Announcing the Hoskinson Center for Formal Mathematics

Dear Members of the CMU Community:

I write today to share the exciting news that CMU has received a new $20 million gift from Charles Hoskinson to establish the Hoskinson Center for Formal Mathematics in our Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Mr. Hoskinson, a technology entrepreneur and blockchain pioneer, is best known as the founder of Cardano and the co-founder of Ethereum, two of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency networks. 

The Hoskinson Center for Formal Mathematics will be led by Dr. Jeremy Avigad, professor of philosophy in the Dietrich College and professor of mathematical sciences in the Mellon College of Science (MCS), who will provide mentorship and guidance to direct research contributions. The center will develop new technologies to facilitate the statement of mathematical theorems so that computers can assist in discovering proofs, verifying steps and certifying correctness. By enabling a new way of doing math and by creating collaborative digital libraries for these mathematical tools, we can make this technology widely accessible and advance discoveries across a broad range of disciplines, including computer science, physics, economics and more. The center will work in close collaboration with faculty, students and researchers across campus, especially in the Department of Mathematical Sciences within MCS as well as in the School of Computer Science. I invite you to read more about Professor Avigad’s work and the vision for the center.  

This announcement highlights the world-renowned expertise that resides at Carnegie Mellon and our reputation for cross-cutting work that advances human knowledge. On behalf of the university community, I wish to thank Charles Hoskinson for his generosity in supporting this work here at CMU. I also wish to congratulate Professor Avigad, Richard Scheines, the Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College, and the entire Dietrich community on this outstanding new center! 

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair