Defense Department's Minerva Projects Have Work for Mathematicians

March 9, 2009

Mathematicians may have significant roles to play in a new initiative from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

The Minerva Research Initiative supports university-based basic research in the social sciences, allowing DoD to tap into such research to aid in the global war on terror. Seven U.S. universities—Arizona State University (ASU), Princeton University, San Francisco State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Monterey Institute of International Studies, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Texas at Austin—each recently received a "Minerva" award. Funding may total as much as $50 million over five years.

At ASU, the research project is titled "Finding Allies for the War of Words: Mapping the Diffusion and Influence of Counter-Radical Muslim Discourse." A collaborative, interdisciplinary effort that involves faculty from religious studies, communication, political science, mathematics, sociology, and computer science, the project aims to describe and track diverse strategies that Muslims in West Africa, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia use to counter and thwart the advance of what some people call "Wahhabi colonialism."

"Everyone involved brings unique expertise and experience to the task at hand," said Linell E. Cady, director of ASU's Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. Mathematician Tom Taylor, for instance, will investigate new approaches to data mining and computational modeling of cultural phenomenon. He will be supported by computer scientists Hasan Davulcu and Arunabha Sen.

The collaborative effort crosses disciplines and continents, Cady declared, "in order to deepen understanding of the ideas and practices within Islam that counter extremist and exclusivist interpretations."

Source: Arizona State University, Feb. 20, 2009.