Participating Institutions

From its inception, the IMA has worked closely with a group of affiliated research institutions, referred to as Participating Institutions (PIs). PIs form an important source of input, talent, energy, and participation for the IMA.

PI membership is an ideal way for an institution to express its support for mathematics and its applications. The breadth of synergy that these collaborations bring to the IMA’s programs and their participants has been key to the IMA’s success. From its initial core of eight universities, the PI program has now grown to a total of nearly 40 universities.

The PI Council—consisting of one representative, often the head of a mathematics department, from each academic PI—is an important source of oversight for the IMA and an important conduit for the institute to better reach the academic community. The PI Council is kept aware of the IMA’s activities through regular mailings and meets for a full day each year.

PI membership brings many direct benefits to the institutional members, including the opportunity to support and guide the development of new mathematics relevant to applied sciences and industry.

PI Conferences

PI Members

How the IMA PI membership works

With annual terms running from September 1 through August 31, the IMA PI membership fee for an academic institution is $10,000 per year. Institutions may join at any time and pay a prorated fee. Each PI has an accumulating account at the IMA in which $3,000 from the annual membership is set aside yearly. PI institutions can spend the available funds from their account at any time for IMA-related activities at the discretion of the PI contact. The remaining membership funds are applied to other PI membership benefits, such as PI conferences and operational costs. Inquiries concerning the IMA PI Program should be sent to the director at director@ima.umn.edu.

Benefits

Advocacy

The IMA is a committed advocate of the value of mathematics to the solution of important problems from other disciplines, industry, and technology. The institute is an important resource for strengthening the position of PI mathematical sciences departments within their own university and cooperating with PI departments to enhance their programs.

Community

Through participation in IMA programs, faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from PI departments interact with a broad section of the mathematical sciences community that would not readily be available without the PI membership. Members interact and collaborate with other researchers involved with applications, not only from academic mathematics departments, but also from other disciplines, and from industrial and government laboratories. On a number of occasions, the IMA has run programs specifically designed to foster interaction between PI and PC scientists. Continuing collaboration and consulting relationships have often grown out of contacts made at the IMA. Chairs of PI departments benefit from access to their peers at annual IMA PI meetings.

Influence

PIs are given early access to IMA planning documents. IMA programming is discussed in annual meetings and members are consulted regularly on IMA-related matters. Input from PIs is a key factor in setting the direction of IMA programs.

Publicity

PI membership is an ideal way for an institution to express its support for mathematics and its applications. The involvement and support of PI institutions is publicly acknowledged in numerous ways, including listing on IMA marketing materials, website, and more, increasing visibility and generating good will in the mathematical sciences community.

Support

Three-thousand dollars of each annual membership is specifically earmarked to support PI participation in IMA programs, workshops, tutorials, conferences, and seminars. PIs can spend the available funds from their IMA account at the discretion of the PI contact to:

  • Support PI faculty, postdocs, and graduate students to participate in IMA programs, including other PI conferences
  • Support professional visits to PI institutions by scientists and graduate students in residence at the IMA or at other IMA PIs
  • Supplement other IMA funding for sabbatical and long-term visits to the IMA
  • Obtain a visiting position. PI faculty are given preferential consideration for visiting appointments. The IMA is an ideal location for junior faculty wishing to connect to applications and for established faculty looking to realign their research in more interdisciplinary directions.

Applications for sabbatical visits from PI faculty are encouraged. Membership in the IMA removes geographical and cultural barriers and greatly increases PI faculty and graduate student participation in mathematical research.

Allowable expenses are travel (airfare, taxi, car rental, mileage), and local expenses (meals and lodging). Other expenses, such as salaries, alcohol, fringe benefits, indirect costs, honoraria, and consultant fees are not allowable.

In order to release the PI IMA account funds, the IMA requires a brief email from the PI contact (usually the chair of the mathematics department) to visit support staff (visit@ima.umn.edu) in advance of the travel stating who is to be supported, whether the support is for travel, local expenses, or both, and any limit to the amount authorized. Upon receipt of the authorization, the IMA accounting staff will contact the visitor regarding the reimbursement process.

Benefits flyer