Simons Foundation Courses

Mapping Neutron Stars with NICER - Understanding Ultradense Matter and Pulsar Emission

Explore groundbreaking research using NICER telescope to study neutron stars, understand ultra-dense matter physics, and map pulsar emissions through X-ray observations from the International Space Station.

• YouTube
• 58 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

How to Form a Habitable Planet

Explore the fascinating process of planet formation, from dust and gas disks to habitable worlds, through groundbreaking ALMA observations and multi-wavelength studies of planetary system evolution.

• YouTube
• 58 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

From Rotating Needles to Stability of Waves: Local Smoothing in the 21st Century

Delve into the fascinating connection between wave equations, local smoothing phenomena, and the Kakeya needle problem through advanced mathematical concepts and their applications in physics.

• YouTube
• 46 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Visualizing Our Microbial Ocean - Machine Learning and High-Throughput Microscopy

Explore groundbreaking insights into marine microbiomes through advanced robotic microscopy and machine learning, revealing their crucial role in ocean ecosystems and global climate regulation.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 2 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Nonequilibrium Simulations of Interacting Lattice Models in Mott Systems

Explore nonequilibrium simulations of Mott insulators, examining photo-doped charge carriers' evolution and metastable states in interacting lattice models, with insights into correlation effects.

• YouTube
• 49 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Retracing the Evolutionary Steps Toward Symbiosis - October 18, 2023

Explore how rove beetles evolved from predators to symbiotic organisms living within ant colonies, revealing fundamental insights into species interactions and evolutionary adaptation mechanisms.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 14 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Exploring Many-Body Problems With Arrays of Individual Atoms

Explore quantum systems through laser-cooled atoms and Rydberg states, discovering how atomic interactions enable studies of quantum magnetism and potential industrial applications in optimization problems.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

When Reason Produces Monsters While It Is Wide Awake - Mathematical Counterintuitive Objects

Explore the fascinating world of counterintuitive mathematical objects, from Weierstrass' tangent-free curve to modern fluid dynamics, revealing how layered waves create mathematical "monsters".

• YouTube
• 53 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Collective Astronomy: Lessons from Extreme Galaxy Encounters and Dark Matter Studies

Explore how extreme galaxy encounters challenge dark matter theories and inspire inclusive approaches to astronomy through indigenous wisdom and innovative community-building concepts.

• YouTube
• 59 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Developing Predictive Models of Turbulent Heating in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas

Explore groundbreaking research on plasma turbulence modeling and its role in understanding black hole observations, space physics, and energy transfer mechanisms in astrophysical systems.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 10 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Baryonic Solutions and Challenges to Cosmological Models of Dwarf Galaxies

Explore dwarf galaxy constraints on LCDM models, examining dark matter cores, rotation curves, and baryonic physics in galaxy formation simulations to reconcile theoretical-observational tensions.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 2 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Remarkable Power of JWST to Revolutionize Our Understanding of Galaxy Formation

Explore groundbreaking discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope, revealing new insights into early galaxy formation, unexpected massive structures, and the evolution of our universe through infrared observations.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Nonlinear Stability of Slowly Rotating Kerr Black Holes

Delve into the mathematical proof of stability for slowly rotating Kerr black holes, exploring groundbreaking solutions to Einstein's field equations and their implications for black hole physics.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 7 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Sleep and Memory - Understanding Brain Activity and Memory Formation During Sleep

Explore the fascinating relationship between sleep and memory formation, discovering how the brain actively processes and stores information during rest through groundbreaking research findings.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 2 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Simulating the World of Atoms, Molecules and Materials Using Quantum Mechanics

Explore the evolution of quantum mechanical simulations and computational advances that revolutionized our understanding of atomic and molecular behavior since Dirac's 1929 observation.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video