NSF-Simons NITMB and SkAI Celebrate Grand Opening with Ribbon-Cutting Event

Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, along with representatives from Simons Foundation, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined the NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB) and the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI) community for a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. Senator Durbin and the institutes’ key stakeholders remarked on the exceptional potential for critical innovations to come from both institutes, as well as the benefits NITMB and SkAI will have for foundational research in mathematics, biology, astrophysics, AI, and more. 

Ribbon cutting, from left, Richard Carthew, Alderman Brian Hopkins, Eric Perreault, Amanda Wasserman, Senator Richard Durbin, Erin Adams, Adrian Price-Whelan, Rebecca Willett. 

NITMB Group Photo, from left, William Kath, Richard Carthew, Alderman Brian Hopkins, Jian Cao, Eric Perreault, Senator Richard Durbin, Erin Adams, Rebecca Willett, Antonio Auffinger, Joseph Hibdon, Adrian Price-Whelan. 

Richard “Dick” Durbin, United States Senator for the state of Illinois, speaks at the NITMB and SkAI ribbon-cutting event 

Richard Carthew, PhD, Director of the NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology, speaks at the NITMB and SkAI ribbon-cutting event 

Richard "Dick" Durbin, United States Senator for the state of Illinois, leads a round table discussion with NITMB and SkAI