Each year the Rhodes IID sponsors several Pop-Up Institutes. Each Pop-Up Institute centers on a topic of current scientific importance driven by faculty in the mathematical and computational science community from across the university. Each Pop-Up Institute typically contains several elements spread over several months:
Introductory Mini-Courses
These courses last several weeks and are an invitation for students and researchers new to the topic to enter the conversation. They are also a way for researchers from diverse backgrounds already working around the topic to find a common language and perspective to better seed joint projects.
Reading Group
By reading through a number of recent or seminal papers on the topic from a number of different perspectives, the reading group will bring students and researchers up to the current state of the art. The hope is that the discussion will lead the group to start new collaborations.
Distinguished Visitors
Through conferences and seminars, we’ll bring leading experts on the subject to Duke to connect the conversations to the state-of-the-art in the broader scientific community and to show different perspectives on the subject.
Other elements, such as long-term visitors or collaboration with other centers at Duke or nationally will be considered when available. The initial topics were chosen through conversations with the current IID community. In subsequent years, an open call will be made to solicit topics.
Contact the Pop-Up Organizers
iid-popup-institute-fall25-organizers@duke.edu
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2026 Pop-up Institutes
Pop-up Institute on Emerging Methods in Sampling
Mini-course: Tuesdays 10-11:00 a.m. Gross Hall 330 starting January 27th
Reading group: Fridays 12-1:00 p.m. (lunch provided) Gross Hall 330 starting January 30th
Algorithmic Advances in Generative AI Conference:
February 6th Gross Hall 330
February 7th: Gross Hall 103
Register here for the conference: https://forms.gle/EN12NQBhoPjAmygy5
2026 Events
Pop-up Institute on Emerging Methods in Sampling: Organizational Meeting
January 9
12-1 pm GH 330
With: Patrick Charbonneau, David Dunson, Johann Guilleminot, Greg Herschlag, Scott Schmidler
Please come to learn more and get involved.
iiD Community Lunch with Di Fang
January 21
GH330
12:00-1:15 p.m.
Algorithmic Advances in Generative AI Conference
February 6-7
Pop-Up
2/6: GH 330
2/7: GH 103
Please join us for this conference, which is the culmination of the Pop-up Institute on Transformers and Generative Diffusion Models in AI.
2026 Gene Golub SIAM Summer School on Fault-Tolerant Algorithms in Quantum Computing
July 27- August 7
Hosted by Di Fang
Dates: July 27 – August 7, 2026
Location: Gross Hall 103
Application link
Application Deadline: March 1st, 2026
Duke University will host a summer school from July 27 to August 7, 2026, focused on introducing quantum algorithms and scientific computing. Designed for students without a background in quantum physics or quantum computing, the program covers fundamental principles and advanced techniques while providing financial support for travel and local expenses. Visit the 2026 Gene Golub SIAM Summer School website to learn more.
Digital Humanities Symposium
Sept. 25-26
GH 330
With: Astrid Giugni and Richard So
Richard So (Rhodes Bass Chair in English) and Astrid Giugni (SSRI, iiD, English) have agreed to develop a regional conference around AI, Computing and the Digital Humanities during the Spring of 2026. One of the goals is to sharpen the focus of a future Pop-Up Institute.
Past Events
Fall 2025 Pop-up: Transformers and Generative Diffusion Models in AI
The Rhodes iiD mini-course on Transformers will start this Thursday, September 18th at 10:00-11:20 in Gross Hall room 230C with Larry Carin giving the first lecture on transformers.The mini-course will continue on Tuesday and Thursday at the same time moving forward.
You can always find up to date info at https://bigdata.duke.edu/participate/pop-up-institutes/
The reading group will continue this Tuesday in Gross Hall 330 with lunch at 12 noon and the discussion starting at 12:15pm.
There will also be an associated conference and visitors that will be announced as the semester develops.