EFTA02394538.pdf

From: Joichi Ito Sent: Friday, April 29, 2016 2:08 AM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Antidisciplinary Science Fellows Proposal Hi Jeffrey. Here's a rough proposal for a approximately $10M plan =or the science fellows. Let me know if this might work for the =oundation you were talking about. - Joi Proposal: Antidisciplinary Science Fellows =rogram MIT Media =ab April =016 The MIT Media Lab seeks support for a fellowship =rogram in Antidisciplinary Science. The Lab is a leader in this area, =hich promises to fundamentally rethink research and practice around =cientific inquiry. We seek $12 million to fund and operate the first =hree years of this fellowship program. Today, we face a crisis in science. Academic =cience is not leading to breakthrough innovations, and the disciplinary =tructures of the academy are largely to blame. Certain types of =esearch are recognized and rewarded, and become defined as disciplines. =s this happens, people begin talking only to a very small peer group, =ften by publishing in a small number of very specific journals. =eanwhile, we believe the most important scientific questions today =eside in the spaces between disciplines. In contrast to interdisciplinary work where people =rom different disciplines work together, the Media Lab is driven by =/span>antidisciplinary work. =nbsp;An antidisciplinary project isn't a sum of many =isciplines but something entirely new—the word defies easy =efinition. But what it means to the Media Lab is someone or something =hat doesn't fit within a traditional academic discipline—a =ield of study with its own particular words, frameworks, and methods. =ost academics are judged by how many times they have published in =restigious, peer-reviewed journals. This system often leads researchers =o align their work to the dictates of peer review rather than risking =he potential repercussions of an unconventional approach. Indeed, the =urrent peer review system causes hyper-specialization where people in =ifferent fields have a very difficult time collaborating—or =ven communicating—with people in other fields. When Joi thinks about the "space" =he Lab has created, he likes to imagine a huge piece of paper that =epresents "all science." The disciplines, such as =E2 chemistry," "genetics" or "design=E2 are small black dots on this paper. The massive amounts of =hite space between the dots represent antidisciplinary space. Many =eople would like to play in this white space, but there is very little =unding available, and it's even harder to get a tenured =osition without some sort of disciplinary anchor in one of the black =ots. Additionally, it appears increasingly difficult to =ackle many of the interesting problems—as well as the "wi=ked problems"—through a traditional disciplinary =pproach. Unraveling the complexities of the human body is the perfect =xample. Our best chance for rapid breakthroughs should come through a =ollaborative "One Science." But instead, we seem unable =o move beyond "many sciences"—a complex mosaic =f so many different disciplines that often we don't recognize =hen we are looking at the same problem because our language is so =ifferent and our microscopes are set so differently. EFTA_R1_01423983 EFTA02394538 So how do we find talent in as yet unnamed =ields? We hypothesize that the regular academic processes of hiring and =eer review will not find these people. And current programs to find =xceptional individuals are either too organized or not organized =nough. There is a limit to how much the search for geniuses can and =hould be centrally planned and organized, as the best people tend to =ave their discussions outside of institutions. Events like ='Reilly's FOO Camp are a wonderful example of =uccessful models of unstructured ways of discovering and engaging such =alent. However, we are interested in exploring a different way that =etter integrates with the academic research structure. Therefore the =edia Lab is developing a new prize and fellowship program focused on =inding extraordinary minds who are working beyond disciplinary =ounds. The Antidisciplinary Science Fellowship Program =roposes to locate remarkable people working in antidisciplinary white =paces by offering prizes to individuals from inside and outside =cademia, giving them access to the resources of the Media Lab and each =ther, and bringing them to the attention of the world. We will work =ith a group of nominators and we will also utilize a novel Web-based =omination crowdsourcing platform, also offering prizes to people who =dentify such exceptional talents. A small, distinguished selection =ommittee will then review nominees and award prizes of $100,000 each to = maximum of ten individuals each year. Each winner will select up to =ive other individuals working on a related topic, forming an =nvestigational cluster. Team members in each cluster will receive a =rize of $10,000. All Fellows and team members will stay in their =urrent locations, but will be brought together at an annual Fellows =vent at the Media Lab, and will also communicate regularly over the =ourse of a year. Through this project the MIT Media Lab aims to =rigger a shift in the nature of scientific inquiry and nurture entire =ew areas of discovery that could bring about beneficial impacts to =umanity. We believe the Lab can bring the right balance of =nstitutional rigor and free-form creativity to this search and =election process. The Media Lab is a top research and teaching program =ithin one of the world's best universities, but at the same =ime is also unique within MIT. And we have worked for 30 years to =nsure that our students and faculty have the freedom to explore the =ildest and most compelling of ideas. Budget =over 3 years) Staff: =nbsp; &n=sp; &nbs=; =nbsp; &n=sp; $1,118,164 Travel: =nbsp; &n=sp; &nbs=; =nbsp; &n=sp; $490,000 Materials and Services: =nbsp; &n=sp; $210,000 Convenings: =nbsp; &n=sp; &nbs=; =nbsp; =/span>$1,725,000 Crowdsourcing system: =/span>$300,000 Prizes: = $4,950,000 Selection Committee Honoraria: =/span> =/span>$1,200,000 Overhead at 20%: =nbsp; &n=sp; &nbs=; =/span> =/span>$1,998,633 Total: =nbsp; &n=sp; &nbs=; =nbsp; &n=sp; $11,991,797 2 EFTA_R1_01423984 EFTA02394539