All News 
All News 

Simons Foundation Timeline

Commemorating 25 years of advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences

A gold seal reads Officially 501(c)(3) Approved. Next to it, a file box labeled Simons Foundation sits on the floor beneath some hanging clothes in a closet.

1994

  • Foundation receives IRS certification as a 501(c)(3)

1994

  • Founder-directed gifts to institutions, community organizations, other myriad causes
A woman with shoulder-length wavy hair smiling, wearing a collared shirt. The word GREENEBAUM appears near her shoulder. The image has a blue-gray tint and a plain light background.

2000

  • Stacey Greenebaum, first employee, hired as communications officer; later becomes communications director
Map with a red location pin at 126 East 19th Street, near Petes Tavern in New York City. Nearby landmarks include Gramercy Park and Union Square Cafe. Streets and notable businesses are labeled.

2001

  • First office established, at 126 East 19th Street
Two women smiling at the camera with text labeling them as Adler and Mrozinska. One has short hair, the other has her hair tied back and is wearing a scarf.

2002

  • Maria Adler hired as financial director, later becomes CFO
  • Elizabeth Mrozinska hired as hospitality specialist

2003

  • Foundation organizes roundtable of scientists on state of autism research; roundtables to become template for future programs
  • First annual report
A smiling man wearing glasses and a bow tie interacts with someone offscreen. The text Math For America appears above his hand. An American flag is visible in the background.

2004

  • Decision made to focus mission on basic science and mathematics
  • Founder-directed grant (later named Outreach and Education) helps launch Math for America
A circular map shows a section of Manhattan with a red location pin near 101 5th Avenue, surrounded by nearby shops, cafes, and landmarks, including Paragon Sports, Sephora, and Barnes & Noble.

2005

  • Foundation moves to 101 Fifth Avenue
  • Second annual report states foundation’s focused mission
Older man in a suit and patterned tie, smiling, with the word FISCHBACH in capital letters to the left. The background is plain white.

2006

  • First request for application (RFA) goes out
  • Gerald Fischbach joins as scientific director to lead autism program, formally named SFARI, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative
  • Simons Simplex Collection launches
Smiling older woman with short gray hair, wearing a necklace and dark top, against a light background. The word GREENUP appears near her shoulder.

2007

  • Marion Greenup joins as vice president of administration
Two women, one with light hair labeled WEISFELD and one with dark hair labeled MANDAVILLI, smile in front of a red World Science Festival logo.

2008

  • SFARI Gene launches
  • SFARI Base launches
  • SFARI launches news division, later called Spectrum, led by Apoorva Mandavilli
  • Patricia Weisenfeld joins President’s Office as vice president for Special Initiatives
  • Outreach and Education funds first annual World Science Festival
A man in a suit and glasses is in front of a vintage postcard that says Greetings from New Orleans, Louisiana and shows historic street scenes. The name Eisenbud appears below him.

2009

  • David Eisenbud hired to build and direct Mathematics and Physical Sciences program (MPS); MPS division established
  • Inaugural SFARI investigator meeting in New Orleans
  • MPS initiates interim Simons Postdoctoral Fellows program
A map highlights Simons Foundation at 160 5th Avenue in New York City, showing nearby stores and landmarks, including Sephora, The LEGO Store, and The Home Depot.

2010

 

  • Foundation relocates to 160 Fifth Avenue
  • Simons Science Series, a monthly interdisciplinary colloquium, launches; series ends in 2015
  • Marian Carlson joins SFARI; later becomes director of Life Sciences
  • Simons Variations in Individuals Project (Simons VIP) launches
  • MPS launches Math+X grants for mathematics
  • MPS-funded Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook inaugurated
A red pennant with a blue border reads Stony Brook Seawolves and features a stylized wolf head and the letters SB in blue and white.

2011

  • 160 Speakers Series launches, with author Jonathan Weiner as first speaker
  • SFARI Explorer Award RFA program launches
  • Founder-directed $50 million matching challenge grant — combined with $100 million personal gift — marks largest gift in Stony Brook University history
  • SFARI.org relaunches with sleek new design and features
A round table set for a meal overlooks a group of people standing and talking near a window, with trees and water visible outside. Text reads BUTTERMILK FALLS..

2012

 

  • SFARI-funded Simons Center for the Social Brain launches at MIT
  • MPS launches Simons Symposium
  • Alex Lash joins as chief information officer
  • Buttermilk Falls meeting, leads to the creation of Simons Collaborations
  • Inauguration of Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley, supported by MPS grant
  • MPS launches Investigator and Fellows programs
  • Yuri Tschinkel succeeds David Eisenbud as MPS director
  • Simons Science News launches, later becomes Quanta, led by Thomas Lin
  • Foundation’s Twitter account launches
  • Foundation’s Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium opens, hosts SFARI annual meeting
  • MPS funds Simons Array, led by Brian Keating and Adrian Lee
Two older men stand side by side, both smiling. One wears glasses and a suit jacket; the other is in a light-colored, collared shirt. The names GREENGARD and REICHARDT are written near them.

2013

  • Simons Foundation Lectures launches with Science of Climate series
  • MPS begins to fund three sites for Africa Mathematics Project
  • Louis Reichardt hired as SFARI director, succeeding Gerry Fischbach
  • Leslie Greengard joins to direct Simons Center for Data Analysis (SCDA); inception of CCB/Flatiron
  • MPS first annual meeting
  • Life Sciences launches; foundation’s first collaboration is the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life (SCOL)
  • Simonsfoundation.org relaunches
  • MPS funds operating grant to arXiv preprint server at Cornell University
Two men in collared shirts are shown side by side against a light background. The name FISK is captioned under the man on the left, and CARRIERO under the man on the right.

2014

  • New collaborations: Ocean Processes and Ecology; Global Brain; Algorithms and Geometry; Many Electron Problem
  • SFARI and Autism Speaks create Autism BrainNet, a network of brain banks
  • Nick Carriero and Ian Fisk hired to provide infrastructure
    and resources to support SCDA
  • Simons Society of Fellows founded
  • Outreach and Education division officially designated
A teal wireframe geometric shape on a dark background, with the text HOMOLOGICAL MIRROR SYMMETRY. Next to it is the Spectrum Autism Research News logo with a yellow-orange prism icon.

2015

  • New collaborations: Homological Mirror Symmetry; It from Qubit
  • Foundation’s Facebook page launches
  • SFARI news division renamed Spectrum, relaunches on own site, spectrumnews.org
Smiling bald man with a beard wearing a white shirt. The word SPERGEL appears in blue text near his chest, and a minimalist geometric design is in the background on the right.

2016

  • SPARK (Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research) launches
  • Foundation leases 162 Fifth Ave
  • SFARI becomes sole funder of Autism BrainNet
  • New collaborations: Cracking the Glass Problem; Nonperturbative Bootstrap; Special Holonomy in Geometry, Analysis and Physics; Simons Observatory
  • David Spergel joins to lead Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA)
  • Foundation launches Flatiron Institute; SCDA renamed Center for Computational Biology (CCB); Scientific Computing Core (SCC) established
  • Science Sandbox launches
  • Life Sciences funds Simons Electron Microscopy Center at New York Structural Biology Center
Two men wearing glasses, one in a sweater and shirt labeled Millis, the other in a jacket and shirt labeled Georges, stand next to each other, smiling at the camera against a plain background.

2017

  • New hires begin receiving black Simons Foundation fleeces
  • Antoine Georges and Andy Millis named director and
    co-director of Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ)
  • Foundation, SFARI websites relaunch (SimonsFoundation.org, SFARI.org)
  • Global Brain expands to include International Brain Lab
  • New collaborations: Principles of Microbial Ecosystems; Computational Biogeochemical Modeling of Marine Ecosystems; Arithmetic Geometry, Number Theory and Computation
A person stands in a dark cave entrance with blue light shining in, surrounded by darkness. Text at the bottom reads THE MOST UNKNOWN..

2018

  • The Most Unknown, produced by Motherboard with Outreach and Education funding and support; success leads to launch of Sandbox Films, headed by Greg Boustead
  • Center for Computational Mathematics (CCM) launches; led by Leslie Greengard
  • Green team established: Goodbye, plastic; hello, blue water bottles
  • Simons Foundation Presents series launches
  • New collaborations: Hidden Symmetries and Fusion Energy; Localization of Waves
  • Improved SFARI Base launches
  • Foundation purchases 160 Fifth Avenue building
Two men stand side by side, both in collared shirts. The man on the left is labeled Shelley, and the man on the right is labeled Robertson. The background is plain white.

2019

 

  • New collaborations: Ultra-Quantum Matter; Wave Turbulence
  • Human Nature, film about CRISPR co-produced by Outreach and Education–funded Sandbox Films, premieres at South by Southwest
  • Euan Robertson joins as foundation’s first chief operating officer
  • Michael Shelley named director of CCB
  • Simons VIP rebranded as Simons Searchlight
  • Flatiron Institute dedicates auditorium to Ingrid Daubechies
  • Foundation decides to establish fifth computational center, Center for Computational Neuroscience (CCN)
  • Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary

Series

Simons Foundation 25th Anniversary

See Series
Header for untangling quantum entanglement

Untangling Quantum Entanglement

Header image for whether autism therapy can be tailored

Can Autism Therapy Be Tailored?

Digital illustration of teaching computers how to do science

Deconstructing Machine Learning’s Black Box

Portrait photo of Bernhard Riemann

Bernhard Riemann: An Intuitive Mathematical Mind