Simons Symposia

The Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences division is currently soliciting proposals for its Simons Symposia series, which brings together mathematicians, theoretical physicists and theoretical computer scientists to interact and collaborate in a series of three symposia, held every second year and focusing on one topic or a tightly connected group of topics.

The first meetings in the new series will start in the winter or spring of 2020. The foundation expects to select up to one mathematics and one theoretical physics or theoretical computer science series to start in 2020.

Format of a Symposium Series

An individual symposium series consists of up to three weeklong meetings on one topic or a tightly connected group of topics. A symposium series is initially approved for one year and renewed for up to two more meetings if successful. If the first meeting in the series occurs in year N, then subsequent meetings would occur in years N+2 and N+4.

Each symposium in the series may have up to 23 participants, including its organizing committee (two to four leaders in a field). It will have a focused theme and a schedule that leaves plenty of time for collaboration and open-ended discussion. In some areas, a tight focus on a new research development or a specific research problem would be appropriate; in others, a symposium might help set an agenda for the field. Please see previous Simons Symposia for reference.

Participation

Participation in a symposium is by invitation only and participants are required to attend all events during the symposium. The Simons Foundation will issue invitations upon the recommendation of the organizers. The foundation will also make travel arrangements for all symposium participants and will provide support at the conference site. All expenses, including travel, lodging and meals, will be paid by the foundation.

Criteria for Judging Proposals

Proposals for new series will be judged on the basis of the significance and timeliness of the topic, the appropriateness of the symposium format, the likelihood of interesting science being completed or sparked and the scientific quality of the organizing committee.

Eligibility

Institutional involvement and approval are not required for the application, and applicants from within or outside the U.S. are eligible.

Guest Policy

The foundation does not allow spouses, families or others to join participants during the symposium.

Participants who choose to invite guests to come before or stay after the meeting do so at their own expense. The Simons Foundation will not cover expenses associated with such extensions.

How to Apply

Applications to organize individual symposium series that start in winter or spring of 2020 are due by October 31, 2018, and must be submitted on proposalCENTRAL (https://proposalcentral.altum.com/default.asp).

Please see the How to Apply tab for further instructions.

The organizing committees will be notified by December 31, 2018.