J. Robert Oppenheimer

IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg "walks in Oppenheimer’s shoes." In an interview with NJ.com, he discusses how, in the current age of AI, the role for the Institute that Oppenheimer helped to carve out is needed "as much as ever."

The life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, past IAS Director (1947–66), is the subject of a new biopic, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy in the title role. A number of scenes from the film were shot on the Institute campus.

Kai Bird sat down at the Institute for Advanced Study with CBS correspondent David Martin to talk about J. Robert Oppenheimer ahead of the release of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. 

IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg discusses how, after helping invent the atomic bomb, past Director J. Robert Oppenheimer spent decades thinking about how to preserve civilization from technological dangers, offering crucial lessons for the age of AI.

On May 18, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kai Bird joined IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg to discuss the complex legacy of past IAS Director J. Robert Oppenheimer and reflect on the emotional impact of Christopher Nolan's upcoming film.

"For three days last April, the Institute for Advanced Study resembled its 1950s self. Actors wearing mid-century-appropriate clothing were spotted in and around Fuld Hall and Olden Manor, shooting scenes for a feature film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, famed theoretical physicist and Institute director from 1947 to 1966."

On Friday, December 16, 2022, the Secretary of Energy nullified a 1954 decision to revoke the security clearance of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a top government scientist who led the making of the atomic bomb in World War II and served as the third Director of the Institute for Advanced Study.

"This past September, 281 new and returning scholars and Faculty gathered for a new term welcome at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton."