Future Vision

Letter from the Dean

Welcome to another academic year, filled with excitement for our scientific research program and fraught with the perils of an unpredictable funding landscape.

We are lucky at the School of Science to have partners who see the long-term vision that brought us—and the world— major scientific discoveries. We honored one such visionary, Marilyn Simons, with the school’s inaugural 1932 Award. Together with her husband, the late Jim Simons ’58, the Simons Foundation has helped us in innumerable ways.

Read more from Dean Nergis Mavalvala

The Latest

Myriam Heiman heads The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory

Jesse Thaler leads the Laboratory for Nuclear Science

The Greatest

Marilyn Simons receives School of Science’s 1932 Award

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals creates fund honoring co-founder Phil Sharp

In the News

Astronomers find space sugar

Soft Serve with Scientists

Baby black holes

The post Science@MIT appeared first on MIT School of Science.

On May 11, 2026, the School of Science hosted the inaugural 1932 Award Dinner to honor Marilyn Simons and the late Jim Simons as philanthropists and as trusted partners of fundamental scientific researchers at MIT. The 1932 Award recognizes philanthropy that ignites new pathways of curiosity throughout the School of Science and celebrates its impact on basic science. Faculty, students, and friends of MIT gathered to commend Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation as visionary partners of the School of Science, who have advanced discovery across mathematics, neuroscience, and the physical sciences for three decades.

The Simons’s generosity reflects a deep and enduring partnership grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and a shared commitment to advancing fundamental science for the benefit of humanity. By recognizing their achievements with the 1932 Award, Dean Nergis Mavalvala and the School of Science community expressed gratitude to exceptional generosity that drives forward the scientific enterprise.

The post Marilyn Simons receives School of Science’s 1932 Award appeared first on MIT School of Science.