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A Space of Thought and a Time of Mind

In welcome remarks delivered to the 2025–26 class of IAS scholars, Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg reflected on the Institute’s role as "a special place" dedicated to discovery. He emphasized how the Institute's history, culture of solitude and community, and spirit of dialogue create an environment where scholars can push the boundaries of knowledge.

Press Release

Scholars Achieve Groundbreaking Calculations of Luminous Black Hole Accretion

Building on decades of effort, Lizhong Zhang, Member (2023–24) in the School of Natural Sciences; James Stone, Professor in the School; and a team of astrophysicists have achieved a major milestone: developing the most comprehensive model to date of luminous black hole accretion. Their breakthrough allows scholars to "observe" such black hole systems not through a telescope, but through a computer.

Quanta

Cosmic Paradox Reveals the Awful Consequence of an Observer-Free Universe

According to a recent article from Quanta Magazine, researchers working at the frontier of quantum physics have uncovered a “puzzling conundrum.” The story began nearly three decades ago, when Juan Maldacena, Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, demonstrated that complex calculations in string theory could be dramatically simplified using concepts from particle physics through a “holographic” correspondence.