What does it mean to do research in math? According to Tara S. Holm, professor of mathematics, profiled in this Cornell Research story, it’s not as complicated as some might think. “It’s always surprising—the simple things that we still don’t know,” she says.
Contrary to popular assumptions, Holm adds in the story, research in mathematics doesn’t take talent or genius so much as hard work and obsession. “You get obsessed with certain problems, and you’re not able to stop thinking about them,” she says. “It’s curiosity-driven. Mathematicians study mathematics because they have to know.”
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab
Artist’s concept of NASA’s Pandora mission, which will help scientists untangle the signals from exoplanets’ atmospheres – worlds beyond our solar system – and their stars.
Simon Wheeler, Cornell University
Cornell Provost Kavita Bala speaking with Kalaniyot Sabbatical Scholar Naomi Havron at the Kalaniyot reception Oct. 19. In the background, Kalaniyot Fellow Eden Eran Nagar speaks with Fellow Shachar Yerushalmi.