Research Programs

SAMSI’s research programs are large-scale efforts focusing on interfaces among statistics, applied mathematics and other disciplinary sciences. The programs typically run a full academic year. They involve long and short term research fellows from U.S. and international institutions, and SAMSI postdoctoral fellows. Graduate students from our partner universities and from other universities, both national and international, are active participants. The programs also engage researchers working in industry, governmental agencies and national laboratories.

Current Research Programs

August 1, 2015 - May 30, 2016

The Challenges in Computational Neuroscience program will develop mathematical and statistical methods in neuroscience to meet this critical need. Key problems include understanding the mechanisms that bridge multiple spatial and temporal scales, linking the activity of individual components (e.g., molecular biology, genetics, and neuron networks) and their interactions to the overall complex dynamic behavior of the brain and nervous system.

August 1, 2015 - May 30, 2016

The 2009 NRC report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward makes a clear case for a needed statistical underpinning for forensic procedures, including fingerprints, patterns and impressions (footprints and tire tracks), toolmarks and firearms, hair, fibers, documents, paints and coatings, bloodstains, and fire debris.

The central goal of this program is to strengthen the statistical and applied mathematical bases of forensic science.