The Santa Fe Institute is an independent, not-for-profit research and education center founded in 1984. The Institute is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Its mission is “to advance the frontiers of science and technology by bringing together researchers from around the world to explore the big questions of complex systems.”
The Santa Fe Institute was founded in 1984 by George A. Cowan, David Pines, and Stirling Colgate. Cowan served as the first president of the institute until 1995 when he was succeeded by Doyne Farmer. Pines served as chairman of the board until 1999 when he was succeeded by John Reed. The current president is David Krakauer.
The institute has a core staff of about 30 researchers and support staff, and an extended community of over 200 visiting scholars, postdocs, students, and collaborators from around the world. It does not offer degrees or grant degrees but does hold seminars and short courses throughout the year on various topics related to complex systems research.
In addition to its headquarters in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, the institute also has offices in Brussels, Belgium; Beijing, China; Bangalore India; Tokyo Japan; Oxford UK; and São Paulo Brazil.