India's first private mathematics research center becomes a reality in Mumbai

India's first privately funded mathematics research centre has been established in Mumbai. The Lodha Mathematical Sciences Institute (LMSI) has been opened with Dr Manjul Bhargava, the very first Fields Medalist of Indian descent, among the world's elite of the maths fraternity.

Dr Bhargava, professor at Princeton University, also sits on the advisory council of LMSI. He will head the institute's first programme, a seminar course in number theory and arithmetic statistics.

The four-month course will start later this month and continue until mid-December, and there are several more such programmes in the pipeline.

The philanthropic arm of Lodha Group, the Lodha Foundation, has also supported the initiative with a sizeable endowment. The Lodha family donated approximately Rs 20,000 crore to the foundation last year for education and research initiatives. The LMSI is the first initiative that has been established from this donation.

GLOBAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

The institute's advisory board includes some of the most influential mathematicians in the world.

Besides Dr Bhargava, members of the faculty are Dr Vikraman Balaji from Chennai Mathematical Institute, Dr Sourav Chatterjee, Dr Ravi Vakil, and Dr Yakov Eliashberg from Stanford University, Dr Alexander Lubotzky from Weizmann Institute of Science, and Dr Kavita Ramanan from Brown University.

Other Indian mathematicians of repute such as Dr Mahan Mj of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Dr Parimala Raman of Emory University will also be imparting future courses.

LEAD BY DR V KUMAR MURTY

Dr. V Kumar Murty, a number theorist and an arithmetic geometer with excellent work in the field, will head the institute. He was a former director at the Fields Institute and a professor at the University of Toronto.

Delivering the first address, Dr Murty also stated, "We know that in the very long history of India there were many great mathematicians who have made elementary contributions which have constructed the world we live today. LMSI intends to solve elementary problems which will make India a developed country and a world leader by 2047."

He also explained where mathematics can be observed in day-to-day technology, from linear algebra powering search engines to computational geometry powering e-commerce websites.

FUTURE PLANS AND IMPACT

Abhishek Lodha, managing director and CEO of Lodha Developers, joined in further, "It is important for us as a firm to make sure that our success somehow comes to the development of India. To that extent, the family as a whole last year decided to donate roughly a fifth of the ownership of the firm to the Lodha Foundation. We have realized that for any country to be strong, we must have innovative ideas and help develop innovation."

Ashish Kumar Singh, the chief mentor of Lodha Foundation, addressed the application of mathematics in contemporary technology. "The foundation of nearly all modern technological advancements is mathematical, be it cryptography, cyber security, war, and most importantly artificial intelligence (AI). At LMSI, our objective is to recruit top-quality researchers to get them to engage and collaborate on edge mathematics research that is newest."

BEYOND PURE MATHEMATICS

LMSI is also keen on employing new mathematical methods such as data science, operations research, machine learning, and optimisation to address health, infrastructure, and economic issues. The faculty will be at liberty to do pure research without having to suffer administration.

The institute also made an announcement for its first symposium on August 17-19 with lectures from its distinguished faculty. In the near future, LMSI is going to organize the Indian Congress of Mathematics in December next year, bringing India's best mathematical brains together under one roof with the vision to make it a yearly affair.

Lodha Group and Foundation believe the project will not just put India on the global map as a center for research in mathematics but also sow seeds of national development, fresh concepts, and innovation.