This year marks the fifth anniversary of the People's City concept. As the birthplace of this concept, Yangpu is thriving with the vigorous development of the digital economy and vibrant youth. Let's experience this increasingly "YOUNG" people's city together...

In January this year, the Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences was unveiled in our district. The Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute") is a new type of R&D institution jointly supported by the Shanghai Municipal Government, Yangpu District, and Fudan University. It is committed to achieving major original results in basic mathematical theory and applied research, leading the innovative development of high-end industries.

Recently, we learned from the District Major Projects Office and Yangpu Science and Innovation Group that the renovation project of the Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences has been completed and is entering the acceptance phase. It is expected to be put into use after acceptance in August 2024. The project fully considered its unique academic atmosphere in the initial design and put a lot of effort into upgrading and transforming the hardware facilities. Let's take a look.

Pushing open the door of the Institute at No. 657 Songhu Road, sunlight pours in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the glass ceiling casts geometric shadows. There is also a striking Calabi-Yau space (a model of the universe's internal space)... Various ingenious designs construct a public space full of a mathematical academic atmosphere.

The Institute is located in the Yangpu Great Knowledge & Innovation functional area and is also one of Shanghai's ten urban renewal business unit upgrade pilot projects. The Institute's new building faces the Papergames and is backed by internet companies such as Douyin and Bilibili. It is adjacent to many first-class universities such as Fudan University, Tongji University, and the University of Finance and Economics.

According to Jia Shixiao, manager of the Design Expansion Department of the Project Development Center of Yangpu Science and Innovation Group, "The Great Knowledge & Innovation functional area is an urban area that the Science and Innovation Group has been deeply cultivating, and it is also one of the four functional areas in our district. Through the renovation and upgrading of the entire commercial building, and taking advantage of the development opportunity of urban renewal, we have introduced new R&D institutions such as the Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences. We look forward to the Institute bringing new development and opportunities to the entire area."

The opening of the Institute will not only attract a group of young and promising talents in mathematics and other basic disciplines to gather in our district, improving the overall level of basic research in our district, but also bring research resources and scientific innovation projects to our district, promoting cooperation with universities and enterprises within the district. The Institute will act as a catalyst, bringing new vitality and vigor to the entire region.

The renovation design of the Institute benchmarks against the world's top-level Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, emphasizing the integration of art and science, and striving to create a high-quality international research center that is functionally complex, modularly systematized, and healthily ecological.

"During the renovation process, we added a lot of blackboard space. Unlike other industries, mathematicians may not need a very spacious space, but rather an independent and enclosed room to think about problems. Therefore, we equipped each room with a blackboard. In addition, we equipped blackboards in public spaces such as corridors and libraries. As soon as mathematicians have new ideas, they can calculate and discuss on the blackboard at any time. This actually helps their inspiration to land and provides a material foundation for their scientific research," said Jia Shixiao.

The Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences is led by the internationally renowned mathematician Shing-Tung Yau. Based in Shanghai and radiating to the Yangtze River Delta, it strives to build an internationally leading basic science and interdisciplinary research platform that integrates high-level basic research, talent gathering, and cultivation. The Institute focuses on basic mathematics, applied pure mathematics, and interdisciplinary applications such as artificial intelligence and biomedicine, tackling major scientific challenges and real-world problems, helping to solve the "bottleneck" issues in the country's strategic areas, leading the innovative development of high-end industries, producing original results and disruptive technologies, cultivating top-notch talents, and striving to become a world-class mathematics center. Based on its own positioning, the Institute has established a research layout plan of "25% basic mathematics + 25% applied pure mathematics + 50% interdisciplinary applications."