The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) was established in 1994 by businessman and math enthusiast John Fry, and was located in Palo Alto until 2015, when it moved to San Jose. In 2023 AIM moved again and is now located on the Caltech campus in Pasadena. The mission of AIM is to advance mathematical knowledge through collaboration, to broaden participation in the mathematical endeavor, and to increase the awareness of the contributions of the mathematical sciences to society.
Since 2002 AIM has been part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Mathematical Sciences Institutes program. AIM receives funding from NSF to hold weeklong focused workshops in all areas of the mathematical sciences. In 2007 a program called SQuaREs which brings small research groups to AIM was developed. Each year twenty workshops are hosted at the institute and over sixty small research groups. In 2020 a program called AIM Research Communities (ARCs) was created to support larger groups organized in particular research areas meeting virtually for a year.
AIM strives to broaden participation in the mathematical sciences at every level, from supporting the research of professional mathematicians working on the most important mathematical problems of our day to encouraging young students to get excited about math and become the STEM professionals of the future.
AIM oversees and supports the nationwide Math Circle Network of local communities focused on the enjoyment of mathematical problem solving for students and teachers. At the local level, AIM will continue to support students, teachers, and organizations throughout the Silicon Valley, and it will begin to do the same in the metropolitan Los Angeles area.
