The Banff International Research Station (BIRS) is proud to announce a new partnership with Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) in Chennai, India. As the first South Asian centre for BIRS, CMI will join IMAG-Granada in Spain, CMO-Oaxaca in Mexico, IASM-Hangzhou in China, and BIRS-UBCO in Canada as a BIRS-affiliate centre. More information about CMI is available at https://www.cmi.ac.in

CMI is a rare example of a public-private partnership, where outstanding undergraduate and graduate-level education is complemented by world-class research in mathematics, theoretical computer science and theoretical physics. The BIRS-CMI partnership dovetails perfectly with a major new CMI initiative, the Dr. F.C. Kohli Centre of Excellence. The Kohli Centre has already been inaugurated and will soon be housed in a new facility within walking distance of the main campus. The BIRS-CMI collaboration will promote research and innovation through a vigorous visitor program at this centre.

Chennai, located on the southeastern coast of India, is a premier educational hub with a strong research presence in the mathematical sciences, both historical and current. Chennai has developed as a major centre for information technology, health care and manufacturing. At the same time, it retains a rich tradition in music and art, spanning millennia. Chennai serves as a base to explore southern India, home to many spectacular monolithic temples. Two well-known nearby attractions are Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram.

The full CMI opportunities will be made available through the BIRS call for proposals that will be issued in 2023 for the 2025 program. However, we are currently planning a BIRS-CMI pilot program to be hosted in Chennai as early as 2024, and the BIRS Scientific Board will consider a limited number of workshop proposals for the 2024 calendar year. Please write to ([email protected]) if you are interested in developing such a workshop.

Information about 2024 pilot program

CMI will host up to 4 workshops (each 5 days) in 2024 as part of the pilot program. Workshops will be held during January to March, and September to December, which provides the best weather conditions for such events.

Areas of interest

CMI's existing research groups work in mathematics, theoretical computer science and theoretical physics. The current areas of interest are:

• Mathematics: number theory, commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, algebraic groups, representation theory, graph theory, algebraic topology, functional analysis, data science
• Computer Science: algorithms, complexity theory, formal verification, logic, automata theory, machine learning
• Physics: gravitational waves, string theory, quantum field theory, nonlinear dynamical systems, open quantum systems

BIRS-CMI welcomes proposals aligned with these topics, as well as allied areas such as algebraic combinatorics, mathematics of industrial design and manufacturing, quantum computing, cryptography and explainable AI.