The University is announcing today that the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications will receive a landmark funding award from the National Science Foundation.

The institute’s award, $19.5 million during five years, is a 77 percent increase in funding from the foundation and is the largest single investment in mathematics ever made by the foundation.

The award will make the institute the top mathematics institute in the nation in terms of funding, ahead of the prestigious University of California-Berkeley, said Dan Wolter, director of University Relations.

Douglas Arnold, the institute’s director, said he is excited to be recognized by the foundation as the top mathematics institution in the country.

“It’s not on the East Coast; it’s not in Silicon Valley. It’s right here in Minnesota,” Arnold said.

Arnold said the institute received the award because the foundation was “very impressed” with its achievements and educational track record.

The institute has no full-time faculty members. Instead, leading mathematics researchers spend a week or two focusing on one area of research, Wolter said.

Arnold said the institute will use the money to bring in more top scientists to work on interdisciplinary research that unites mathematics with various fields of science.

“We’re going to continue with what we’re doing but at a somewhat higher level,” Arnold said.

Institute of Technology Dean Steven Crouch refused to comment on this story.