Albert Einstein

From Einstein and Gödel’s cherished walks to today’s “peripatetic cogitation,” the Institute’s winding paths and quiet Woods remain an essential part of how ideas take shape at IAS. In this article, scholars from all four Schools share how walking—alone and together—creates space for reflection, conversation, and discovery.

When massive objects like black holes move through the universe, they create gravitational waves—ripples in the very fabric of spacetime. This summer, IAS became a hub for exploring this rapidly evolving field as the 2025 Prospects in Theoretical Physics (PiTP) program welcomed 85 attendees for an intensive workshop focused on gravitational wave physics and astrophysics.

Robbert Dijkgraaf, who served as IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor from 2012–22, has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society, alongside Shivaji Sondhi, Member (1998) in the School of Natural Sciences, and Jacob Tsimerman, incoming Distinguished Visiting Professor (2025–26) in the School of Mathematics. 

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."

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.

April 2022 saw Hollywood come to the Institute as filming for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer biopic took place on campus. This article, featuring comments from Members and Visitors across all four IAS Schools, provides insight into what it was like to share the campus with the production team and highlights our community's reactions to the film.

Inspired by the release of Christoper Nolan's biopic Oppenheimer, this interview highlights the diverse research taking place across all four IAS schools and how the influence of leading figures from IAS history, such as Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer, is still felt at the Institute today.