Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing

And I thought at that point in my career, it'd be better to explore the theory side because then I might actually go back to Purdue.

And so I went to the Simons Institute in Berkeley for my sabbatical, and that was very theoretical.

It was a great experience, but it was kind of seamless to transition back to academia.

On my second sabbatical, I went the other way, which was to come to MSR and do a sabbatical here.

Zondry couldn't figure out how to complete that last step alone.

So at the end of 2024, he teamed up with John Bostanchi, now a researcher at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing in Berkeley, California, and Jonas Hofferkamp, a computer scientist now at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany.

Soon the trio had what they thought was a finished proof, but the final step turned out to have a fatal flaw.

Coming so tantalizingly close made them all the more determined to succeed.