Mathematics

"'It’s easy to cover a floor with copies of squares, triangles or hexagons [...] but only in ways that never repeat. 'You want to understand the structure of such tilings,' said Rachel Greenfeld, a mathematician at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. 'How crazy can they get?' Pretty crazy, it turns out."

A new exhibition, available to view in the Institute's Mathematics – Natural Sciences Library and Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center, takes a critical look at the notion that mathematics is a single, true, "universal language". The displays probe what it takes to construct meaning in mathematical discourse, while highlighting groundbreaking work by IAS scholars such as Shiing-Shen Chern, Robert Langlands, and Edward Witten.

"Earlier this year, a trio of mathematicians decided to make lemons into lemonade — and ended up making major headway on a problem that mathematicians have been thinking about for centuries."

"Like many people who would go on to become mathematicians, Wei Ho grew up competing in math contests. In eighth grade, she won the Mathcounts state competition in Wisconsin, and her team took third place at nationals."

"A mathematician who went from obscurity to luminary status in 2013 for cracking a century-old question about prime numbers now claims to have solved another. The problem is similar to—but distinct from—the Riemann hypothesis, which is considered one of the most important problems in mathematics."

By Siobhan Roberts, current Director's Visitor:

"In July, Chandler Davis, an American Canadian mathematician and human rights defender, delivered welcoming remarks at a panel for the 'Azat Miftakhov Days Against the War' in Ukraine from his hospital bed in Toronto, a vase of sunflowers by his side."

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.

The 2023 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize, a renowned award which honors the work of early-career mathematicians, went to past Veblen Research Instructor Ana Caraiani (2013–16), recent von Neumann Fellow Ronen Eldan (2021–22), and current Member James Maynard.

The Institute for Advanced Study extends well wishes to former Mathematics/Natural Sciences Faculty member Chen Ning Yang on his 100th birthday. During Yang’s time at IAS, he and his collaborator, fellow Faculty member Tsung Dao Lee, were awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. He has a left tremendous legacy in our community today.