IPAM is saddened to share the passing of James “Jim” Simons on May 10, 2024. Jim was an award-winning mathematician, a legend in quantitative investing, and a motivated and generous philanthropist.

From 1968 to 1978 he was chair of the math department at Stony Brook University in New York, where his mathematical breakthroughs are now instrumental to fields such as string theory, topology and condensed matter physics.

In 1978, Jim founded the hedge fund Monemetrics, which would eventually become Renaissance Technologies. The hedge fund pioneered quantitative trading and became one of the most profitable investment firms in history. Jim then focused on making a difference in the world through the Simons Foundation, Simons Foundation International, Math for America, and other philanthropic efforts. IPAM has received generous support from the Simons Foundation over the past decade, providing funds to advance the careers of many graduate students and postdocs in the mathematical sciences. 

For more about Jim and his legacy, please visit the Simons Foundation website:

• Simons Foundation Co-Founder, Mathematician and Investor Jim Simons Dies at 86 (Simons Foundation)
• Remembering the Life and Careers of Jim Simons (Simons Foundation)
• Science Lives: Jim Simons on His Career in Mathematics (Simons Foundation)