First things first: due to an abrupt suspension of NSF funding to my home university of UCLA, the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (which had been preliminarily approved for a five-year NSF grant to run the institute) is currently fundraising to ensure continuity of operations during the suspension, with a goal of raising $500,000. Donations can be made at this page. As incoming Director of Special Projects at IPAM, I am grateful for the support (both moral and financial) that we hav...