Dr. Thomas Fink is an Anglo-American physicist, author, and entrepreneur who serves as the founding Director of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS).

He studied physics at Caltech, where he won the Fisher Prize, and earned his PhD at Cambridge University. His research focuses on statistical physics, combinatorics, and evolvable systems, using these tools to gain insights into physical and biological systems.

In 2011, Dr. Fink founded LIMS, the UK's first independent research centre for theoretical physics and mathematics. Located in the historic Royal Institution in Mayfair, LIMS operates like a university research department but with no teaching or administrative duties, allowing its researchers to focus entirely on full-time, curiosity-driven discovery.

London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS): https://lims.ac.uk/

Dr. Thomas Fink's Profile at LIMS: https://lims.ac.uk/thomas-fink/

Chapter Markers:

(00:00) - Thomas Fink: Caltech, Cambridge, CNRS Paris
(07:27) - Rethinking Academia
(13:05) - Building LIMS
(31:18) - Saving Basic Science
(33:46) - Endowments Versus Governments
(40:28) - AI Reshaping Research Culture
(52:17) - Closing Thoughts

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Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.

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How to Build a Research Institute: Thomas Fink of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences – #119

Manifold

How to Build a Research Institute: Thomas Fink of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences – #119