The Institute Letter Fall 2022

Learn how researchers have harnessed black holes to test theories of fundamental physics and are beginning to glimpse the first stars and galaxies in the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope. Join in the thrill of a discovery made right here at IAS of more than 100 plaster casts of ancient coins. Take a deep dive into the complexities of fetal personhood as analyzed by social scientists in the wake of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision. Also included are articles about the grand opening of Rubenstein Commons; early IAS innovations in climatology; and interviews with Verena Krebs (Historical Studies), D. Dominique Kemp (Mathematics), and Leslye Obiora, past Visitor in the School of Social Science.

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Social Science

AMIAS In Focus: Q&A with Leslye Obiora

Lesyle Obiora, Visitor (1998) in the School of Social Science, describes her time at the IAS as "a gift that has just given perpetually in my life."

From the Archives

The Politics of Climate Crisis, Then and Now

December 15, 2022

This year, UPS Foundation Professor Wendy Brown will lead the Institute’s School of Social Science theme seminar on the politics of climate crisis. In her own words, Brown describes the theme seminar as an investigation of the emergent politics that...

Social Science

After Dobbs: Biolegalities of Fetal Personhood

By Sonja van Wichelen and Marc de Leeuw

"There is a uniquely U.S. story to the legal undoings following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The American divide on abortion finds its contested space reinvigorated by the recent majority decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe and Casey. This distinctly American institution of politically appointed judges is unparalleled to any other top courts in other liberal democracies."

Historical Studies

Casting a New Light on the History of Archaeological Research at IAS

By Abbey Ellis

The role of reproductions in facilitating the study of the ancient Mediterranean has long been recognized at IAS. Upon his appointment as the Institute’s first professor of Greek epigraphy in 1935, Benjamin D. Meritt petitioned then-Director Abraham...

Natural Sciences

Black Holes as Laboratories

By Lia Medeiros

The unparalleled resolution of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) images of the black holes at the center of the M87 galaxy and at the center of our galaxy, called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), allows us to test assumptions, predictions, and alternatives to Einstein’s theory of gravity.

Press Release

Grand Opening of Rubenstein Commons at IAS

November 15, 2022

The Rubenstein Commons building at IAS has opened its doors, providing a nexus of flexible gathering spaces to support enhanced communication and collaboration among scholars, and forming an inviting social hub for the wider IAS community.

Press Release

New Tool Allows Scientists to Peer Inside Neutron Stars

October 17, 2022

Neutron stars are one of the densest objects found anywhere in the Universe. Scientists still do not understand what exactly they are made from. A new piece of the puzzle, constraining the range of possibilities, has been discovered by a pair of scholars at IAS.

Press Release

Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professorship Established at IAS

October 12, 2022

The Institute for Advanced Study is delighted to announce the establishment of the Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professorship in the School of Mathematics, thanks to the generosity of former Mathematics Member (1968–69), Andrew Ogg.

Historical Studies

Q&A with Verena Krebs

Verena Krebs is an award-winning medieval historian working on Christian Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. She draws on archaeology, art, and written sources for her scholarship. At IAS, Krebs will work on her second monograph, “Africa Collecting Europe: Patronage and Power in Christian Ethiopia, 1468–1530", which will tease out an untold story about the assertion of power in a pre-colonial African kingdom.

Mathematics

Q&A with D. Dominique Kemp

Introducing D. Dominique Kemp, the first Black student to receive a PhD in Mathematics from Indiana University-Bloomington. He joins the IAS School of Mathematics in 2022–2023 to continue his exploration of problems that connect harmonic analysis with geometry.