Dear ASA Community,
We would like to bring to your attention an open and timely webinar hosted by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Activity Group on Data Science. Details on the talk and how to attend are below, but a few words about the speaker. Tammy Kolda will be a familiar name to many in this community: she delivered the keynote address at ASA's Symposium on Data Science & Statistics (SDSS) in 2019 and was profiled in Amstat News in March 2022 (https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/03/01/tamara-g-kolda/). She's on the board of the First Proof Foundation, which is dedicated to understanding the capabilities of AI systems on problems that come up in math research.
We hope to see you there!
Brought to you by the SIAM Activity Group on Data Science (SIAG/DATA)
Gitta Kutyniok (Chair)
Eric Chi (Vice Chair)
Elizabeth Munch (Program Director)
Michael Perlmutter (Secretary)
The SIAM Activity Group on Data Science (SIAG/DATA) invites you to join us for the next event in our webinar series featuring a talk from Tamara G. Kolda on "What is Foundational Research in the Age of AI?"
When: Thursday, August 27, 2026 | 8:00 AM PDT / 11:00 AM EDT / 15:00 UTC / 16:00 CET
Location: Zoom. Advance registration is required. Please use the link below.
Registration Link: siam.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1K7ZgVuOQVCvcyGS5DKvRQ
Title: What is Foundational Research in the Age of AI?
Abstract: What are the *actual* capabilities of AI in research, especially mathematical research, stripped of hype (and dread)? I'll talk about independent evaluations on research problems, a functional view of what LLMs really are, and the mounting stresses on scholarly publishing. This could go many ways, and we as a field have some control over this. My wish is for foundational research to be grander than today, valuing fewer, higher-quality contributions (vs easily generated quantity), and motivated by intense curiosity and passion. But this is just the beginning of the discussion!
Bio: Tamara Kolda, Ph.D., is an independent mathematical consultant under the auspices of her company MathSci.ai based in California and founded in 2021. From 1999-2021, she was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California. She is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), and Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Her research is in the broad domain of mathematical data science. She has authored 75+ journal articles, conference proceedings papers, and book chapters. She is the author of two books: Tensor Decompositions for Data Science and Unlocking LaTeX Graphics: A Concise Guide to TikZ/PGF and PGFPLOTS. She is the SIAM Vice President for Publications, co-chair of the 2027 SIAM Conference on Linear Algebra (LA27), and Program Chair of the SIAM Activity Group on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (SIAG-EDI). She also sits on the board of the First Proof Foundation, which is dedicated to understanding the capabilities of AI systems on problems that come up in math research.
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Eric Chi
Associate Professor
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
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