Quantum physicist Kun Chen. When he was in graduate school, Kun Chen found himself gripped by a puzzling question: How could electrons, seemingly simple particles governed by straightforward equations of motion, lead to such complex and varied phenomena in everyday materials? Could these complexities be precisely predicted from basic...

The Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division is thrilled to announce the first recipients of a new grant recognizing outstanding and sustained contributions to the field of science engagement. Called the Bridge Grant, the opportunity is open to members of the division’s Science Sandbox community of...

By clicking to watch this video, you agree to our privacy policy. For many, math is a distant memory — one of classrooms and tricky equations. But math is also a gateway to many things, including...

A girl looks up at the sun while wearing a pair of the In the Path of Totality eclipse glasses that will be handed out for the April 8 total solar eclipse. Emily Tan/Simons Foundation On April 8, 2024, tens of millions of Americans will share one of the universe’s most spectacular events: a total eclipse of the sun by the moon. As...

Artists and the experiences they create have the power to captivate our attention and seemingly suspend time, unlocking new ways of thinking and inviting us into a state of discovery. In this spirit, the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division announces a new program to support artists in integrating...

Cutting-edge computer simulations combined with theoretical calculations are helping astronomers better understand the origin of some of the universe’s most energetic and mysterious light shows — gamma-ray bursts, or GRBs. The new unified model confirms that some long-lasting GRBs are created in the aftermath of cosmic...