Harvard Department of Mathematics

10/30/2026

On October 22–23, 2026 a group of 32 mathematicians from academia, government, and industry met at the Harvard Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications (CMSA) to discuss the future of mathematics research in the age of AI. The report that resulted from that meeting is now available:

"Mathematics is a beautiful and powerful expression of the human spirit. It has also long provided effective tools for humanity’s quest to describe, predict, and understand the world. Mathematics stands on its own as an object of inquiry, and it provides the foundation for science and technology. The increasing importance of mathematics, and its growth in view of AI developments, requires us to nurture a new generation that will learn, teach, expand, and shape the subject. By embracing new opportunities with creativity and ambition, mathematicians are best placed to shape the nature and directions of mathematical research in the age of AI. While transition to the new era requires careful navigation, the community must also maintain focus on the future.

With all of this in mind, the Harvard Center of Mathematical Sciences and Aplications (CMSA) convened an intensive two-day summit "Math Research in the Age of AI", held October 22–23, 2026. Thirty-two mathematicians from academia, government, and industry came together to help navigate this period of rapid change and, most importantly, to build the future."

Read the full report here:

On October 22–23, 2026 a group of 32 mathematicians from academia, government, and industry met at CMSA to discuss the future of mathematics research in the age of AI. We […]

10/28/2026

First Proof: A Nuanced Assessment of AI's Ability to Solve Math Problems

Less than a year ago, a Harvard math professor joined a handful of world-leading scholars on an ambitious experiment designed to better define the capabilities of AI systems and delineate the boundaries with human expertise. Lauren Williams reflects on her work as part of First Proof, what she has learned from the experience, and the future of the project.

Learn more about First Proof Project and keep up with the latest batches of results here: https://1stproof.org/

Filmmaker: Oly Ralfe | Harvard Department of Mathematics Visiting Fellow, Director and Founder of Sheep Street Films.
Music: Oly Ralfe and Emma Faulkner.

10/23/2026

Thanks to Daniel Litt from the University of Toronto and this year's Harvard Benedict H. Gross Distinguished Visitor for being a part of the 2026 !

Over the course of two days, Litt spoke about "The arithmetic of differential equations" and "Non-abelian motives" to an eager audience of mathematicians at Harvard's Zimmer Hall.

The Bott Lecture Series is presented by the Harvard Department of Mathematics and Harvard Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications in memory of our distinguished colleague, Professor Raoul Bott (1923 – 2005).

10/20/2026

Less than a year ago, a Harvard math professor joined a handful of world-leading scholars on an ambitious experiment designed to better define the capabilities of AI systems and delineate the boundaries with human expertise. The third round of First Proof tests document the technology’s impressive gains and stubborn shortcomings.

The First Proof consortium has repeatedly challenged AI systems to crack 10 tough research math problems. In the latest round of results, AI systems collectively solved all 10 but still lagged in the ability to clearly communicate and document their results.

10/07/2026

The Wolf Foundation named two former Harvard math professors 2026 Wolf Prize Laureates in Mathematics. Joseph Bernstein and David Kazhdan share the prize for their “foundational work on representation theory, automorphic forms and algebraic geometry, and their role in creating geometric representation theory”.

The Wolf Foundation named two former Harvard math professors 2026 Wolf Prize Laureates in Mathematics. Joseph Bernstein and David Kazhdan share the prize for their “foundational work on representation theory, […]

09/25/2026

"Harvard Mathematics professor Melanie Matchett Wood has joined an independent group of nine mathematicians that will advise OpenAI and other AI companies on how to responsibly release mathematical results..."

Harvard Mathematics professor Melanie Matchett Wood has joined an independent group of nine mathematicians that will advise OpenAI and other AI companies on how to responsibly release mathematical results, the group announced Monday.

09/24/2026

We are delighted to announce that Professor Mihnea Popa was appointed the Karen and Farhad Nanji Family Professor of Mathematics!

Harvard math professor Mihnea Popa was appointed the Karen and Farhad Nanji Family Professor of Mathematics.

09/18/2026

Thanks to Mohammed Abouzaid from Stanford University for being a part of this year's ! Over the course of two days, Abouzaid spoke about "Framed bordism and nearby Lagrangians" and "Complex bordism and Hamiltonian fibrations" to an engaged audience of mathematicians at Harvard's Science Center.

The Ahlfors Lecture Series is presented by the Harvard University Math Department in memory of our distinguished colleague, Professor Lars Ahlfors.

09/17/2026

Another fun day of math with Cambridge Math Circle! Professor Melanie Matchett Wood talked about what makes math fun, showed some interesting problems accessible to anyone six years old and up, and answered audience questions. And what an eager audience it was! Check out that sea of raised hands!

09/15/2026

"Three new Harvard faculty — in statistics, mathematics, and economics — opened their inaugural classrooms, each finding their own way through introductions, slides, and elusive chalk supplies."

Amid the rhythms of the back-to-campus bustle — from Zimmer Hall to Barker Hall, Harvard Yard to labs in Allston — new faculty find themselves experiencing the same first-day excitement — and jitters. We dropped in on three, on the first day of their first classes.