MSRI hosts about 85 mathematicians and postdoctoral research fellows each semester for extended stays and holds programs and workshops, which draw approximately 2,000 visits by mathematical scientists throughout the year. The visitors come to MSRI to work in an environment that promotes creativity and the effective interchange of ideas and techniques. MSRI features two focused programs each semester, attended by foremost mathematicians and postdocs from the United States and abroad; the Institute has become a world center of activity in those fields.[16]