Simons Investigators in Math+X Investigators Program

Math+X Investigators is designed to encourage novel collaborations between mathematics and other fields in science or engineering by providing funds to professors at universities to establish programs at the interface between mathematics and other fields of science or engineering. The Investigator will be expected to teach in both the mathematics and the X partner departments and be appointed in both departments by the award's state date (courtesy appointments will be allowed).

  • Eligibility: 
    • Investigators must be a current tenured faculty member with a primary appointment in the mathematics department. 
    • The X partner should be a department or institute of science or engineering at the Investigator's university that will engage in significant collaboration with the mathematics department in an area where such collaboration is not the norm. Both departments must have doctoral programs. 
    • X partners in finance and business will not be considered. Proposals involving connections to areas where there are already well-established links with mathematics, such as economics, string theory, or computational complexity, will also not be considered unless the proposal involves particularly unique collaborations.
  • Award Amount: $1.5 million ($300,000/year over 5 years), renewable for up to 5 more years
  • Number of Awards: 2
  • Number of UMass Amherst Nominees: 1 

 

Internal Application Process

The internal selection process will be led by a committee composed of the deans of internal applicants' respective schools and colleges or their designees and, if necessary, the Provost, Vice Chancellor for Research Engagement, or faculty with relevant expertise and informed by the grant programs' guidelines and submission requirements.

 

If you are interested in applying to either of these programs please email a pre-proposal with the following items, in the order listed, in a single PDF by September 16, 2017 to  cfr@admin.umass.edu:

  • A statement (five-page limit, plus one additional page for references and figures) that addresses the following:
    • Vision of the novel collaborations and possibilities the award will produce. The involvement of both departments should be clearly described.
    • Vision of how the research funding will be used to establish new links between the two departments and, more generally, between the disciplines involved.
  • Curriculum vitae, including Ph.D. year, institution, advisor, postdoctoral institutions and advisors, positions held subsequent to award of doctorate, and up-to-date publication list.
  • A list of past and current postdoctoral fellows and Ph.D. students supervised within the last five years and a list of those who may be supported by the grant.
  • Current and pending external and internal research support (award number, award title, role, start and end dates, sponsor, total award amount).

For additional information, visit the programs' website.  To view the typical profile of successful nominees, applicants are encouraged to visit Current Awardees.  If you have technical questions about the grant program(s) or your eligibility, please contact Liz Smith in Corporate and Foundation Relations