# Frontier Lab — Li Jiabao

> One governance repo, 15 discipline labs, 150 problem cards. Status shown as it is.

URL: https://lijiabao.dev/en/frontier/ · lang: en · Numbers as of 2026-09-30.
Other language: https://lijiabao.dev/frontier/index.md

Work · Research governance

## Frontier Lab

> "This repository manages the research process. It does not decide what is true about nature or mathematics."

> [FrontierLab-Governance README](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance/blob/main/README.md)

Frontier Lab takes the same method to open science. No model is exempt from checks because of its brand, and two models agreeing is not independent verification. The tooling is the Python standard library only, and each round's default budget is $0. Status is shown as it is: most problems are still OPEN; the Physics, Biology and Chemistry results are still in review; Math has one merged round of evidence and claims no resolution.

It is not a benchmark or a Q&A set. It is a multi-model research workflow under strict governance.

- 1 governance repo
- 15 labs
- 150 problem cards
- Python standard library
- $0 default per round

The whole program was set up between 2026-09-27 and 2026-09-29.

(Data: Real records from the 2026-09-30 snapshot. One point per record.)

1 ○ = 1 problem card

Governance on the left; one row per lab, one cell per problem card. ◆ marks each lab's first-round problem.

10 problem cards per lab

|  |  | 001 | 002 | 003 | 004 | 005 | 006 | 007 | 008 | 009 | 010 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FrontierLab-Governance | FrontierMath | First round: MATH-001 | MATH-002 | MATH-003 | MATH-004 | MATH-005 | MATH-006 | MATH-007 | MATH-008 | MATH-009 | MATH-010 |
|  | FrontierPhysics | First round: PHYS-001 | PHYS-002 | PHYS-003 | PHYS-004 | PHYS-005 | PHYS-006 | PHYS-007 | PHYS-008 | PHYS-009 | PHYS-010 |
|  | FrontierBiology | First round: BIO-001 | BIO-002 | BIO-003 | BIO-004 | BIO-005 | BIO-006 | BIO-007 | BIO-008 | BIO-009 | BIO-010 |
|  | FrontierChemistry | CHEM-001 | CHEM-002 | CHEM-003 | First round: CHEM-004 | CHEM-005 | CHEM-006 | CHEM-007 | CHEM-008 | CHEM-009 | CHEM-010 |
|  | FrontierComputerScience | First round: CS-001 | CS-002 | CS-003 | CS-004 | CS-005 | CS-006 | CS-007 | CS-008 | CS-009 | CS-010 |
|  | FrontierStatistics | First round: STAT-001 | STAT-002 | STAT-003 | STAT-004 | STAT-005 | STAT-006 | STAT-007 | STAT-008 | STAT-009 | STAT-010 |
|  | FrontierMetaScience | First round: META-001 | META-002 | META-003 | META-004 | META-005 | META-006 | META-007 | META-008 | META-009 | META-010 |
|  | FrontierSocialScience | SOC-001 | SOC-002 | SOC-003 | SOC-004 | SOC-005 | SOC-006 | SOC-007 | First round: SOC-008 | SOC-009 | SOC-010 |
|  | FrontierMaterials | MAT-001 | MAT-002 | First round: MAT-003 | MAT-004 | MAT-005 | MAT-006 | MAT-007 | MAT-008 | MAT-009 | MAT-010 |
|  | FrontierAstronomy | ASTRO-001 | ASTRO-002 | First round: ASTRO-003 | ASTRO-004 | ASTRO-005 | ASTRO-006 | ASTRO-007 | ASTRO-008 | ASTRO-009 | ASTRO-010 |
|  | FrontierEarth | EARTH-001 | EARTH-002 | First round: EARTH-003 | EARTH-004 | EARTH-005 | EARTH-006 | EARTH-007 | EARTH-008 | EARTH-009 | EARTH-010 |
|  | FrontierNeuroscience | First round: NEURO-001 | NEURO-002 | NEURO-003 | NEURO-004 | NEURO-005 | NEURO-006 | NEURO-007 | NEURO-008 | NEURO-009 | NEURO-010 |
|  | FrontierEconomics | First round: ECON-001 | ECON-002 | ECON-003 | ECON-004 | ECON-005 | ECON-006 | ECON-007 | ECON-008 | ECON-009 | ECON-010 |
|  | FrontierEngineering | ENG-001 | ENG-002 | ENG-003 | First round: ENG-004 | ENG-005 | ENG-006 | ENG-007 | ENG-008 | ENG-009 | ENG-010 |
|  | FrontierMedicine | First round: MED-001 | MED-002 | MED-003 | MED-004 | MED-005 | MED-006 | MED-007 | MED-008 | MED-009 | MED-010 |

### One round, seven gates

#### Check whether it's solved

1. a fresh four-way search within 24 hours of starting: general, discipline, solution, criticism. If an outside solution exists, it is recorded as COMPLETED_EXTERNAL and the work stops.

#### Reproduce

2. reproduce the known result first.

#### Freeze

3. the problem and its verifier are frozen first.

#### Bounded exploration

4. default budget per round: 30 minutes, $0, 100 tries.

#### Independent verification

5. no author signs off their own independent verification.

#### Record

6. results and failures both stay; records can be added to, never deleted.

#### Reviewed merge

7. authors never merge their own work; the owner decides.

#### Failures on record

- Physics — frozen E3 — Failed · recorded [FrontierPhysics/pull/4](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierPhysics/pull/4)
- Biology — an unverified PASS — Withdrawn · kept on record [FrontierBiology/pull/2](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierBiology/pull/2)
- Chemistry — frozen C4/C5 thresholds — Failed · recorded [FrontierChemistry/pull/1](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierChemistry/pull/1)
- 11 new labs — first CI run — Failed · recorded, then fixed and re-pinned [FrontierLab-Governance/EXPANSION-2026-09-28.md](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance/blob/main/EXPANSION-2026-09-28.md)

### Rules

1. > "No agent is exempt from verification because of its brand."
2. > "Two models agreeing is not an independent experiment."

OPEN

#### What OPEN means

OPEN means only this: this bounded search found no confirmed solution of the same scope. It does not mean "unsolved".

**Problem states**

- `OPEN`
- `PARTIAL`
- `CLAIMED_RESOLVED`
- `COMPLETED_EXTERNAL`
- `COMPLETED_INTERNAL`
- `PAUSED`
- `RETRACTED`

**Round states**

- `DRAFT`
- `ADMITTED`
- `PAUSED`
- `CLOSED_EXTERNAL`
- `FINISHED`

### 15 labs, one governance core

- Merged 1
- In review 3
- No research rounds yet 11

10 problem cards per lab Data as of 2026-09-30

#### [FrontierLab-Governance](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance)

- Shared rulebook and gate software
   - 2 open PRs
   - 5 merged PRs
   - 30 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green

#### [FrontierMath](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierMath)

- Merged
   Exact constructions → certificates → Lean proofs
   - 1 merged round
   - Not claimed
   - 6 open PRs
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 8 commits
   - protocol 1.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: MATH-001
   FrontierMath is not affiliated with Epoch AI's FrontierMath benchmark.

#### [FrontierPhysics](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierPhysics)

- In review
   Reproducible baseline → physical consistency → predictions that tell models apart
   - 5 open PRs
   - 2 commits
   - protocol 1.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: PHYS-001

#### [FrontierBiology](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierBiology)

- In review
   Public data → baseline → cross-condition validation → testable hypotheses
   - 2 open PRs
   - 2 commits
   - protocol 1.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: BIO-001

#### [FrontierChemistry](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierChemistry)

- In review
   Keeps computed and experimental references separate; starts from solvation
   - 2 open PRs
   - 2 commits
   - protocol 1.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: CHEM-004

#### [FrontierComputerScience](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierComputerScience)

- No research rounds yet
   Formal verification and honest evaluation of AI coding agents
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: CS-001

#### [FrontierStatistics](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierStatistics)

- No research rounds yet
   Valid inference under distribution shift, selection and dependence
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: STAT-001

#### [FrontierMetaScience](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierMetaScience)

- No research rounds yet
   Tests whether AI-agent science and its governance actually improve research
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - First round: META-001

#### [FrontierSocialScience](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierSocialScience)

- No research rounds yet
   Measurement → identification → replication → transportability
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: SOC-008

#### [FrontierMaterials](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierMaterials)

- No research rounds yet
   Separates what computation predicts from what can actually be synthesized
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: MAT-003

#### [FrontierAstronomy](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierAstronomy)

- No research rounds yet
   Treats catalogs and their selection functions as research objects
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: ASTRO-003

#### [FrontierEarth](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierEarth)

- No research rounds yet
   Calibrating forecasts of rare, extreme events
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: EARTH-003

#### [FrontierNeuroscience](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierNeuroscience)

- No research rounds yet
   Designs stimuli that make brain-computation models disagree
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: NEURO-001

#### [FrontierEconomics](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierEconomics)

- No research rounds yet
   Measures what AI actually does to firms, tasks and work
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: ECON-001

#### [FrontierEngineering](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierEngineering)

- No research rounds yet
   Simulation-first: fault injection and uncertainty before any deployment
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: ENG-004

#### [FrontierMedicine](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierMedicine)

- No research rounds yet
   Validating medical AI across hospitals and over time
   - 2 merged PRs
   - 7 commits
   - protocol 2.0.0
   - CI green
   - 10 OPEN
   - First round: MED-001

### Focus: no-three-in-line (MATH-001)

All 431,008 configurations in the public Flammenkamp database for n = 2..76 were verified legal; n = 75 is the only gap.

431,008 · Source: FrontierMath `problems/MATH-001/experiments/canonical_evidence/CANONICAL_FACTS.md` As of 2026-09-30

Records for n = 71–74 and 76 were cross-checked through two independent retrieval paths; an independent third verifier was checked by a 429-case adversarial suite.

(Schematic: A diagram, not data.)

Each column is one n (2 to 76); the empty one is n = 75. Column height carries no data.

n = 75 · gap

#### Not claimed

- No claim that D(75) = 150.
- No UNSAT certificate.
- MATH-001 is not resolved.

Lean 4 CI is pinned to v4.34.1. The only theorem so far is a toolchain smoke test, "not a frontier result".

FrontierMath is not affiliated with Epoch AI's FrontierMath benchmark.

### In review

These three results sit in PRs that haven't been merged.

- In review
   Physics PR #4 reproduces another model's structure-function estimator exactly (a 1.1e-14 gap), records a frozen E3 FAIL, and retracts an "asymptotic saturation" claim. It makes no claim about real Navier–Stokes turbulence.
   [FrontierPhysics/pull/4](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierPhysics/pull/4)
- In review
   Biology PR #2 withdraws an unverified PASS. It found 3,929 train/test overlaps, re-estimated with a donor split at 0.1616, and kept the historical failures.
   [FrontierBiology/pull/2](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierBiology/pull/2)
- In review
   Chemistry PR #1 adds a FreeSolv validator and reproduces the GAFF anchor (1.114); the frozen C4 and C5 thresholds are recorded as FAIL. PR #2 fixes a CRLF/LF hash mismatch and marks C4 as post-hoc.
   [FrontierChemistry/pull/1](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierChemistry/pull/1) [FrontierChemistry/pull/2](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierChemistry/pull/2)

### The governance core

- `frontier.py` 796 lines, standard library only
- 168 tests
- mutation 29/29
- 30 commits
- 7 PRs (2 open)

Commands

- `validate`
- `start`
- `admit`
- `check-diff`
- `check-pins`
- `decide`

[FrontierLab-Governance/tools/frontier.py](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance/blob/main/tools/frontier.py) [FrontierLab-Governance/STATUS.md](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance/blob/main/STATUS.md)

1. 1.0.0
   - MATH
   - PHYS
   - BIO
   - CHEM
2. 1.1.0
3. 1.2.0
4. 2.0.0
   - CS
   - STAT
   - META
   - SOC
   - MAT
   - ASTRO
   - EARTH
   - NEURO
   - ECON
   - ENG
   - MED

Protocol 1.0.0 → 1.1.0 → 1.2.0 → 2.0.0 (breaking). The 11 newer labs pin 2.0.0; the first 4 still pin 1.0.0.

Roles include Explorer, Verifier, Skeptic and Integrator. No author signs off their own independent verification; the owner decides merges.

All 11 new labs failed CI on their first run; the tooling was fixed and re-pinned. "The failure was not deleted or rewritten as a first-time pass."

[FrontierLab-Governance/EXPANSION-2026-09-28.md](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance/blob/main/EXPANSION-2026-09-28.md)

Branch protection is only a proposal; it isn't enabled.

[FrontierLab-Governance/BRANCH_PROTECTION_PROPOSAL.md](https://github.com/lijiabao1998/FrontierLab-Governance/blob/main/BRANCH_PROTECTION_PROPOSAL.md)

### Each lab's safety limits

**Biology**

benign public benchmarks only; no pathogens, toxins or wet-lab work; no clinical diagnosis or treatment advice.

**Chemistry**

refuses weapons, toxic agents, explosives and wet-lab execution.

**Medicine**

no diagnostic or treatment conclusions for individuals.

**Engineering**

no connection to real grids, traffic, robots or industrial control.

**Earth**

public data and backtests only; no real-time hazard guidance for individuals.

**Neuroscience**

no invasive work, no personal neural data.

**Materials**

paid DFT/GPU runs need separate authorization; the default budget is $0.

### What didn't get done

1. 11 of the 15 labs have no research rounds yet.
2. Branch protection is only a proposal; it isn't enabled.
3. FrontierMath's `STATUS.md` is stale and still says 0 rounds.
4. None of the 16 repos has a live demo yet (Pages returns 404).

[Next GlimmerTown](https://lijiabao.dev/en/glimmertown/)