October 2026 Newsletter

Upcoming Workshops

October 5 - October 9, 2026: Statistical Foundations of Generative Modeling: Theory, Evaluation, Applications

October 19 - 23, 2026: Statistical Foundations for the Analysis of Non-Euclidean Data (Workshop 2 in the Fall 2026 Long Program on Connectomics)

November 9 - 13, 2026: From Connectomics to Brain Dynamics: Ordinary Differential Equations and Beyond (Workshop 3 in the Fall 2026 Long Program on Connectomics)

November 30 - December 4, 2026: Random Objects and Metric Statistics for Connectomics (Workshop 4 in the Fall 2026 Long Program on Connectomics)

February 22 - 26, 2027: 20 Years of Mean-Field Games

March 8 - 12, 2027: Introductory Workshop and Tutorial: Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems (Workshop 1 in the Spring 2027 Long Program on Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems)

March 15 - 19, 2027: Mathematical and Computational Data-Driven Modeling of Transportation (Workshop 2 in the Spring 2027 Long Program on Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems)

April 12 - 16, 2027: Robotics, Autonomy, and AI in Traffic Management (Workshop 3 in the Spring 2027 Long Program on Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems)

May 3 - 7, 2027: Efficient Mobility: Modeling, Control, and Perspectives (Workshop 4 in the Spring 2027 Long Program on Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems)

May 24 - 28, 2027: Advances in PDE Modeling of Vehicular Traffic and Its Societal Impact (Workshop 5 in the Spring 2027 Long Program on Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems)

Upcoming Long Programs

Accepting applications for the Spring 2027 Long Program: Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems

The Long Program on Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems Spring 2027 Long Program (March 8 - May 28, 2027) is accepting applications. Transportation science is a broad area attracting researchers from many different disciplines, such as applied mathematics, engineering, operations research, robotics physics, etc. Transportation in broad terms has been part of human activities since early history (see studies on traffic in ancient Rome). The birth of the modern era for vehicular traffic can be dated to 1920-30 with the advent of large-scale use of cars. It was precisely in the 1930s that Greenshield collected data using a camera and generated the first fundamental diagram (plot of flow versus density). The first partial differential equation models appear as early as the 1950s with the seminal work of Lighthill, Whitham, and Richards. Recently, the advent of innovative technology and the availability of large data sets created a demand and opportunity for new research using mathematical and computational models,including in areas such as robotics, autonomy, artificial intelligence, cognitive science,economics, and others. On the other side, there is an increasing interest in estimating the impact of traffic on society, from congestion to pollutant emissions, and the need to design efficient and equitable transportation systems aligned with the needs of different groups,while reducing the negative impacts of congestion and other traffic inefficiencies. This aspect attracted the interest of social scientists and other groups. The long program will explore new avenues of research by bridging different research communities and considering the impact of traffic flows at the societal level. The issues addressed will include but are not limited to, equitable transportation systems, technology impact on efficient transportation, energy and environmental footprint of vehicular traffic, automation and robotics and its social acceptance, large-scale data for traffic monitoring, and others. This program is timely, as human society is facing the challenges brought by increasing urbanization and pollution. The program will consist of an introductory tutorial workshop, which will bring up to speed young researchers or those starting to work in the area for the first time. Then four specific workshops will cover the main goals of the long program.

This Long Program is organized by Maria Chiri (Queen’s University), Qiang Du (Columbia University), Antonella Ferrara (Universita di Pavia), Paolo Goatin (INRIA), and Benedetto Piccoli (Rutgers University).

Apply here for Modeling and Control of Vehicular Traffic and Transportation Systems

Accepting applications for the Spring 2028 Long Program: Collaborating Frontiers: Integrating Mathematics, Statistics, and Biology in Healthcare Innovation

The Long Program on Collaborating Frontiers: Integrating Mathematics, Statistics, and Biology in Healthcare Innovation Spring 2028 Long Program (March 6 - May 26, 2028) is accepting applications. The recent breakthroughs in biology, engineering, and mathematics, from innovative targeted therapies to advanced artificial intelligence, promise fundamental transformation to healthcare. Yet, these advancements also shine a light on the broad spectrum of pressing challenges, such as the lengthy and expensive drug development process, soaring healthcare expenses against the backdrop of stagnant life expectancies, the fragility of healthcare systems amidst crises, and the disparities and fragmentation in care delivery. These, and many more important challenges, require a collaborative approach among scientists, practitioners, policymakers, and academics. IMSI’s unique environment is ideally suited to transcend disciplinary silos, enabling interdisciplinary collaboration across mathematics, statis-tics, biology, medicine, machine learning, economics, and operations research to address these pivotal healthcare challenges effectively. This initiative aims to create an active research community that will work together to solve the many current challenges of healthcare systems worldwide. The program will be centered around four primary pillars of the healthcare journey: (1) Drug Discovery and Clinical Trials, (2) Diagnostics, Screening, and Preventive Care, (3) Precision and Personalized Medicine, and (4) Digital Healthcare Delivery. The program will comprise a series of workshops dedicated to each pillar and a long-term residential component that will allow participants to form new research collaborations as part of the IMSI community.

This Long Program is organized by Ping Ding (UC Berkely), Jing Dong (Columbia Business School), Rui Duan (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), Robin Evans (University of Oxford), Michael Lingzi Li (Harvard Business School), Agni Orfanoudaki (Said Business School, Oxford University) and David Scheinker (Stanford Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital).

Apply here for Collaborating Frontiers: Integrating Mathematics, Statistics, and Biology in Healthcare Innovation

IMSI Seeks Proposals for Scientific Activity

IMSI is currently seeking proposals for long programs, workshops, interdisciplinary research clusters, and other scientific activity. Information about how to submit proposals can be found on the proposal overview page and the resources linked therein. There are currently openings for long programs in 2028-29 and beyond, and openings for workshops in October 2027 through July 2028. IMSI holds two proposal cycles per year, with deadlines of March 15 and September 15.

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IMSI acknowledges support from the U.S. National Science Foundation
(Grant No. DMS-2425650)

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