Edward Witten

A new exhibition, available to view in the Institute's Mathematics – Natural Sciences Library and Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center, takes a critical look at the notion that mathematics is a single, true, "universal language". The displays probe what it takes to construct meaning in mathematical discourse, while highlighting groundbreaking work by IAS scholars such as Shiing-Shen Chern, Robert Langlands, and Edward Witten.

"The Arts and Sciences used to share much of the same intellectual space. Only recently have they diverged to the degree that they seem diametrically opposed. The Exchange is our attempt to rekindle some of the dialogue that occurred between the two fields."

Research from IAS scholars, past and present, features prominently in the September 2022 issue of Scientific American. Past Director’s Visitor George Musser takes account of the recent groundbreaking work being done on the infamous black hole information paradox by researchers including Member Ahmed Almheiri, who authors his own essay on the solution to the paradox.

"Within mathematics, there is a vast and ever expanding web of conjectures, theorems and ideas called the Langlands program. That program links seemingly disconnected subfields. It is such a force that some mathematicians say it—or some aspect of it—belongs in the esteemed ranks of the Millennium Prize Problems, a list of the top open questions in math. Edward Frenkel, a mathematician at the University of California, Berkeley, has even dubbed the Langlands program 'a Grand Unified Theory of Mathematics.'"

Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor, has been elected to the newest class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a lifetime honor and one of the most laudable distinctions in the scientific community.

"Edward Witten has spent almost 50 years at the forefront of theoretical and mathematical physics. Here he describes how the LHC and other recent results have impacted his view on nature, and asks whether naturalness is still a useful guide for the field."

Elliott H. Lieb, current Visitor in the School of Natural Sciences, has received the 2022 American Physical Society Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research, the highest honor granted by the Society.

"Nathan Seiberg, 64, still does a lot of the electrical work and even some of the plumbing around his house in Princeton, New Jersey. It’s an interest he developed as a kid growing up in Israel, where he tinkered with his car and built a radio.

'I...