PROVIDENCE – Officials from federal and local governments, the National Science Foundation and leaders from Brown University gathered at noon on Monday to celebrate the university’s new $15.5 million Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics.
“In his State of the Union address, President [Barack] Obama talked about the need for America to out-educate and out-innovate the rest of the world. This new institute can help put our state at the forefront of that effort while creating jobs here in Rhode Island,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
The institute, funded by the NSF, will open this fall at 121 South Main St. It is the eighth federally funded national mathematics research institute and the only one in New England.
“As the co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, I know how important the mathematics research done here will be to our economy and to our national security. The scientific advances that come out of ICERM also will drive private sector innovation, creating high quality jobs for Rhode Islanders,” said Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I.
The institute aims to expand the use of computational and experimental methods in mathematics, to support theoretical advances related to computation and to address problems posed by the existence and use of the computer through mathematical tools, research and innovation, a news release said.
The intitute’s potential research applications include computer modeling related to climate change, cryptography, cybersecurity, energy production and distribution, financial modeling, personalized medicine, search engines and social networks.
The university also highlighted the estimated economic impact of the institute: a full-time staff of nine, up to 40 resident researchers, up to 12 postdoctoral researchers annually. Brown expects around 1,000 visitors annually to the institute to book 2,200 hotel rooms and generate more than $500,000 in local spending on lodging and meals in greater Providence.
The institute will have two semester programs annually, eight international conferences with up to 200 speakers and summer research programs for undergraduates.
The institute will occupy two floors at 121 South Main St., an 11-story office building the university purchased in 2005 best known for being the site of Hemenway’s Seafood Grille & Oyster Bar
The NSF funding covers the first five years of the institute’s operations; after that, the institute will seek to extend funding for another five years, which is customary for the NSF-funded math institutes, the news release said.