In Quanta's Abstractions blog, top women in mathematics
and physics, including Miranda
Cheng, Visitor (2011) in the School of Natural Sciences,
Tracy Slatyer, Member
(2010–13) in the School, Maria
Chudnovsky, Veblen Research Instructor (2003–05) in...
In 1847, Gabriel Lamé proved Fermat’s Last Theorem. Or so he
thought. Lamé was a French mathematician who had made many
important discoveries. In March of that year he sensed he’d made
perhaps his biggest: an elegant proof of a problem that had...
Early on, Harvey
Friedman, Visitor (1975) in the School of Mathematics,
understood that discovering concrete examples of mathematical
incompleteness among already-existing statements would be an
arduous task. There’s the continuum hypothesis, the...
In this video from the 2017 Breakthrough Prize Symposium,
Jean Bourgain, IBM von Neumann
Professor in the School of Mathematics and 2017 Breakthrough Prize
in Mathematics Laureate, discusses unity in mathematics through an
explanation of the...
The Institute for Advanced Study, since its founding in 1930,
has aspired to provide an unbiased environment for international
scholars to pursue vital and groundbreaking work in the sciences
and humanities. Its mission is to recruit the world’s...
In 1934, David Hilbert, by then a grand old man of German
mathematics, was dining with Bernhard Rust, the Nazi minister of
education. Rust asked, “How is mathematics at Göttingen, now that
it is free from the Jewish influence?” Hilbert replied,...
On April 14, 1954, Albert
Einstein, one of the Institute's first Faculty members
(1933–55), gave the last lecture of his life. Speaking to physics
students at Princeton University, he remarked that although quantum
mechanics works, “it is difficult...
The Mathematical Association of America has honored Robert D. Hough, Member
(2015–16) in the School of Mathematics, with the David P. Robbins
Prize, for novel research in algebra and combinatorics. His paper,
“Solution of minimum modulus for...
Steven Weinberg discusses how the development of quantum
mechanics in the first decades of the twentieth century came as a
shock to many physicists. Today, despite the great successes of
quantum mechanics, arguments continue about its meaning, and...
Richard Schoen,
Distinguished Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics
(1992–93) and Member in the School (1979–80, 1983–84), has been
awarded the 2017 Wolf Prize in mathematics for his contributions to
geometric analysis and the...
