Q&A

Introducing E. Tendayi Achiume, Ashvin B. Chhabra and Daniela Bonafede-Chhabra Member in the School of Social Science, whose research focuses on the international legal frameworks that govern migration, racism, and xenophobia. In this Q&A, she highlights IAS scholars who have influenced her work, the value of collaboration, and how she plans to expand her scope of analysis beyond nation states to transnational corporations during her time at IAS.

Meet Beatrix Muehlmann, Member in the School of Natural Sciences, who is curious about the origin and fate of the universe. In this Q&A, she details her efforts to describe gravity through the principles of quantum mechanics, her admiration for mathematical physicist Emmy Noether, and the joy of being a part of a group of scientists interested in fundamental questions.

Meet Ellen Eischen, von Neumann Fellow in the School of Mathematics, who works in the field of number theory, exploring the nature of whole numbers. In this Q&A, she shares her journey through math, from the secret math journal she kept in high school, to a Women in Numbers program that facilitated her research, to joining the Institute for the 2024–25 academic year.

Introducing Celia Sánchez Natalías, William D. Loughlin Member in the School of Historical Studies, whose research focuses on lead curse tablets, or defixiones, from the Roman period. In this Q&A, she discusses her ‘autopsy’ work, being motivated by curiosity, and her fascination with virtually unrolling papyri.

Shiyue Li, Member in the School of Mathematics, is interested in algebraic geometry and combinatorics. As a researcher she enjoys, in her words, “the freedom to wonder about fascinating things in nature, and the connections with other minds from around the world.”

Lindsey D. Cameron, Member in the School of Social Science, studies Uber. "Well, I don’t study strictly Uber per se," she says, "but it’s easier to digest than saying I study the rise of the platform economy and algorithmic management, and its implications on labor."

The research of Brad Bolman, Founders' Circle Member in the School of Historical Studies, focuses on the history of knowledge about organisms since the nineteenth century. "I study how scientists and other interested parties come to know what an organism is, whether it’s a beagle, a rose, or a truffle," he explains.

Weishun Zhong, Member in the School of Natural Sciences, uses tools from statistical physics to study the brain and AI. "Although these two might appear very different at first glance," he states, "when zoomed out and abstracted away, they are both just networks of basic units called neurons."

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.

Sophie Lund Schrøder is a Member in the School of Natural Sciences. She will spend her time at IAS applying numerical methods and analytic modeling to study high-energy astrophysical phenomena, especially evolution of stellar binaries.