The Legacy of Jim Simons

Special symposium honors Jim Simons’ Life, Legacy and Impact on Stony Brook University

By Christine McGrath

Jim Simons

Jim Simons was a beloved friend, generous philanthropist, pioneering mathematician and visionary leader. On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, Stony Brook University held a special event to celebrate the impact he left on the university and in the mathematics and physics world.

The event, held at the Simons Center Auditorium, featured three panel discussions about Dr. Simons’ connection to Stony Brook, which spans six decades. The program also featured four short lectures on his scientific work and the impact he made in mathematics and physics and through his philanthropy on Stony Brook Medicine. 

After a welcome by SBU Interim President Richard L. McCormick, Henry Laufer, Stony Brook Foundation trustee, gave the opening remarks. Laufer spoke about the many years he and Jim knew each other — from their time in the mathematics department at Stony Brook to working together at Renaissance Technologies, which Jim founded in 1982.

The first panel, moderated by Scott Sutherland, chair of the mathematics department at Stony Brook, discussed how Jim built the Department of Mathematics into one of the nation’s top math departments. Together, Jeff Cheeger, Silver Professor of Mathematics at New York University, and Anthony Phillips, professor of mathematics emeritus at Stony Brook, painted a picture of what the department was like in its early days. Cheeger spoke about how Jim always placed emphasis on hiring the best possible mathematicians. And Phillips explained how Jim easily gained the confidence of the math professors and then Stony Brook President John Toll. 

During the second discussion, moderated by George Sterman, director of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, panelists spoke to Jim’s philanthropic investments in mathematics and physics. Distinguished Professor Blaine Lawson; Professor Cumrun Vafa, chair of the Harvard Department of Physics; Martin Rocek, Stony Brook Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy; Peter van Nieuwenhuizen, Stony Brook Distinguished Professor emeritus; and Dennis Sullivan, Stony Brook Department of Mathematics Distinguished Professor, shared memories and anecdotes of how they worked directly with Jim on the planning and implementation of the programs he and his wife, Marilyn, along with the Simons Foundation, supported — including the importance of investing in mathematics postdocs and how the idea for the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics came about. 

“Among his many talents, Jim Simons was a gifted builder of teams. One of the goals of this event is to tell the story of how Jim saw enduring collaborative potential at Stony Brook,” said Sterman. “Through a series of donations and personal involvement, he strengthened the interdisciplinary culture in math and physics that led eventually to the foundation of the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics. Its establishment and early successes can be thought of as a prelude to Jim and Marilyn’s historic campus-wide donations.”

A panel of former colleagues share memories of working with Jim Simons on math and physics programs.

The final panel, moderated by Senior Associate Vice President of Advancement Deborah Lowen-Klein, featured discussions of how Jim always looked beyond what was and saw what could be and of how the philanthropy of both Jim and Marilyn, as well as the Simons Foundation, is helping to build a university for the 21st century, including, most recently, the Simons STEM Scholar Program and the Simons Infinity Investment in 2023. The first panelist, David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation, continued to paint a picture of Jim as a builder. “Jim approached building institutions with the same joy he approached mathematics,” said Spergel. “He and Marilyn were intimately involved in many of the successes of these different programs that were discussed today.”

Abhay Deshpande, Stony Brook Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy, discussed the work being done at Brookhaven National Laboratory and how Jim was a strong proponent of this work, both in his support for basic science and in the way that the work strengthened Stony Brook University. Luis Alvarez-Gaume, director of the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, spoke about the importance of curiosity-driven science within the context of the work being done at the Simons Center. And Lawrence Martin, Stony Brook Department of Anthropology Distinguished Service Professor and director emeritus of the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI), shared the impact of the Simons Foundation on the science being done at TBI and its impact on Stony Brook University. 

The last panel speaker, Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine William Wertheim, discussed the impact of Jim and Marilyn and the Simons Foundation’s 2011 gift of $150 million and how it helped to build the Medical and Research Translation (MART) Building at Stony Brook University Hospital and, through the matching gift challenge, enabled Stony Brook Medicine to recruit renowned physician-scientists from across the nation. The MART is home to Stony Brook Cancer Center’s clinical and research operations, where the clinical research is focused on the next generation of cancer treatments. “Jim and Marilyn Simons’ vision — and the Simons Foundation’s generosity — have shaped not only the physical landscape of Stony Brook but also the trajectory of our research, patient care and community impact,” said Wertheim.

In between each panel, brief lectures were given by Blaine Lawson, who spoke about Jim’s accomplishments as a mathematician; Cumrun Vafa, who discussed the impact that the ideas generated at the Simons Summer Workshops, that Jim and Marilyn and the Simons Foundation funded, had on mathematics and physics; Distinguished Professor Dmitri Kharzeev, who spoke about the effect of Jim’s mathematics on physics; and Distinguished Professor Vincent Yang, the Simons Chair of Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine, who spoke about the impact the funding from the Simons Foundation had on the Department of Medicine at Stony Brook Medicine.

Through Jim Simons’ teaching, research, academic and volunteer leadership and philanthropy, the university has been forever transformed, and his generosity of spirit was matched only by his probing intelligence and profound optimism for the future.

In between each panel, brief lectures were given by Distinguished Professor Blaine Lawson, who spoke about Jim’s accomplishments as a mathematician; Professor Cumrun Vafa (chair of Harvard University’s physics department), who discussed the impact that the ideas generated at the Simons Summer Workshops, that Jim and Marilyn and the Simons Foundation funded, had on mathematics and physics; Distinguished Professor Dmitri Kharzeev, who spoke about the effect of Jim’s mathematics on physics; and Distinguished Professor Vincent Yang, the Simons Chair of Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine, who spoke about the impact the funding from the Simons Foundation had on the Department of Medicine at Stony Brook Medicine.

“Jim Simons’ devotion to Stony Brook was vast and strong,” said Interim President Richard L. McCormick. “We will all continue to benefit from Jim’s wisdom, leadership and extraordinary generosity for generations to come. His legacy will prevail as long as this university exists.”

To learn more about the impact of Jim Simon’s life, please read our May web feature, Jim Simons: A Life of Scholarship, Leadership and Philanthropy.