A Mathematical ‘Fever Dream' Hits the Road
Dr. Daubechies plans to bake pi cookies to celebrate Pi Day, which is this Friday, March 14 — 3/14. That day is also the International Day of Mathematics; the theme in 2025 is mathematics, art and creativity.
For the occasion, this year Dr. Daubechies is visiting the University of Quebec in Montreal, where she will offer special tours of 'Mathemalchemy,' a traveling multimedia math-meets-art installation that has been her constant passion (some might say obsession) for the last five years. She will also give a public talk on 'Mathematics to the Rescue of Art Curators.'
The exhibition — a 360-degree diorama of sorts, 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and nine and a half feet high — was created in collaboration with Dominique Ehrmann, a fiber sculptor from Quebec, and a team of 24 artistic mathematicians and mathematical artists. It debuted in 2022 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., and has made several stops since.
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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Research funding not keeping up with demand in Nunavut
Joël Bêty has been studying various bird species on Bylot Island, north of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, for more than 25 years — but this year is looking different from most. Usually, he and his team set up five camps stretched across about 500 square kilometres on Bylot Island. But increased logistical costs associated with the project will limit Bêty's work to two camps this season. His is one of several research projects in the territory to be affected by rising costs while funding remains stagnant. Bêty, a professor in the department of biology, chemistry and geography at the University of Quebec's Rimouski campus, relies on helicopters to access the remote sites, but he said higher fares have forced him to cut his travel in half. "I'll be covering a much smaller area for sampling, so that'll give me data that's not quite as good ... and it'll also cut into the longer term tracking we're trying to do over a large area," he said. "When we're trying to understand the impacts of climate change … it's really important to do that long-term tracking." Vital logistical support Dominique Berteaux is another professor in the same department who also carries out research on Bylot Island. His work focuses on various predator species, including lemmings. Like Bêty and Berteaux, many researchers who carry out their work in Nunavut rely on Natural Resources Canada's Polar Continental Shelf Program for support. Its Arctic logistics hub, set up in Resolute Bay, helps pair researchers with specialized equipment, helicopters and twin-engine aircraft. Berteaux said the program's funding to cover the costs of helicopter flying hours is about $50,000 less than it was in 2024. While he was able to cover the gap through other funding sources, he said he's concerned that those kinds of budget restraints will affect Arctic research overall. "There's lots of research in the North that can't happen without the support from the Polar Continental Shelf Program," he said. Both researchers agree that the program's funding hasn't kept up with inflation in recent years. In an email, Maria Ladouceur, a communications adviser with Natural Resources Canada, said the federal government allocated $49 million over five years to the program in its 2024 budget, and then "$10 million of ongoing funding after 2029-2030." "Despite consistent funding, demand for the services of [the Polar Continental Shelf Program] often exceeds available resources, particularly considering the reality that operating in the North is more costly than elsewhere," reads Ladouceur's email. "The [program] remains committed to delivering safe, effective and equitable services, while also addressing essentially operational requirements to ensure the long-term sustainability of its services." More projects, less funding A 2023 report by Canada's chief science adviser, Mona Nemer, says "northern research alone could increase eightfold by 2040, requiring significant growth in logistical capacity." Bêty is concerned that will result in less funds allocated to each project. "If you increase the competition between researchers, obviously there's going to be a smaller amount for each one," Bêty said. Philippe Archambault, science director for ArcticNet, said his organization already can't fund as many projects as it used to. Of the 72 proposals it received this year, only 22 received funding, about 31 per cent. According to Archambault, 10 years ago that number would have been closer to 43 per cent. In an effort to try and spread the funding to more projects, the organization is also more stringent on what it'll put money behind, he explained. The trend, he said, is due to stagnant funding over the past few years that doesn't take into account increased costs of carrying out the research. "The fuel, any airfare — so when you take the plane, it's more expensive," he said. "When you go and stay in a community … all these prices have increased. So all the equipment, everything increased." In 2019, ArcticNet received $32.5 million over five years from the federal government through its Networks of Centres of Excellence initiative. The organization will receive that same amount — this time from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — over 2024-29. Negative effects on relations with Inuit communities Stagnant funding is also affecting how researchers engage Inuit communities, said Archambault. "Some projects decrease the number of days in the Arctic. They also sometimes decide not to do any type of consultation, or not as long as usual," he said. "So they go to the North, do the consultation and try to do the field work right away, which is not the right way of doing it with our Indigenous partners. "The lack of funding will definitely bring us back to some extent," he added. Archambault said funding needs to keep up with costs to ensure researchers can keep building relationships with communities and that they are involved in developing projects.
Politico
3 days ago
- Politico
A plan to preserve U.S. science leadership
PROBLEM SOLVERS National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt made a plea to the nation's science research community during her second annual State of the Science address in Washington on Tuesday: Course-correct or lose to China. We're in the midst of a 'radical new experiment,' McNutt explained, in which the U.S., by pursuing budget cuts, canceling grants and adopting restrictive research policies, serves as the treatment group, while China is the control. Unforced errors made during the pandemic eroded many Americans' trust in science. But there's still at least one point of agreement: 'Everyone, whether it's scientists or nonscientists alike, wants U.S. science to be the world leader.' To remain a world leader in science innovation, McNutt laid out a plan. Among her key suggestions: — Build on a culture of innovation. McNutt worries that budget cuts will fuel overly conservative project selection and lead to less funding for high-risk, high-reward research. To course-correct, the U.S. should do a data-informed analysis of various peer-review approaches to ensure 'truly innovative' proposals succeed. — Create a national research strategy. 'No sensible business person would attempt to run a multibillion-dollar enterprise without a strategy, and yet that is exactly what we are doing with our research enterprise,' she said. In McNutt's view, relying on Congress to tinker with budgets isn't a strategy. Countries like China, Germany, Japan and Norway maximize research and development investment through strategic planning, primarily with apolitical non-government organizations, McNutt added. — Improve science education. The U.S. is already failing to produce enough STEM students to fill available jobs in science. The Trump administration's clampdown on visas will make it even more difficult for immigrants to fill those jobs. Beyond filling jobs, having science-literate lawyers, politicians and workers in manufacturing and transportation strengthens the nation's scientific enterprise. — Don't retreat from international collaboration. Some cutting-edge research facilities require resources from more than one nation. And when international students return home, their U.S. connections drive further international collaboration. 'We squander opportunities by not taking advantage of the fact that international colleagues want to work with us, and we only disadvantage ourselves,' McNutt said. — Cut red tape. Regulations divert time and money away from science, McNutt argues. And since the Trump administration has prioritized reducing regulations, McNutt hopes that push extends to research regulations. Still, in the Department of Government Efficiency era, that's not a given. 'I worry that the emphasis right now on waste, fraud and abuse only leads to more regulations, as everyone is assumed guilty until proven innocent.' The elephant in the room: The National Academy of Sciences is 'preparing for a fairly radical downsizing' amid the Trump administration's science cuts, McNutt told Stat News last month. A budget shortfall of roughly $40 million resulting from terminated contracts means the organization might have to lay off 250 employees in addition to the 50 members of the 1,000-person staff who have already been let go. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Pope Leo XIV wants to stop artificial intelligence from playing God. Like his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, who promoted workers' rights during the industrial revolution, the new pope is positioning himself as a guardian in the face of unchecked modern technology, POLITICO's Hannah Roberts reports. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Danny Nguyen at dnguyen@ Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: Dannyn516.70, CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. WORLDVIEW England's National Health Service has launched an internal review into an artificial intelligence model being trained on data from 57 million patients in England, our POLITICO colleagues across the pond scooped. Called Foresight, the generative AI model was touted as a 'world-first pilot project' to pinpoint high-risk patient groups and facilitate early interventions. Foresight was trained on de-identified data from millions of people in England, including a large-scale dataset called the General Practice Extraction Service Data for Pandemic Planning and Research. But doctors have serious misgivings about the model being trained on their patient records without proper authorization. What the docs say: Last month, representatives from the British Medical Association and Royal College of General Practitioners wrote to Ming Tang, chief data and analytics officer at NHS England, expressing 'serious concerns about the lawfulness of the data use and the apparent absence of strict governance arrangements,' according to an email seen by POLITICO. The bone of contention is whether NHSE took patient data solely intended for Covid-19 research and incorporated it into an all-purpose AI model. NHSE's guidelines state that applications for accessing patient data must undergo additional review by its Professional Advisory Group. The advisory group approved the British Heart Foundation consortium's use of the primary care data specifically for Covid-related research during the pandemic but was never consulted about large language model training. The official line: An NHSE spokesperson said: 'Maintaining patient privacy is central to this project, and we are grateful to the Joint GP IT Committee for raising its concerns and meeting with us to discuss the strict governance and controls in place to ensure patients' data remains secure.' What's next: The Joint GP IT Committee, which advises on IT matters related to general practice medicine, plans to write to the Information Commissioner directly, a person familiar with the situation told POLITICO. In addition to demanding that the British Medical Association be called as a witness to the Information Commissioner, the joint commission wants 'explicit governance' over future uses of AI and an undertaking that any future emergency measures permitting the use of general practitioners' data contain a sunset clause if doctors haven't been consulted, the person said.
E&E News
3 days ago
- E&E News
‘State of the science' under Trump? National Academies president plays it safe.
The U.S. is falling behind as a global science leader. Research funding has lagged for years, compounded by current cuts to staff and budgets under President Donald Trump. Those were the grim highlights of the second annual State of the Science address Tuesday by Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences. But the country can change course, she said, by funding education, pursuing international collaborations and advancing national research strategies. Advertisement Despite her stark warnings, McNutt took an understated approach to the chaos consuming U.S. research.
