Dr. James Simons, former chair of Stony Brook's Math Department and founder of Renaissance Technologies, has given Stony Brook University a $25 million gift, the largest single cash pledge in Stony Brook and S.U.N.Y. history. According to Shirley Strum Kenny, Stony Brook University's President, "Jim has extraordinary vision. He understands the critical need for support of education, particularly in science and mathematics, in America. His generosity paves the way for Stony Brook to explore new frontiers in education and research, now and in the future."
The pledge of $25 million comes from the Simons Foundation, according to Karol Gray of the Stony Brook Foundation. Ms. Gray went on to say that "the pledge of $25 million is for a seven year period. The funds are intended for current use and endowment to support the various programs that the Simons have special interest in supporting."
In particular, the gift will go toward the univerity's Math and Physics programs. Dr. Peter Koch, chairman of the Physics and Astronomy department, notes that the chairpersons and directors of the Math and Physics departments have written a joint letter to Dr. Simons thanking him for the pledge and expressing their interest in future communications.
"During the past thirty years mathematics and physics have grown increasingly intertwined," said Dr. Simons. "This is particularly true in the cases of string theory, quantum field theory and cosmology, which have all depended upon and stimulated advanced work in geometry and topology. Buttressed by its close relationship with Brookhaven National Laboratory and building on a fine faculty already in place, we believe our gift can help propel Stony Brook into the very top rank in these central fields."
Dr. Simons has been a benefactor of Stony Brook University on a regular basis through the Simons Foundation, which recently began an initiative into studying the origins of autism. Including Stony Brook University, the foundation's recent contributions included other prestegious institutions such as MIT, Institute des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in France, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley CA, and the Rockefeller University all totalling approximately $14 million, according the the Foundation's website.
From 1968 to 1976 Dr. Simons was chair of the Math Department at Stony Brook before moving on to found Renaissance Technologies in 1982, a financial institution that has about $12 billion in assets and manages hedge funds. It has been lauded as one of the world's most successful hedge funds with its $5 billion Medalion Fund averaging a 35% annual return since its inception in 1989.
Dr. Simons obtained his Ph.D. in Math from U.C. Berkeley in 1962 and taught there before coming to Stony Brook. He has won prestigeous prizes such as the American Mathematical Society's Oswald Velben Prize in Geometry in 1976 for his work on minimization of multi-dimensional surfaces and characteristic forms, which has been a seminal contribution to both math and physics.
Close to home here at Stony Brook, Dr. Simons chaired the Stony Brook Foundation since 1989, while currently he is Chair Emeritus. He supports an annual workshop and lecture series in math and physics at the university. Last year Dr. Simons led a group of directors from Renaissaince Technologies and Brookhaven Science Associates in donating $13 million to Brookhaven National Laboratory to fund federal budget shortfalls that would have shut down operations at the Relatevistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) for 2006 and grounded a project to investigate the origins of proton spin.
More broadly, Dr. Simons' philanthrophy led him to testify in 2005 to a Congressional committee on Education and the Workforce on the importance of a federally funded program to increase the number of scientists and scientific teachers in the United States.
The gift raises Stony Brook University's first capital campaign total to $165 million. The campaign's goal is to reach $300 million. The $25 million gift is monetarily the 2nd largest gift to Stony Brook next to Charles B. Wang's $52 million. Though, Wang's gift was used to construct the eloquent Charles B. Wang Center for Asian and American Cultures. Dr. Simons' gift is the largest single cash pledge in a SUNY institution's history, where previously it was a $10 million donation to the Fashion Institute of Technology by former Kohl's executive Jay H. Baker and his wife, Patty, in 2001.
"Dr. Simons' generosity, support and vision have for years been a contributing factor to the success of Stony Brook University and the SUNY System," says S.U.N.Y. Chancellor John R. Ryan. "This latest contribution from Dr. Simons will enhance the many successful programs underway at Stony Brook University, which employs one out of every seven S.U.N.Y. faculty, statewide, and is one of the most prestigious research centers in the nation."
By Shawn Pottorf with contributions from Patrick Calabria
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