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arXiv · 2509.02661

The Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (AI+MPS)

Andrew Ferguson·Marisa LaFleur·Lars Ruthotto·Jesse Thaler·Yuan-Sen Ting·Pratyush Tiwary·Soledad Villar·E. Paulo Alves·Jeremy Avigad·Simon Billinge·Camille Bilodeau·Keith Brown·Emmanuel Candes·Arghya Chattopadhyay·Bingqing Cheng·Jonathan Clausen·Connor Coley·Andrew Connolly·Fred Daum·Sijia Dong·Chrisy Xiyu Du·Cora Dvorkin·Cristiano Fanelli·Eric B. Ford·Luis Manuel Frutos·Nicolás García Trillos·Cecilia Garraffo·Robert Ghrist·Rafael Gomez-Bombarelli·Gianluca Guadagni·Sreelekha Guggilam·Sergei Gukov·Juan B. Gutiérrez·Salman Habib·Johannes Hachmann·Boris Hanin·Philip Harris·Murray Holland·Elizabeth Holm·Hsin-Yuan Huang·Shih-Chieh Hsu·Nick Jackson·Olexandr Isayev·Heng Ji·Aggelos Katsaggelos·Jeremy Kepner·Yannis Kevrekidis·Michelle Kuchera·J. Nathan Kutz·Branislava Lalic·Ann Lee·Matt LeBlanc·Josiah Lim·Rebecca Lindsey·Yongmin Liu·Peter Y. Lu·Sudhir Malik·Vuk Mandic·Vidya Manian·Emeka P. Mazi·Pankaj Mehta·Peter Melchior·Brice Ménard·Jennifer Ngadiuba·Stella Offner·Elsa Olivetti·Shyue Ping Ong·Christopher Rackauckas·Philippe Rigollet·Chad Risko·Philip Romero·Grant Rotskoff·Brett Savoie·Uros Seljak·David Shih·Gary Shiu·Dima Shlyakhtenko·Eva Silverstein·Taylor Sparks·Thomas Strohmer·Christopher Stubbs·Stephen Thomas·Suriyanarayanan Vaikuntanathan·Rene Vidal·Francisco Villaescusa-Navarro·Gregory Voth·Benjamin Wandelt·Rachel Ward·Melanie Weber·Risa Wechsler·Stephen Whitelam·Olaf Wiest·Mike Williams·Zhuoran Yang·Yaroslava G. Yingling·Bin Yu·Shuwen Yue·Ann Zabludoff·Huimin Zhao·Tong Zhang
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Abstract

This community paper developed out of the NSF Workshop on the Future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Mathematical and Physics Sciences (MPS), which was held in March 2025 with the goal of understanding how the MPS domains (Astronomy, Chemistry, Materials Research, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics) can best capitalize on, and contribute to, the future of AI. We present here a summary and snapshot of the MPS community's perspective, as of Spring/Summer 2025, in a rapidly developing field. The link between AI and MPS is becoming increasingly inextricable; now is a crucial moment to strengthen the link between AI and Science by pursuing a strategy that proactively and thoughtfully leverages the potential of AI for scientific discovery and optimizes opportunities to impact the development of AI by applying concepts from fundamental science. To achieve this, we propose activities and strategic priorities that: (1) enable AI+MPS research in both directions; (2) build up an interdisciplinary community of AI+MPS researchers; and (3) foster education and workforce development in AI for MPS researchers and students. We conclude with a summary of suggested priorities for funding agencies, educational institutions, and individual researchers to help position the MPS community to be a leader in, and take full advantage of, the transformative potential of AI+MPS.

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Andrew Ferguson, Marisa LaFleur, Lars Ruthotto, Jesse Thaler, Yuan-Sen Ting, Pratyush Tiwary, Soledad Villar, E. Paulo Alves, Jeremy Avigad, Simon Billinge, Camille Bilodeau, Keith Brown, Emmanuel Candes, Arghya Chattopadhyay, Bingqing Cheng, Jonathan Clausen, Connor Coley, Andrew Connolly, Fred Daum, Sijia Dong, Chrisy Xiyu Du, Cora Dvorkin, Cristiano Fanelli, Eric B. Ford, Luis Manuel Frutos, Nicolás García Trillos, Cecilia Garraffo, Robert Ghrist, Rafael Gomez-Bombarelli, Gianluca Guadagni, Sreelekha Guggilam, Sergei Gukov, Juan B. Gutiérrez, Salman Habib, Johannes Hachmann, Boris Hanin, Philip Harris, Murray Holland, Elizabeth Holm, Hsin-Yuan Huang, Shih-Chieh Hsu, Nick Jackson, Olexandr Isayev, Heng Ji, Aggelos Katsaggelos, Jeremy Kepner, Yannis Kevrekidis, Michelle Kuchera, J. Nathan Kutz, Branislava Lalic, Ann Lee, Matt LeBlanc, Josiah Lim, Rebecca Lindsey, Yongmin Liu, Peter Y. Lu, Sudhir Malik, Vuk Mandic, Vidya Manian, Emeka P. Mazi, Pankaj Mehta, Peter Melchior, Brice Ménard, Jennifer Ngadiuba, Stella Offner, Elsa Olivetti, Shyue Ping Ong, Christopher Rackauckas, Philippe Rigollet, Chad Risko, Philip Romero, Grant Rotskoff, Brett Savoie, Uros Seljak, David Shih, Gary Shiu, Dima Shlyakhtenko, Eva Silverstein, Taylor Sparks, Thomas Strohmer, Christopher Stubbs, Stephen Thomas, Suriyanarayanan Vaikuntanathan, Rene Vidal, Francisco Villaescusa-Navarro, Gregory Voth, Benjamin Wandelt, Rachel Ward, Melanie Weber, Risa Wechsler, Stephen Whitelam, Olaf Wiest, Mike Williams, Zhuoran Yang, Yaroslava G. Yingling, Bin Yu, Shuwen Yue, Ann Zabludoff, Huimin Zhao, Tong Zhang. 2026-03-15. The Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (AI+MPS). https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-2153%2Fae3e4e

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