News

On November 11, 2024, Avi Wigderson, Herbert H. Maass Professor in the School of Mathematics, was officially presented with an honorary doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Wigderson was recognized for "his pioneering contributions to mathematics and computer science, which have opened new horizons in both fields, and at the interface between them."

A number of past and present IAS scholars, including Akshay Venkatesh, Robert and Luisa Fernholz Professor in the School of Mathematics, and Ellen Eischen, von Neumann Fellow in the School, have been appointed to the 2025 Class of American Mathematical Society (AMS) Fellows. 

Wendy Brown, UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science, has been announced as the recipient of Södertörn University’s honorary doctorate for 2025. The citation praises Brown for providing "scholars and students in the humanities and social sciences with an invaluable resource for understanding current events and formulating alternatives."

Pauline Yu, Director's Visitor (2014), Trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study, and prominent scholar of Chinese literature, was officially presented with a 2022 National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden in a private ceremony held at the White House on Monday, October 21, 2024.

John J. Hopfield, Visiting Professor (2010–13) in the School of Natural Sciences, was named a recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” He remains active within the Institute’s Simons Center for Systems Biology, which concentrates on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences.

Amalie "Emmy" Noether, a renowned mathematician and frequent IAS Visitor (1933–35) while working at Bryn Mawr College, has been posthumously recognized as a "Legacy Honoree" by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S). She was nominated by Helmut Hofer, Hermann Weyl Professor in the School of Mathematics, who described her as "a great mathematician and human being."

Two past Members of the Institute's School of Social Science have been named as 2024 MacArthur Fellows: Ruha Benjamin (2016–17) and Jennifer L. Morgan (2014–15). They join the prestigious ranks of "genius grant" recipients, recognized for their groundbreaking work and potential to make significant societal impacts.

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Brian Greene, Member (1992–93) in the Schools of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, argues that scholars should continue exploring string theory, even in the absence of experimental verification.

Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the School of Social Science, has received the Huxley Memorial Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the highest British distinction in anthropology. He was recognized "for his outstanding contribution and conceptual leadership" in medical anthropology, the anthropology of the state, and humanitarian and critical moral anthropology.

Geordie Williamson, Distinguished Visiting Professor (2020–21) in the School of Mathematics, has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Max Planck–Humboldt Research Award. 

Rubina Raja, Member (2019) in the School of Historical Studies, has received one of the Carlsberg Foundation’s Research Prizes for 2024. She was honored, in part, for work conducted at the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria. 

Join the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s leading centers for foundational research, for the 2025–26 academic year. Accepted scholars, drawn from around the world, will be able to pursue their own research within one of the four IAS Schools: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Science. Funding is available.

In August, 157 participants from 10 countries gathered at the Institute for the initial focus weeks of a workshop on Quantum Information and Physics. The workshop, which will continue through October 31, 2024, considers the relation of quantum complexity to physical systems such as many-body problems in quantum simulators, condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, and quantum gravity.

In July, 184 participants from 17 countries travelled to Park City, Utah to attend the latest iteration of Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI), an annual Institute for Advanced Study outreach program. The attendees explored motivic homotopy theory, which offers mathematicians the opportunity to better understand complex algebraic shapes by using flexible tools from homotopy theory.

Tsung-Dao Lee (李政道), Member (1951–53, 1957–58) and Faculty (1960–62) in the Institute’s School of Mathematics/Natural Sciences, died on August 4. During his time at IAS, Lee was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics alongside his Institute colleague Chen-Ning Yang (楊振寧) for revolutionary work on parity violation which fundamentally changed our understanding of the laws of physics.

From July 8–26, the annual Prospects in Theoretical Physics (PiTP) program, an intensive workshop for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, took place at IAS. This year, the program brought together 213 participants from over 20 countries to discuss ultra-quantum matter.

The field-shaping work of Caroline Walker Bynum, Professor Emerita in the School of Historical Studies, and her significant impact on historical scholarship well beyond her areas of specialization, has been celebrated in a symposium published in a recent issue of the journal Common Knowledge.

In the journal Sociologica, Professor Emerita Joan Wallach Scott has written an essay on The Interpretation of Cultures, published in 1973, by Clifford Geertz, the first and founding Professor in the School of Social Science (1970–2000, Emeritus 2000–06).

This June, around 230 physicists and mathematicians gathered at IAS to discuss the latest developments in the field of scattering amplitudes. The roots of the Amplitudes conference, held annually since 2009, can be found in seminal papers by Edward Witten, Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences, and his collaborators.

An exhibition currently on display in the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center celebrates how—from the Institute’s founding in 1930 to today—IAS scholars have brought that which is known into conversation with that which is newly discovered to meet the challenges of the present moment.

Edward Witten, Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences, has received the Basic Science Lifetime Award in Theoretical Physics from the International Congress of Basic Science, which is presented to scientists who have brought about fundamental change in their disciplines. 

Described as "one of the most distinguished theoretical physicists of our time," IAS Trustee Emeritus Martin Rees has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Wolf Prize in Physics. Also recognized with a 2024 Wolf Prize in Mathematics was Noga Alon, a frequent Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics. 

Daniela V. Gabor, Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., and Annette L. Nazareth Member in the School of Social Science, argues that the U.K. Labour party will aim to "rebuild the infrastructure that is crumbling after years of Tory underinvestment" by turning to private investment companies. She contends that this "will generate windfalls for investors and leave the rest of us worse off."

At a ceremony held in Berlin last week, Penelope Deutscher, Member in the School of Social Science, was officially presented with a Research Award ("Humboldt-Forschungspreis") by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Deutscher's award will support a project titled "Revocability: A Post-Roe Grammar of Power," which was developed at the Institute.

Writing for The Guardian, Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the School of Social Science, argues that a "hazardous strategy" by President Emmanuel Macron has facilitated an evolution of the whole political spectrum to the right.

"As gig work grows ever more prevalent, critics have voiced major issues with these jobs, from their lack of labor protections to income instability and more. But if gig work is so bad, why do so many people do it?" In a piece for the Harvard Business Review, Lindsey D. Cameron, Member in the School of Social Science, reflects on the seven years that she spent conducting a wide-ranging study of the ins and outs of ride-hail work.

Scott Tremaine, Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo in recognition of numerous seminal contributions to the field of astrophysics, notably "establishing the theory that supermassive black holes are at the core of galaxies."

Sara Seager, Long-Term Member (1999–2002) in the School of Natural Sciences, has been announced as one of the winners of the 2024 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics. Seager was presented with the award for "ground-breaking work" on the discovery and characterization of exoplanets and their atmospheres.

From May 19–24, the Institute welcomed 40 students, educators, and researchers from across the globe for its annual Women+ and Mathematics (W+AM) program. As well as providing a glimpse into the Langlands program, this year's lectures discussed examples and applications of Deligne-Lusztig theory.

The 2024 Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences has been awarded to Peter Sarnak, Gopal Prasad Professor in the School of Mathematics, for his "development of the arithmetic theory of thin groups and the affine sieve, by bringing together number theory, analysis, combinatorics, dynamics, geometry, and spectral theory."

IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg, School of Social Science Visitor Michèle Lamont (1997), and IAS Academic Trustee Eve Marder have been elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS), one of the oldest learned societies in the U.S.

Past Members from the School of Social Science have edited a special issue of Public Culture titled "Science and the State." The papers arise from the 2020–21 theme seminar of the same name, led by Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School, and Visiting Professor Charis Thompson.

Uddipan Banik, Member in the School of Natural Sciences, has received the Dirk Brouwer Memorial Prize for his Ph.D. thesis, titled "Pushing the Frontiers of Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Collisionless and Weakly Collisional Self-Gravitating Systems." 

In the School of Mathematics, Robert & Luisa Fernholz Professor Akshay Venkatesh and IBM von Neumann Professor Camillo De Lellis have been elected as Members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S).

The 2024 IAS Public Policy Lecture saw Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, discuss lessons that can be drawn from the life and legacy of past Director J. Robert Oppenheimer (1947–66) in the age of large digital platforms and artificial intelligence.

Julia Ticona, Member in the School of Social Science, has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the research project, “Imagining AI in organized labor: Struggles over the value of cultural work,” which she co-directs with Caitlin Petre of Rutgers University.

Nine past scholars across three IAS Schools—Natural Sciences, Historical Studies, and Social Science—have received 2024 Guggenheim Fellowships, one of the most remarkable honors for mid-career researchers, artists, and writers. 

A two-week “marathon” workshop on S-matrix theory, organized by scholars from the School of Natural Sciences, brought together more than 40 cosmologists, particle theorists, and mathematicians from around the world to discuss future directions in the field. 

Lindsey D. Cameron, Member in the School of Social Science, has written for the Harvard Business Review about her research into the global gig economy. Alongside co-author Kalie M. Mayberry, she argues that traditional approaches to labor issues have been ineffective in supporting gig workers because, in the gig economy, customer and worker interests "don’t align."

Two incoming Members in the School of Natural Sciences have received 2024 Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships from NASA: Alexander Dittmann (2024–28) and Yue Hu (2024–27). 

The Institute’s Krateros Project is launching a new, exploratory effort to further unlock the text of ancient Greek inscriptions by applying optical character recognition technology to its 30,000-strong collection of epigraphic squeezes.

This article from ACSR Discovery profiles computational work by James Stone, Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, and his colleagues, which has revealed details about how matter falling into black holes and the energy released from them impacts the evolution of the universe.

In a recent op-ed, Joan Scott, Professor Emerita in the School of Social Science, explains how the recent and widely-celebrated French constitutional amendment securing women's access to abortion falls short of full equality.

The rising prominence of artificial intelligence continues to blur the lines between human and machine. An exhibition currently on display at the Institute reveals that, since its founding, IAS has been a key space for the testing and contesting of these boundaries.

This Spring, the Institute's Arts lineup includes free, public programs with world renowned concert pianists, a three-time Grammy Award winning mezzo soprano, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and a star Principal Dancer and current Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet.

Peter Sarnak, Gopal Prasad Professor in the School of Mathematics, spoke with Quanta about the impact of research into elliptic curves using statistical techniques and artificial intelligence. Understanding such curves has been dubbed "a high-stakes endeavor that has been central to math." 

Karl H. Palmquist, Martin A. and Helen Chooljian Member in Biology in the School of Natural Sciences, received the award for designing innovative new methods for studying the mechanical forces by which cells in developing chicken skin organize themselves.

Past scholars in the Schools of Mathematics and Natural Sciences are among the recipients of the 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships, a landmark honor for early-career scholars. 

IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg has been announced as the recipient of the University of Tübingen’s 2024 Leopold Lucas Prize. Nirenberg is to be recognized for his research into the relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the Middle Ages and the present day.

The Association for Asian Studies has announced Kriti Kapila, Member in the School of Social Science, as one of three winners of the 2024 Bernard S. Cohn Prize for first books on South Asia. Kapila was recognized for her title Nullius, an anthropological account of the troubled status of ownership in India.

Miguel Walsh, von Neumann Fellow in the School of Mathematics, has been announced as one of two recipients of the 2024 Young Mathematician IMSA Prize. The award recognizes scholars from Latin America and the Caribbean region who have made "remarkable contributions to mathematics."

"Leading contributions to computational astrophysics" made by James Stone, Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, are set to be recognized with an award from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). 

Past IAS Member and Visitor Neta Bahcall has been announced as the 2024 winner of the American Astronomical Society's prestigious Henry Norris Russell Lectureship. Neta's receipt of this award makes her and her late husband John N. Bahcall, past Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, the first astronomy couple to each receive this honor.

At the 2024 Joint Mathematics Meetings, six former scholars from the School of Mathematics were presented with awards by the American Mathematical Society. The work for which the scholars were praised encompasses diverse fields of mathematics, including the theory of tensor categories, p-adic group representations, and the Conway knot.

As the turn of the year approaches, we are delighted to share an image from this year’s IAS holiday card. The card features photographs of the linden tree that graces our campus, alongside a message from Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg.

This December, over 200 scholars from across the globe descended on the Institute for Advanced Study for a three-day Qubit workshop focused on applying ideas and concepts from quantum information theory to the study of spacetime.

Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the School of Social Science, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the Free University of Brussels. The university, by awarding the insignia of doctorate honoris causa, honors recipients who have served their fields (whether it be in science, arts, or politics) with distinction and excellence. 

Wang Hui, Elizabeth and J. Richardson Dilworth Fellow in the School of Historical Studies, has been included in Prospect Magazine's annual list of Top Thinkers. His work is described as an "indispensable reference point for those seeking to understand China as it is today and where it might be going."

Scholars from the School of Natural Sciences brought together astrophysicists from across the world for a workshop focused on improving understanding of observations from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The organizers also hosted an observing night for the IAS community, featuring a specially constructed radio telescope.

Bhargav Bhatt, Fernholz Joint Professor in the IAS School of Mathematics and Princeton University, was lauded by the Infosys Prize committee for his "groundbreaking contributions" to arithmetic geometry and commutative algebra.