Neural Networks

From neurobiology to quantum systems, neural networks drive scientific discovery.

An illustration of a neural network being upgraded.
Placeholder image. Alex Eben Meyer for Simons Foundation

People

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Rediet Abebe

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley

Rhiannon Adam headshot

Rhiannon Adam

Photographic Artist

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Alexandre Adam

Flatiron Research Fellow, Centers for Computational Astrophysics and Computational Mathematics

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Ryan Adams

Investigator, Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain

New research at the Flatiron Institute explores how to improve neural networks using components closer to those in real brains.

Publications

Topological Phase Transitions Induced by Disorder in Magnetically Doped (Bi, Sb)\(_2\)Te\(_3\) Thin Films

October 13, 2026

Takuya Okugawa, Peizhe Tang, Rubio, Angel, and Dante M. Kennes

Single-particle spectral function formulated and calculated by variational Monte Carlo method with application to \(d\)-wave superconducting state

October 13, 2026

Charlebois, Maxime and Masatoshi Imada

Ultrasound evidence for a two-component superconducting order parameter in Sr\(_2\)RuO\(_4\)

October 13, 2026

S. Benhabib, C. Lupien, I. Paul, L. Berges, M. Dion, M. Nardone, et al.

Research Spotlight

In this Presidential Lecture, Geordie Williamson explains how neural networks are used for mathematical discovery. October 29, 2025

Software & Data

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aLENS

Software
Simulates microtubule assemblies with motor proteins using Monte Carlo dynamics, constrained collision handling, and massive parallelization.

Astra

Software
Analysis framework for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V) Milky Way Mapper.
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Astrometry.net

Software
Maps any astronomical image to sky coordinates (WCS) with no false positives, even without metadata, enabling real-time use across archives.
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BridgeStan

Software
BridgeStan gives in-memory access to Stan models via multiple languages, exposing log densities, gradients, Hessians, transforms, and predictions.

Feature

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Biological Brains Inspire a New Building Block for Artificial Neural Networks

January 26, 2026

While artificial neural networks are revolutionizing technology and besting humans in tasks ranging from chess to protein folding, they still fall short of their biological counterparts in many key areas, particularly reliability and efficiency. The solution to these shortcomings could be for AI to act more like a real brain. Computational neuroscientists at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute in New York City have drawn lessons from neurobiology to enhance artificial systems using a new type… Continue

Stories & Features

SFARI spotlight image.

Simons Foundation Announces 2026–2027 Class of SURFiN Fellows

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How Math Helped Argentine Sparrows Relearn Lost Songs

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Applications Open for 2027 Fellows-to-Faculty Award Program

Talks & Lectures

GIZMO code dev meeting

October 12–14, 2026

Taking Pictures and Making Movies of Supermassive Black Holes

Lecture

October 14, 2026

6–7 p.m. ET

Speaker

Shep Doeleman

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2026 MPS Annual Meeting

Conference

October 15–16, 2026

AstroFest 2026

October 15, 2026

1–5 p.m. ET