MOU between Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe and The Institute of Statistical Mathematics broadens research collaboration

(Originally published by Kavli IPMU)

January 5, 2016

Scientific research into the origin of the universe has been enhanced through a new partnership between the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) and The Institute of Statistical Mathematics (ISM). The two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, January 5, that will allow big data from astronomical observations to be interpreted using information statistics, driving the development of a new field of statistical computational cosmology.

The Kavli IPMU is an international research institute bringing mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers together to find answers to fundamental questions about the Universe, while the ISM has been driving research development into data assimilation, including statistical machine learning projects concerning cosmological data assimilation and space modeling.

This partnership will become a foundation for mutual partnership between astrophysics and statistics, enabling new scientific research, and will contribute to the furthering of science and technology nationally and internationally.

The two organizations have been collaborating on the “Statistical Computational Cosmology with Big Astronomical Imaging Data” project during the CREST program run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency.

In 2010, the ISM established a Network of Excellence (NOE), aimed at building a hub for collaborative research between different scientific fields. This partnership is part of the NOE development, which will go further to promote research integration and create new study fields.