Santa Fe Institute

The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe (New Mexico, United States) and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, including physical, computational, biological, and social systems. As of 2016, the Institute is ranked 20th among the world’s “Top Science and Technology Think Tanks” and 23rd among the world’s “Best Transdisciplinary Research Think Tanks” according to the Global Think Tank Report published annually by the University of Pennsylvania.[1]

The Institute consists of a small number of resident faculty and postdoctoral researchers, a large group of external faculty whose primary appointments are at other institutions, and a number of visiting scholars. The Institute is advised by a group of eminent scholars, including several Nobel Prize–winning scientists. Although theoretical scientific research is the Institute’s primary focus, it also runs several popular summer schools on complex systems, along with other educational and outreach programs aimed at students ranging from middle school up through graduate school.

The Institute’s annual funding comes from a combination of private donors, grant-making foundations, government science agencies, and companies affiliated with its business network. The 2014 budget was just over $10 million.[2] Evolutionary theorist David Krakauer became the Institute’s president on August 1, 2015.