Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, IAS Founding Faculty member, and Stephen Hawking are two of the most influential scientific figures in recent history, contributing enormously to our current understanding of the universe. As the one-year anniversary of Hawking’s...

The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge by Director Robbert Dijkgraaf and IAS founding Director Abraham Flexner “read in the right government places, might inoculate the nation against philistine utilitarianism,” observes Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist George F. Will in the Washington Post.

Scientific American's John Horgan profiles John Archibald Wheeler, a leading theoretical physicist of the twentieth century and former Member in the School of Mathematics/Natural Sciences, writing:

“He has spent his career racing ahead of other...

Juan Maldacena, Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, is the recipient of the 2018 Albert Einstein Medal, awarded annually by the Albert Einstein Society in Bern to honor individuals for outstanding scientific findings...

Jeremy Bernstein, Member in the School of Mathematics/Natural Sciences from 1957–1959, gives a personal account of his time at the Institute, third IAS Director J. Robert Oppenheimer, whom he calls a "man of fashion in physics," and the field of...

"By investing in basic science, we are addressing all other issues. Think about the money we spend in defense or the money we have to spend in health care or education, you want to do it in a smart way. For instance, these days we are able to deal...

“It’s not easy being a 'theory of everything.' A TOE has the very tough job of fitting gravity into the quantum laws of nature in such a way that, on large scales, gravity looks like curves in the fabric of space-time, as Albert Einstein described...

Albert Einstein said that the “most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.” He was right to be astonished. Human brains evolved to be adaptable, but our underlying neural architecture has barely changed since our...

Physicist Paul Halpern explores the role played by John Archibald Wheeler, former Member in the School of Mathematics/Natural Sciences, in the relationship between former Professor Albert Einstein and former Member Niels Bohr and their debates...