The Simons Foundation announced that Jill Pipher had joined its Board of Trustees.
On November 4, 2024, the Simons Foundation announced that Jill Pipher had joined its Board of Trustees. The Simons Foundation, established by mathematician and hedge fund manager James Simons and his wife Marilyn Simons, is one of the most significant private funders of basic research in mathematics and the physical sciences in the United States.
This appointment represented a continuation of Pipher's long-standing engagement with the mathematical research funding ecosystem, following her earlier roles as founding director of ICERM (itself supported by NSF funding) and her tenure as Brown University's Vice President for Research, as well as her presidency of the American Mathematical Society. Her appointment to the Simons Foundation's board placed her in a position to help guide funding priorities and strategic direction for one of the most influential philanthropic organizations supporting mathematics and basic science research worldwide.
As a trustee, Pipher joined a group of distinguished scientists and leaders responsible for overseeing the foundation's grantmaking programs, which support research across mathematics, physics, computer science, life sciences, and autism research, among other areas. This role reflected the culmination of decades of leadership experience and demonstrated the continuing trust placed in Pipher by the broader scientific community to help shape the future direction of mathematical and scientific research funding at a national and international level.