Remembering Jim Simons
NewsNYSCF mourns the passing of our collaborator, supporter, and friend Jim Simons, who helped us launch many of our impactful programs.
“All of us at NYSCF mourn the loss of Jim Simons, our visionary partner,” said NYSCF President and CEO Jennifer J. Raab. “Over the last few decades, I had the good fortune of working with Jim and Marilyn on wide-ranging philanthropic efforts in education and health. They were an extraordinary team. At NYSCF, we are forever grateful to Jim, Marilyn, and the Simons Foundation for their deeply impactful partnership. Jim’s incredible legacy will live on through NYSCF’s pioneering programs in stem cell technology, autism research, and neurodiversity in the workplace. Our hearts are with his family and our friends at the Simons Foundation.”
Jim was an award-winning mathematician, a legend in quantitative investing, and an inspired and generous philanthropist. He previously chaired the math department at Stony Brook University in New York, and his mathematical breakthroughs during that time are now instrumental to fields such as string theory, topology, and condensed matter physics.
In 1978, Jim founded what would become Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund that pioneered quantitative trading and became one of the most profitable investment firms in history. He then turned his focus to making a difference in the world through the Simons Foundation, Simons Foundation International, Math for America and other philanthropic efforts.
The Simons Foundation has partnered with NYSCF on several initiatives, including our work with SFARI and the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation to create stem cells from people with autism spectrum disorder. We are using these cells to investigate what makes one person more likely to develop the disorder than another, and how genetics influence the disorder’s severity.
Most recently, NYSCF teamed up with the Simons Foundation to launch our Neurodiversity in the Workplace Program, which creates new opportunities for marginalized neurodiverse individuals, beginning with enhancing our postgraduate internship program.
We will miss Jim dearly, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
Read more from:
Cover image credit: Béatrice de Géa; The Simons Foundation