Director's Update on Research Continuity

Dear friends,

I hope all of you are well, in the midst of this extraordinary time. I am writing with a brief update on research continuity at the Simons Institute.

This semester has been exceptionally vibrant. Our two research programs — on quantum computing and on lattices and post-quantum cryptography — have had many cross-program conversations and collaborations. In the past few weeks, several of our researchers took their meetings outdoors for “research hikes,” and some meetings were held remotely. Now that the Bay Area is under a “shelter in place” directive, all of our activities have migrated online — workshops, seminars, collaboration meetings, and even daily tea.

I’m deeply grateful to our program and workshop organizers and participants for their commitment to research and collaboration, as well as to our staff for their dedication and professionalism, during this transition. The organizers, in addition to their work prior to the beginning of the term, have put tireless efforts into reworking all schedules to be compatible with different time zones around the world. I will never forget their generosity at this challenging time. The Institute’s activities continue, albeit through a different medium. The sense of community remains strong, and is in some ways even enhanced by our shared experience.

Our first fully online workshops and lectures started this, and we hope you’ll be able to join us for them. Workshop schedules have been adapted to be compatible with various time zones, and updates will be posted to the individual workshop webpages. See our calendar for a list of upcoming activities.

You can also join us on our blog, the Calvin Café, and on Facebook and YouTube. We hope to see you soon.

Yours,

Shafi Goldwasser
Director, Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing