User:DanielCarlTaylor/sandbox/Simons Foundation

The Simons Foundation supports basic (that is, discovery-driven) research in mathematics and the basic sciences. This purpose follows from a larger mission: “To advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences.” Its support of scientists generally takes the form of direct grants to individual investigators and projects through their academic institutions.

Founding
Co-founded by Jim Simons and his wife, Marilyn Simons, in 1994. James Harris Simons is a mathematician who after a academic career at MIT, Harvard, and Stony Brook Universities founded Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund widely recognized as one of the first and most successful quantitative hedge funds. Marilyn Simons, a Ph.D. in economics, has been President of the foundation since its inception.

Programs
The foundation makes grants in four areas: Mathematics & Physical Sciences; Life Sciences; Autisim Research; and Education & Outreach. In 2013 the foundation also launched an internal research division, the Simons Center for Data Analysis.

The foundation focuses on creating strong collaborations between scientists and fostering cross-pollination of ideas—with the belief that such interactions often lead to unexpected breakthroughs and new understanding. To foster such interaction directly between scientists, in 2012 the foundation launched the Simons Collaborations. These bring together funded investigators (sometimes from different disciplines) to seek timely answers to a problem. To date, five such collaborations have been launched in and across mathematics, physics, and the life sciences. The Simons Center for Data Analysis functions similarly to unite scientists for collaboration, again usually across disciplines.

The foundation also supports two journalistically independent online magazines: Quanta Magazine devoted to coverage of research developments in mathematics and the physical and life sciences, and SFARI.org, [www.sfari.org] planned to soon be re-branded as Spectrum, [www.spectrumnews.org] which is devoted to autism research news and opinion.

Annual Reports
Simons Foundation 2014 Annual Report  Simons Foundation 2013 and earlier Annual Reports