Confirmed Speakers & Participants

Application Information

ICERM welcomes applications from faculty, postdocs, graduate students, industry scientists, and other researchers who wish to participate. Some funding may be available for travel and lodging. Graduate students who apply must have their advisor submit a statement of support in order to be considered.

ICERM Funding for Fellowships
ICERM has funding available for fellowships to support faculty who attend one of our semester programs. These are often used to cover teaching buyouts so that participants can be in residence throughout a semester program. We welcome requests from those not based at R1 research universities and those based at minority-serving institutions, including HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, and AAPISIs. The standard amount for a full semester is $25,000. Email ICERM’s Director for more information.

Your Visit to ICERM

ICERM Facilities

ICERM is located on the 10th & 11th floors of 121 South Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island. ICERM's business hours are 8:30am - 5:00pm during this event. See our facilities page for more info about ICERM and Brown's available facilities.

Traveling to ICERM

ICERM is located at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence's T.F. Green Airport (15 minutes south) and Boston's Logan Airport (1 hour north) are the closest airports. Providence is also on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. In-depth directions and transportation information are available on our travel page.

Lodging/Housing

Visiting ICERM for longer than a week-long workshop? ICERM staff works with participants to locate accommodations that fit their needs. Since short-term furnished housing is in very high demand, take advantage of the housing options ICERM may recommend. Contact housing@icerm.brown.edu for more details.

Childcare/Schools

Those traveling with family who are interested in information about childcare and/or schools should contact housing@icerm.brown.edu.

Technology Resources

Wireless internet access and wireless printing is available for all ICERM visitors. Eduroam is available for members of participating institutions. Thin clients in all offices and common areas provide open access to a web browser, SSH terminal, and printing capability. See our Technology Resources page for setup instructions and to learn about all available technology.

Accessibility

To request special services, accommodations, or assistance for this event, please contact accessibility@icerm.brown.edu as far in advance of the event as possible. Thank you.

Discrimination and Harassment Policy

ICERM is committed to creating a safe, professional, and welcoming environment that benefits from the diversity and experiences of all its participants. Brown University's "Code of Conduct", "Discrimination and Workplace Harassment Policy", "Sexual and Gender-based Misconduct Policy", and "Title IX Policy" apply to all ICERM participants and staff. Participants with concerns or requests for assistance on a discrimination or harassment issue should contact the ICERM Director or Assistant Director Jenna Sousa; they are the responsible employees at ICERM under this policy.

Fundamental Research

ICERM research programs aim to promote Fundamental Research and mathematical sciences education. If you are engaged in sensitive or proprietary work, please be aware that ICERM programs often have participants from countries and entities subject to United States export control restrictions. Any discoveries of economically significant intellectual property supported by ICERM funding should be disclosed.

Exploring Providence

Providence's world-renowned culinary scene provides ample options for lunch and dinner. Neighborhoods near campus, including College Hill Historic District, have many local attractions. Check out the map on our Explore Providence page to see what's near ICERM.

Visa Information

Contact visa@icerm.brown.edu for assistance.

Need a US Visa?

J-1 visa requested via ICERM staff

Eligible to be reimbursed

B-1 or Visa Waiver Business (WB) –if you already have either visa – contact ICERM staff for a visa specific invitation letter.

Ineligible to be reimbursed

B-2 or Visa Waiver Tourist (WT)

Already in the US?

F-1 and J-1 not sponsored by ICERM: obtain a letter approving reimbursement from the International Office of your home institution PRIOR to travel.

H-1B holders do not need letter of approval.

All other visas: alert ICERM staff immediately about your situation.

ICERM does not reimburse visa fees. This chart is to inform visitors whether the visa they enter the US on allows them to receive reimbursement for the items outlined in their invitation letter.

Financial Support

This section is for general purposes only and does not indicate that all attendees receive funding. Please refer to your personalized invitation to review your offer.

ORCID iD

As this program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), ICERM is required to collect your ORCID iD if you are receiving funding to attend this program. Be sure to add your ORCID iD to your Cube profile as soon as possible to avoid delaying your reimbursement.

Acceptable Costs

• 1 roundtrip between your home institute and ICERM
• Flights on U.S. or E.U. airlines – economy class to either Providence airport (PVD) or Boston airport (BOS)
• Ground Transportation to and from airports and ICERM.

Unacceptable Costs

• Flights on non-U.S. or non-E.U. airlines
• Flights on U.K. airlines
• Seats in economy plus, business class, or first class
• Change ticket fees of any kind
• Multi-use bus passes
• Meals or incidentals

Advance Approval Required

• Personal car travel to ICERM from outside New England
• Multiple-destination plane ticket; does not include layovers to reach ICERM
• Arriving or departing from ICERM more than a day before or day after the program
• Multiple trips to ICERM
• Rental car to/from ICERM
• Flights on a Swiss, Japanese, or Australian airlines
• Arriving or departing from airport other than PVD/BOS or home institution's local airport
• 2 one-way plane tickets to create a roundtrip (often purchased from Expedia, Orbitz, etc.)

Travel Maximum Contributions

• New England: $350
• Other contiguous US: $850
• Asia & Oceania: $2,000
• All other locations: $1,500
• Note these rates were updated in Spring 2023 and superseded any prior invitation rates. Any invitations without travel support will still not receive travel support.

Reimbursement Requests

Request Reimbursement with Cube

Refer to the back of your ID badge for more information. Checklists are available at the front desk and in the Reimbursement section of Cube.

Reimbursement Tips

• Scanned original receipts are required for all expenses
• Airfare receipt must show full itinerary and payment
• ICERM does not offer per diem or meal reimbursement
• Allowable mileage is reimbursed at prevailing IRS Business Rate and trip documented via pdf of Google Maps result
• Keep all documentation until you receive your reimbursement!

Reimbursement Timing

6 - 8 weeks after all documentation is sent to ICERM. All reimbursement requests are reviewed by numerous central offices at Brown who may request additional documentation.

Reimbursement Deadline

Submissions must be received within 30 days of ICERM departure to avoid applicable taxes. Submissions after thirty days will incur applicable taxes. No submissions are accepted more than six months after the program end.

Associated Semester Workshops

Current Methods and Open Problems in Mathematical and Statistical...

Sep 16 - 20, 2024

Semester Workshop

Current Methods and Open Problems in Mathematical and Statistical Phylogenetics
Sep 16 - 20, 2024

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Computational phylogenetic methods have become essential tools for understanding the evolutionary relationships that underlie much life science research. Motivated by biological questions and insights, built on a broad spectrum of mathematical and statistical ideas and approaches, and implemented through novel and sophisticated algorithmic design, their development draws from multiple fields. Bringing together researchers spanning disciplinary perspectives and techniques, this workshop will present a diverse sample of work addressing current challenges in phylogenetics, with an eye toward future progress.

Organizing Committee

• Laura Kubatko
• John Rhodes
• Sebastien Roch
• David Sankoff
• Tandy Warnow

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From Phylogenetics to Phylogenomics: Mathematical and Statistical...

Oct 21 - 25, 2024

Semester Workshop

From Phylogenetics to Phylogenomics: Mathematical and Statistical Challenges in the era of Big Data
Oct 21 - 25, 2024

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The unprecedented amount of genomic data that has become readily available presents specific challenges for the area of phylogenetic inference, which is concerned with estimating the evolutionary relationships among collections of species, populations, or sequences. These challenges include development of evolutionary models that are sufficiently complex to be biologically realistic while remaining computationally tractable; deriving and implementing algorithms to efficiently estimate phylogenetic relationships that use models whose theoretical properties are well-understood and therefore interpretable; and devising ways to scale novel methodology developed to handle datasets that are increasingly large and complex.

This workshop focuses on statistical modeling and the scaling of phylogenetic methods. Topics will include modeling (e.g. multispecies coalescent model with extension to networks; diversification models) and inference with speed to scale to genomic datasets,... (more)

Organizing Committee

• Cécile Ané
• Mareike Fischer
• Tracy Heath
• Colby Long
• Leo van Iersel
• Norbert Zeh

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Algorithmic advances and Implementation Challenges: Developing Practical...

Nov 18 - 22, 2024

Semester Workshop

Algorithmic advances and Implementation Challenges: Developing Practical Tools for Phylogenetic Inference
Nov 18 - 22, 2024

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Inferring phylogenetic relationships requires complex mathematical models. As advances are made in modeling complex evolutionary processes, we need practical algorithms that translate the mathematical advances into software tools. This translation of theory to usable tools is more challenging than it may appear. Phylogenetic problems are often NP-hard, necessitating heuristic solutions that can compromise accuracy. The accuracy and scalability of such heuristics are often established only empirically, creating a need for careful simulation and testing. Moreover, software tools are used within complicated pipelines, so the input to tools may be impacted by errors from prior data processing steps. In addition, the output has many aspects, from the discrete-spaced topology to continuous-spaced branch lengths and other numeric parameters, and measures of uncertainty and visualizations. Furthermore, software tools need to be evolvable, allowing the incorporation of new features and new... (more)

Organizing Committee

• Barbara Holland
• Simone Linz
• Siavash Mirarab
• Erin Molloy

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