On October 22, Friends of IHES celebrated its 25th anniversary with a formal dinner at the Harvard Club of New York City.

The evening brought together esteemed Friends of IHES members, donors, academics, and other individuals closely associated with the Institute, all of whom have played a vital role in advancing IHES’s mission through Friends of IHES over the past quarter-century in the United States.

Alongside Friends of IHES Chair Marilyn Simons, Co-Founders Bernard Saint-Donat and Henri Moscovici attended, as well as long-time Friends of IHES members, and former IHES Permanent Professor Pierre Deligne.

The evening began with a welcoming cocktail, followed by a seated formal dinner. Yuri Tschinkel, Professor of Mathematics at New York University, and Executive Vice President for Mathematics and Physics at the Simons Foundation, and Master of Ceremony for the evening, opened the dinner by recognizing the pivotal contributions of the current Board members, sharing their names and portraits, and inviting a round of applause in their honor.

The Consul General of France in New York, Cédrik Fouriscot, followed with a warm tribute to Friends of IHES for fostering strong academic connections between France and the United States. He particularly acknowledged Marilyn Simons’ dedication and the remarkable legacy of her late husband, Jim Simons, whose contributions to IHES and Friends of IHES remain unparalleled. Consul General Fouriscot also expressed appreciation to Emmanuel Ullmo for his tenure as Director of the Institute, now spanning over a decade.

Yuri Tschinkel then presented a retrospective on the 25-year journey of Friends of IHES, recognizing Bernard Saint-Donat’s foundational efforts and the dynamic leadership of former Chairs, including Mike Douglas and Jim Simons. He also honored figures such as Friends of IHES Co-Founder Stanley Deser, and former IHES Gala Co-Chairs Barbara Amonson, Vincent Della Pietra, and David Faucon, all of whom have helped create a strong network of supporters and fundraisers. Yuri Tschinkel shared memorable moments from past events, including his personal favorite IHES Gala on “Math & Physics Exploring Space”, illustrating how Friends of IHES has engaged supporters through intellectually enriching experiences.

The event also included a moving tribute to the late Jim Simons, featuring an exclusive film celebrating his groundbreaking career as a mathematician, investor, and philanthropist, whose influence continues to resonate. Marilyn Simons then encouraged contributions to the endowment fund she and her husband established in the US to secure IHES’s future with stable and reliable funding. This fund, with an endowment goal of $20 million, currently stands at nearly $18,5 million in gifts and pledges thanks to this event, and an unprecedented matching commitment from Marilyn and Jim Simons, via the Simons Foundation International.

As the evening drew to a close, Gérard Ben Arous, Professor of Mathematics at New York University and Alexzandria Figueroa and Robert Penner Chair at IHES, delivered a captivating keynote on machine learning and probability theory. Emmanuel Ullmo concluded with a final heartfelt tribute to Jim Simons’ legacy and led a celebratory toast to the past achievements and future aspirations of Friends of IHES. His remarks poignantly underscored the visionary philanthropy that sustains fundamental research at IHES.