A Different Kind of Institute: the American Institute of Mathematics Allyn Jackson

A Different Kind of Institute: The American Institute of Mathematics Allyn Jackson You would never think there is a math institute money has been supplemented by funding from the here. National Science Foundation (NSF) since 2002, when Driving south along the wide, six-lane thor- AIM became one of the national mathematics in- oughfare called El Camino Real, you pass into Palo stitutes funded by the NSF. Among the many math- Alto, California, from the north. The stately cam- ematics institutes that now dot the globe, AIM is a pus of Stanford University stretches along for a mile different kind of institute, with an unusual struc- or two, offering a bit of elegance and greenery be- ture and an unusual history. And, if its plans come fore the monotony of low-slung, nondescript ar- to fruition, AIM will become yet more distinctive chitecture resumes. You pass the inevitable Star- when it moves into its new home, an opulent build- bucks, a few bicycle stores, and some Asian ing to be constructed in the center of a golf course restaurants. There are few pedestrians and plenty in a farming community about forty-five minutes of parking lots. After a couple of major intersec- south of Palo Alto. tions, you reach Portage Avenue, a street so small it would not merit even a stoplight were it not for Adapting to Commercial Quarters the need to regulate traffic into the parking lot of Walking into AIM, you might wonder, “This is a math the massive Fry’s Electronics store that sits at the institute?” The single-story, flat-roofed, windowless end of Portage. As you enter the Fry’s parking lot, warehouse was clearly constructed with commer- there is still no indication that a mathematics in- cial purposes in mind. There is no foyer, no check- stitute of international renown is located here. You in desk, no lecture halls or administrative offices mount the steps to the walkway that runs across in view. After proceeding down a narrow corridor, the front of the Fry’s building and wander along you enter a large rectangular room with sofas and to the battered metal door modestly bearing the coffee tables set here and there. Soon you notice words “American Institute of Mathematics”. You bookcases filled with mathematics monographs: might then notice that the colorful mural painted AIM has purchased the entire publication list of the on the wall next to the door has some distinctly AMS and all mathematics books published by Cam- mathematical themes. bridge University Press, Elsevier, Oxford University Since its founding in 1994 the American Insti- Press, and Springer-Verlag. Its library is 12,000 tute of Mathematics, known by the shorthand AIM, volumes strong and growing. has become an active center for mathematical re- At this point one might notice that along the back search. Its improbable location is the result of its wall of the room a mathematician stands lecturing start as a small, elite institute privately funded by in front of a whiteboard. Audience members move the president of Fry’s Electronics. The private forward and listen or hang back and observe; they Allyn Jackson is senior writer and deputy editor of the might get up to get a coffee or a snack, peruse the Notices. Her email address is [email protected]. journals, leaf through handouts about current AIM 1330 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 52, NUMBER 11 activities, and then return to the lecture—all without ever leaving the room. Take one of the chairs near the whiteboard to follow the lecture closely or perch on a stool a little distance away or sit on a sofa at the back of the room and chat with col- leagues. It turns out that this odd, boxy room, which probably looked at first glance to be totally unsuited to housing a mathematics institute, has been set up in such a way that it actually works very well. So how did a mathematics institute come to oc- cupy this space next to Fry’s Electronics? AIM is the brainchild of John Fry, president of the privately held company that runs a chain of about thirty electronics stores that now stretches across the south- western United States. Stores recently opened in At- lanta and Chicago, and international expansion is One might ask, “There’s a mathematics institute in here?” in the works. In the 1970s Fry was a mathematics major at Santa Clara University and took courses there with Gerald Alexanderson, who remembers Fry as an outstanding student who clearly had the talent to become a mathematician if he desired. “He was terribly interested in mathematics, but he was also interested in making money,” Alexanderson recalled. Fry’s family owned a chain of supermarkets, and after the chain was sold Fry and his brothers decided to open supermarket-like stores selling electronics and computer equipment. Fry’s Elec- tronics stores do resemble supermarkets or per- haps Wal-Marts: they are huge and cavernous, with long shelves stuffed with goods. The stores are dec- orated in various whimsical themes. One sports an Egyptian motif, with wall murals depicting pharaohs doing calculations on laptops; the theme of the store next to AIM is the Wild West. Some years after he finished college and after the electronics stores were established, Fry got Or say, “Wait a minute—this is an electronics store, not a math back in touch with Alexanderson. In the early 1990s institute!” he asked Alexanderson to help organize a series of lectures about mathematics at the Fry’s Elec- tronics store in Sunnyvale. Among the speakers were Donald Knuth of Stanford University, Thomas Banchoff of Brown University, and Nicholas von Neumann, the brother of John von Neumann. Be- cause they were held in the heart of Silicon Valley, the lectures sparked much interest and drew large crowds. Alexanderson recalled that at this time Fry often spoke of his desire to establish a mathematics library that would house everything ever published in the field—a contemporary version of the great library at Alexandria that was built in the third century BC and is thought to have been de- stroyed in a fire. A rare book collector himself, Alexanderson fully understood that it would be a herculean task to create such a library, but nothing could shake Fry’s attachment to this dream. And Fry has made a start: for the past decade he has em- But lo and behold, here is the door to AIM, which occupies one ployed a part-time librarian to build his collection of the storage spaces in the building. DECEMBER 2005 NOTICES OF THE AMS 1331 of rare mathematical books and has invested a A Strategic Approach couple of million dollars in it. Jonathan Mattingly of Duke University is standing AIM was born in Alexanderson’s living room in front of the whiteboard at AIM, pen in hand. The one Sunday afternoon when Fry proposed starting occasion is a workshop on deterministic and sto- a mathematics institute and persuaded Alexan- chastic Navier-Stokes equations. Proving global ex- derson to chair the board of trustees. Having just istence of solutions to the Navier-Stokes equation been named secretary of the Mathematical Asso- in R3 or controlling the inviscid limit of the forced ciation of America, Alexanderson was reluctant to equation in R2 would be major feats, Mattingly take on additional responsibilities. But when it be- notes. “Okay, these are the home runs—these are came clear that Fry was unlikely to start the insti- Annals papers,” he says. But are there any smaller tute without him, Alexanderson relented, and he problems along the way? he asks. Are there less has chaired the AIM board of trustees ever since. daunting steps that could be taken that would Another early key figure in the establishment of AIM bring the “home runs” a little bit closer? People in is Fry’s business associate, the audience start suggesting problems, and Mat- Stephen Sorenson, who is a tingly starts scribbling. This is an AIM problem director at Fry’s Electronics. session. As the moderator, Mattingly has the job One of the people initially re- of eliciting suggested problems from the audience cruited for the AIM advisory and writing them on the board. To have your prob- board was Brian Conrey, then lem written on the board, you must at a minimum mathematics department get Mattingly to understand it. The idea of having head at Oklahoma State Uni- a moderator write the problems on the board, as versity. Conrey had also been opposed to having each person come up to the a mathematics major at Santa board to write his or her own problem, is that the Clara and knew Alexander- moderator can distill the problem statements to son and Fry from his student make them clearer and more accessible. And the days. After serving for two choice of a dynamic and enthusiastic moderator like years on the advisory board, Mattingly helps to get ideas flowing. This particu- Conrey was appointed as the lar structure for the problem sessions is one of the director of AIM in 1997 and hallmarks of AIM workshops. has remained in that posi- AIM has developed various strategies for pro- Gerald Alexanderson tion ever since. moting interactions among researchers, with a Although Fry continues to focus on ultimate goals: solving important prob- be deeply interested and involved in the running lems in mathematics. This approach has its roots of AIM, particularly in its financial aspects, he stays in Fry’s initial vision for AIM as a place where teams out of the limelight.

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