd Naess David Hogg Shy Genel Stephen Feeney Lauren Anderson Astrophysics Chia-Yu Hu Chris Hayward Greg Bryan Melanie Habouzit Center for Computational FLATIRON INSTITUTE INVESTIGATORS Aaron Wong Andrea Gioivannucci Alex Barnett Amit Singer Anirvan Sengupta Aaditya Rangan Wen Yan Witold Wysota Vladimir Gligorejivic Xi Chen Tarmo Äijö John Hayward Jeremy Magland Julia Koehler Shravan Veerapaneni Sebastian Fürthauer Salim Chowdhury Benjamin VanderSluis Sebastian Seung Shidong Jiang Leslie Greengard Kiley Graim Charles Epstein Nick DeVeaux Dmitri “Mitya” Chklovskii Richard Bonneau Olga Troyanskaya David Stein Rachel Sealfon David Saintillan P. DouglasRenfrew Eftychios Pnevmatikakis Daniel Needleman Esshan Nazockdast Eva Kanso Cengiz Pehlevan Naomi Oppenheimer Christian L.Müller Cara Magnabosco Mariano Gabitto Meet Barot Mariano Tepper Marina Spivak Michael Shelley Center for Computational Biology 52 SOCIETY OF FELLOWS SIMONS FOUNDATION Andrei Okounkov J. AnthonyMovshon John Morgan Ruth Lehmann David Hirsh David Heeger Carol Mason Gerald D.Fischbach Boris Altshuler Margaret Wright Moses Chao Senior Fellows SIMONS SOCIETY OFFELLOWS Aditi Sheshadri Ailsa Keating Yi Sun Junior Fellows Timothy Burbridge Tobias Bartsch Zheng Wu James Stafford J. ColinHill Jairo DiazAmaya James Dama Jennifer Bussell Sonja Billerbeck Ruth Angus Rafael Maia Boris Leistedt Dion Khodagholy Kohei Inayoshi Keith Hawkins Benjamin Harrop-Griffiths Logan Grosenick Gilad Asharov Li-Cheng Tsai Chervin Laporte Omri Weinstein Mijo Simunovic Michal Breker Adventure Scientists Numberphile Nautilus Woodrow Wilson Academy ofTeaching andLearning WNYC, OnlyHuman Wiki Education Foundation, Wikipedia Year ofScience White HouseSouthbyLawnFestival White HouseFrontiers Conference WGBH, NOVA 100kin10 University ofCalifornia, SanFrancisco, Science&Health EducationPartnership Two Turtle Productions,ExperimentsinScienceStorytelling The StoryCollider The ConversationUS,Inc. Strategic EducationResearchPartnership Institute STEMteachersNYC STEM Summit Junior Achievement STEM LearningEcosystemsInitiative Steeplechase Films: OliverSacks:TheLifeoftheMind SK Films: AmazonAdventure Science Festival Alliance:Just Add Science Pioneer Works Partnership forPublic Service New York University, ArthurL.Carter JournalismInstitute New York Harbor Foundation, BillionOysterProject New York Hall ofScience National Academies ofSciences,Engineering,andMedicine Iridescent HYPOTHEkids Foldscope Instruments DonorsChoose.org Bridge toEnterAdvanced Mathematics BioBus &BioBase Guerilla Science Genspace California CouncilonScienceandTechnology Mathematical SciencesResearchInstitute Mathematical AssociationofAmerica Math forAmerica EDUCATION &OUTREACH SUPPORT 54 SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS SIMONS FOUNDATION American Academy ofArtsandSciences University ofCalifornia, Berkeley Stony BrookFoundation, Inc. Science PhilanthropyAlliance Science Festival Foundation Rockefeller University Physical ScienceInnovations New York Genome Center National Museum ofMathematics National Academy ofSciences Institute forAdvanced Study Institut desHautes ÉtudesScientifiques Columbia University Cold SpringHarbor Laboratory Mathematical SciencesResearchInstitute Massachusetts InstituteofTechnology SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS Alfred Aho University ofPennsylvania Srinivasa Varadhan Courant InstituteofMathematical Sciences Courant InstituteofMathematical Sciences Rutgers University Karin Rabe Harvard University Ramesh Narayan Barnard College Dusa McDuff Princeton University Igor Klebanov Princeton University Nicholas M.Katz Charles Epstein Columbia University Margaret H.Wright Massachusetts InstituteofTechnology Michael Sipser Mathematics &Physical Sciences Scientific Advisory Board ADVISORY BOARDS Alector LLC Arnon Rosenthal

University CollegeLondon University ofPittsburgh Tobias Bonhoeffer Huntington F.Willard Harvard University Elizabeth Spelke Icahn SchoolofMedicine atMountSinai Eric Nestler Rockefeller University Richard P.Lifton David A.Lewis Rockefeller University Cori Bargmann Marine BiologicalLaboratory Martin Raff Max PlanckInstituteofNeurobiology SFARI Scientific Advisory Board

ADVISORY BOARDS STAFF

Spectrum Advisory Board Quanta Advisory Board Science Sandbox Advisory Board Ahmad Abbad Meghan Fazzi Timothy Kane John Acampado Stephen Feeney Jeanette Kazmierczak Michael E. Goldberg Laura Chang Bruce Alberts Andrea Ace Pamela Feliciano Marlow Kee Columbia University The New York Times University of California, Stephanie Adika Gerald D. Fischbach Matthew Kent San Francisco Maria Adler Ian Fisk Deborah Kenyon Laura Helmuth Benedict H. Gross Leyla Ahari Chris Fleisch Patricia Kim Washington Post Harvard University Alan Alda Tarmo Äijö Nina Fleiss Emily Klein Alan Alda Center for Justin Alsing Neil Flood Julie Koehler Robin Marantz Henig Hopi E. Hoekstra Communicating Science, Alpha Amatya Patrick Flood Boyana Konforti The New York Times Magazine Harvard University Stony Brook University Lauren Anderson Steven Ford Michael Kranz Caleb Arnold Calissia Franklyn Abe Lackman Ivan Oransky Vincent Racaniello Majora Carter Kathryn Augenblick Tammi Fumberi Alex Lash MedPage Today Columbia University MCG Consulting Meet Barot Sebastian Fürthauer Noah Lawson StartUp Box Agnes Barszcz Mariano Gabitto Kevin Layman Aviv Regev Howard Schneider Marta Benedetti Annaliese Gaeta Seran Lee-Johnson Massachusetts Institute of Stony Brook University School Kishore Hari Lawrence Bianco Jennifer Garcia Monika Lenard Technology of Journalism Science & Health Education Aaron Biscombe Alexandra Geldmacher MaryKate Levi Partnership, University of California, Jill Blackford Shy Genel David Leyden Joshua Sanes Steven Strogatz San Francisco Alexandra Bolter Andrea Giovannucci Thomas Lin Harvard University Cornell University Richard Bonneau Katherine Goodwin Alice Luo Clayton 56 Werner Herzog Greg Boustead Kiley Graim Jeremy Magland David Sassoon Michael Turner Michelle Bradshaw Anastasia Greenebaum Cara Magnabosco InsideClimate News Kavli Institute for Cosmological Miranda July Elizabeth Brooks Leslie Greengard Jennifer Maimone-Medwick Physics, University of Chicago Jennylyn Brown Marion Greenup Malcolm Mallardi Will Talbot Robert Lue Greg Bryan Ann Griswold Apoorva Mandavilli Stanford University Leslie B. Vosshall Harvard University Martin Butler Luke Grosvenor Julie Manoharan Rockefeller University Claire Cameron Brigitta Gundersen Richard Marini Vikki Spruill Matteo Cantiello Melanie Habouzit Michelle Matias Council on Foundations Jacob Cappell Fang Han Richard McFarland Marian Carlson Carolyn Hare Andy Millis Nicholas Carriero Dominique Harrison Emily Miraldi

SIMONS FOUNDATION Lindsey Cartner Kevin Hartnett Katherine Moisse Mani Cavalieri Chris Hayward Michael Moyer Nadine Celestin John Hayward Elizabeth Mrozinska Ahmad Chatha Deborah Hertz Christian L. Müller Xi Chen James Hohman Megan Muneeb Wubin Chin Jessica Holthouser Vincent Myers Dmitri “Mitya” Chklovskii Rebecca Horne Sigurd Naess Andrew Choi Kenta Hotokezaka Layla Naficy Salim Chowdhury Chia-Yu Hu Ehssan Nazockdast Wendy Chung John Jagard David Nelson Justin Creveling Marian Jakubiak Camille Norrell Amy Daniels William Jensen Debra Olchick Nicholas De Veaux Chan Johnson Naomi Oppenheimer Donna Dejesus-Ortiz Lydia Jung Joanna Pacholarz

ADVISORY BOARDS ADVISORY Shaun Dubreuil Rachel Jurd Alan Packer 58 STAFF SIMONS FOUNDATION Andras Pataki Alexandra Stephens Alexandra Shaheen Alyssa PicchiniSchaffer Allison Rains Andrei Salomatov Anthony Roux Tjitske Starkenburg Tara Schoenfeld James Stewart John Spiro Julia Sommer Jesse Sherwood Jowy Romano Samantha Riviello P. DouglasRenfrew Louis Reichardt Lucy Reading-Ikkanda Eftychios Pnevmatikakis Balmes Pavlov Danielle Patch Colleen Stock David Stein David Spergel Lee AnneGreen Snyder Kori Smith Emily Singer Rachel Sealfon Kimberly Scobie Kathleen Savarese Diane Sarria Beverly Robertson Christopher Rigby Cindy Rampersad-Phillips Christina Pullano Olivia Pinney Cengiz Pehlevan Chaim Singer Olena Shmahalo Nick Sanghvi Elizabeth Roy Mary Paliouras Marina Spivak Michael Shelley Mariah Roda Allegra Thomas Adrienne Tauro-Greenberg Annie Wong Aaron Wong Aaron Watters Yuri Tschinkel Ashley Yeager Wen Yan Ursula Wing John Tracey Jennifer Tjernagel Jessica Wright James Whalley Jan Varghese Benjamin Stokar Shirley Ying Philip Yam Paul Wong Natalie Wolchover Ingrid Wickelgren Patricia Weisenfeld Paul Wang Karen Walton-Bowen Elijah Visbal Francisco Villaescusa Navarro Kathryn VanderWoude Benjamin VanderSluis Hope Vanderberg Dawn Tucker Olga Troyanskaya Nikolaos Trikoupis Steve Zukin Hana Zaydens Casey WhiteLehman Natalia Volfovsky Nicholette Zeliadt Mariano Tepper STAFF Distinguished ScientistandFellow, Simons Foundation Director, Mathematical SciencesResearchInstitute Executive Vice PresidentandChiefFinancial Officer, Renaissance Technologies President, Simons Foundation President-elect, AmericanAssociationfortheAdvancement ofScience Foreign Secretary, NationalAcademy ofMedicine Chair, Simons Foundation James H.Simons, Ph.D. Gerald D.Fischbach, M.D. David Eisenbud,Ph.D. Marilyn Hawrys Simons, Ph.D. Mark Silber, J.D.,M.B.A. Margaret A.Hamburg, M.D. BOARD OFDIRECTORS