PRINCETON: University and institute share in $10 million grant

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
 Princeton University and the nearby Institute for Advanced Study are among several institutions that will share a $10 million National Science Foundation grant that was announced last week.
   The $10 million grant is dedicated to the study of computational intractability. The term refers to the notion that some present-day mathematical problems seem inherently impossible to solve with current scientific equipment and methods.
   The problem of computational intractability is an important issue that touches all types of scientific and industrial endeavors, according to the university announcement of the grant.
   Thousands of mathematical problems are so complex that even with modern computers and other developments they appear to be impossible to solve. National Science Foundation officials hope the grant, — titled Expeditions in Computing — and associated research will allow scientists to better identify which mathematical problems are truly “intractable,” or unsolvable, even with advanced equipment and methods.
   Heading up the team for Princeton University, which is considered the lead institution in the research, is Sanjeev Arora, a professor of computer science and the director of the school’s Center for Theoretical Computer Science.
   ”Our proposed research will address some of the deepest questions in computer science,” said Ms. Arora, in a written statement.
   Also taking part in the research at Princeton University is Bernard Chazelle, the Eugene Higgins Professor of computer science; Boaz Barak and Moses Charikar, assistant professors of computer science; and Robert Tarjan, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science.
   The Institute for Advanced Study team is led by Avi Wigderson, the Herbert H. Maass Professor in the School of Mathematics; and Russell Impagliazzo, visiting professor in the School.
   Sharing the grant with Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study is New York University and Rutgers University. Both schools will contribute researchers to the cause.
   The Institute for Advanced Study also received a separate $1.75 million National Science Foundation grant for a project titled “CDI Type II: Pseudorandomness.”
   The research team for that project will be directed by Jean Burgeon, Russell Impagliazzo, Peter Sarnak and Avi Wigderson, all of the institute’s School of Mathematics.
   The “pseudorandomness” project is being undertaken with an eye toward bringing together mathematics and computer science.
   Many researchers see that as two major research tracks that have been progressing in parallel, according to the institute announcement.
   The two grants will support five postdoctoral students, called “members,” and more senior visitors at the Institute for Advanced Study.
   The Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry since its founding in 1930, has a full-time faculty of 27. More than 5,000 former institute members hold positions of intellectual and scientific importance all over the world.
   The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency with an annual $6.06 billion budget.
   Created by Congress in 1950, the foundation is tasked with promoting “the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense.”
   The National Science Foundation is the funding source for 20 percent of all basic research at U.S. colleges and universities in mathematics, computer science and the social sciences.