本帖最后由 placenice 于 2010-3-4 09:24 编辑
PI跟UW的教授都是两边挂牌的。
PI的大财主就是UW的校长Mike Lazaridis，就是RIM的CEO。
你不是新来的吧？ ...
godzilla 发表于 2010-3-4 09:10 
挂牌只是因为离得进，没有任何从属关系。MIT和Harvard教授还互相挂呢
至于RIM 除了给钱以外看不到还有什么关系。安省政府还给PI给钱呢
Perimeter Institute is a basic research centre dedicated toexploring the world around us at its most fundamental level. It beganin the summer of 1999 when Mike Lazaridis, founder and Co-CEO ofResearch In Motion (RIM) – maker of the successful BlackBerryTM – foundhimself in a position to help foster research and innovation inCanada. In August 1999, the Founding Director, Howard Burton, was hiredand a Board of Directors was formed to take on the task of establishinga world-class institute devoted to theoretical physics.
Thefounders set out to create an organization that would foster a vigorousand truly innovative scientific community. A small study grouptravelled to many scientific institutes, laboratories and academicdepartments, in order to learn about relevant issues, from researchbreadth, to interaction with the surrounding academic community, toorganizational structure, and even architecture. After several monthsof travel to locales such as the Institute for Advanced Study(Princeton), the Institute for Theoretical Physics (Santa Barbara), theSanta Fe Institute, CERN (Geneva), the International Centre forTheoretical Physics (Trieste) and others, the following conclusionswere made about how Perimeter Institute should be structured:- The Institute should be independent
- The Institute should focus on foundational, non-directed research
- The Institute should be resident-based
- The Institute should be a flat hierarchy of a true community of scholars
- The Institute should develop a strong public presence
Theindependence of the Institute was regarded as essential in order toexercise maximum flexibility with regards to hiring faculty,accommodating visitors, structuring public outreach activities andother matters. However there was also universal recognition that itwas essential for the future Institute’s culture and atmosphere todevelop some structured way to substantially involve students andyounger researchers in the mainstream of the Institute’sactivities. Finally, the founders also felt that a central part of theInstitute's mission should be to strengthen physics research throughoutCanada, and were mindful of placing it in a cooperative, rather than acompetitive, relationship with the surrounding academic community.
Withthese concerns in mind, it was concluded that the Institute would beginby offering positions for senior faculty. To integrate PI researcherswith the surrounding academic community, a structure enablingcross-appointments at local universities was devised. The resolve tointeract with other organizations combined with the Institute’s ownaggressive recruitment efforts would, in the fullness of time, generatea cluster of top international talent and thereby strengthen the entireregion in fundamental physics research. Moreover, by working in tandemwith other organizations, the Institute would be able to accommodategraduate students from Canadian universities for various periods oftime within its own walls, thereby ensuring a lively and dynamicresearch environment.
While the Institute planned to focus onfoundational, non-directed research, it was realized that particularattention should be paid to achieving an appropriate balance betweenformal and phenomenological approaches to fundamental issues, asbefitting a physics, rather than a mathematics, institute. Recognizingthat cross-fertilization of ideas has often led to the greatestadvances, it was decided that the Institute would deliberately foster adiversity of approaches within a culture of excellence. This wouldencourage deep, innovative thinkers to boldly push boundaries of ourcurrent understanding of physical laws, and increase the likelihood ofachieving major advances. To this end, the Institute would also benefitfrom a combination of advice generated by a Scientific AdvisoryCommittee (SAC), on-site researchers and external scientific experts toensure that the scientific mission statement was continually met.
AlthoughPerimeter planned to be resident-based rather than program-driven, itwas recognized that workshops, conferences, summer schools and the likewould represent an excellent opportunity to interact with theinternational academic community and expose resident researchers tointeresting developments in neighbouring fields. As a result, theInstitute would set out to run a wide range of scientific programs yearround. A new facility, already being contemplated, would ultimatelyfeature a lecture theatre, seminar rooms and collaboration areas tospecifically foster the activities.
The structure of theInstitute also entailed considerable deliberation. In order to developa culture of a true community of scholars, there was strong motivationto ensure that the Institute function with the flattest possiblehierarchy. Recognizing that many of the seminal discoveries intheoretical physics have historically come from young researchers,Perimeter set out to have a youth-oriented focus and to give its manypostdoctoral researchers as much research freedom and opportunity aspossible. Its senior faculty, meanwhile, would be a blend of youngerand more experienced scientists, providing a combination of provenresearch excellence, leadership and mentoring experience together withhighly productive scientific activity. The Scientific AdvisoryCommittee – to be comprised of internationally renowned scientists–would be an integral oversight body, offering guidance, and ensuringobjectivity and a high standard of scientific excellence in allresearch.
In establishing Perimeter Institute, the founderswere not only motivated to create a research centre of the highestinternational standing, they were simultaneously determined to stronglyaffect the prevailing culture by celebrating the importance and impactof scientific inquiry. As a result, a comprehensive program ofeducational outreach activities would be established with a reach thatwould ultimately extend across Canada and serve as a model to theworld. Specific programs would be designed to engage students, teachersand members of the general public with targeted content by way ofin-class lessons, customized workshops, on-site summer schools,on-going lecture series, special festivals and more.
Finally,cultural events would also be a part of the life of the Institute,complementing the twin mandates of top quality research and educationaloutreach. Perimeter Institute would aim to be an attractive and dynamicfacility in the broadest possible sense – a stimulating setting forleading-edge scientists to think as well as an accessible and engagingenvironment for the community at large. |
发表于 2010-3-4 09:46
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.GIF)
.GIF)
发表于 2010-3-4 11:21
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发表于 2010-3-4 12:55
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