Dear colleagues,

From January 5 to April 3, 2026 the Institut Henri Poincareì (Paris, France)
will host a research trimester entitled 'Illustration as a mathematical
research technique'. This includes an introductory graduate school at CIRM
(separate registration required), a mathematical art exhibition (submissions
now open), and three workshop weeks focussing on number theory, on geometry/
topology, and on rigorous illustration. There will also be a student
apprenticeship program (more info soon). Below is a fuller description of the
program.

Registration for the program and the conferences is still open:

https://indico.math.cnrs.fr/event/13123/

Registration is free but mandatory, and financial support is available. Some
funding is earmarked for graduate students and early-career researchers. The
deadline to apply for financial support is June 15, 2025.

The organizing committee

David Bachman (Pitzer College)
Reìmi Coulon (CNRS / Universiteì de Bourgogne)
Gabriel Dorfsman-Hopkins (St. Lawrence University)
Edmund Harriss (University of Arkansas)
Martin Skrodzki (TU Delft)
Katherine E. Stange (University of Colorado Boulder)
Glen Whitney (Studio infinity)

----

Mathematical understanding is built in many ways. Among these, illustration
has been a companion and tool to research for as long as research has taken
place. We use the term illustration to encompass any of the many ways one
might bring a mathematical idea into physical form or experience, including
computer visualization, 3D printing, and virtual reality, among others.

With modern tools, illustration can even make mathematics an experimental
science, so that computational results can drive the cycle of problem,
conjecture, and proof. Today, modern technology for the first time places the
production of far more complicated 3D models within the reach of many
individual mathematicians. Moreover, the very process of illustration itself
challenges our understanding of a mathematical topic and forces us to answer
questions we may not have posed otherwise.

This trimester program will bring together mathematicians using illustration
as a research tool with mathematicians newly learning these tools. The group
will be comprised of members from various areas of mathematics. The mains
goals of the trimester are:
- advancing research through the use of mathematical illustration;
- disseminating the skills for the creation of mathematical illustration and
its use in research;
- furthering the theory of illustration as a tool.

Program highlights include:

- January 5 to 9, 2026:  Opening Graduate school at the CIRM (a separate
registration is needed at https://conferences.cirm-math.fr/3491.html)

- January 19 to 23, 2026: Workshop 'Rigorous Illustrations - Their creation
and evaluation for mathematical research'

- February 16 to 20, 2026: Conference 'Bridging visualization and
understanding in Geometry and Topology'

- March 23 to 27, 2026: Conference 'Integrating Research and Illustration in
Number Theory'

- April 9 to July 25, 2026: Group exhibition 'Mathematics and Art in
Creation'. Projects can be submitted here
https://sondages.ihp.fr/index.php/559142?lang=en

Review of applications will begin July 1st, 2025 and will then continue on a
rolling-basis.