School of Natural Sciences

This fall, astrophysicist James Beattie will begin his Membership in the Institute's School of Natural Sciences as a NASA Hubble Fellow. Through his work, Beattie aims to uncover the universal laws that govern how energy and magnetic fields evolve in turbulent astrophysical plasmas.

A recent article in Science has highlighted a preprint publication authored by three IAS scholars from the School of Natural Sciences: Alfredo Guevara, Roger Dashen Member; Andrew Strominger, Member (1982–87); and David Skinner, IBM Einstein Fellow (2012–13). Using ChatGPT-5.2 Pro, the scholars showed that a gluon-scattering interaction widely assumed to be impossible may actually occur.

A recent article in Science has highlighted a preprint publication authored by three IAS scholars from the School of Natural Sciences, including Roger Dashen Member Alfredo Guevara. Using ChatGPT-5.2 Pro, the scholars showed that a gluon-scattering interaction widely assumed to be impossible may actually occur.

A recent article in The Independent highlights a striking new astronomical discovery by a team led by Nadia Zakamska, Member in the School of Natural Sciences: a “mystery object” several times the mass of Jupiter or larger, orbited by a giant metallic wind cloud.

A group of astronomers, including Nadia Zakamska, frequent Member in the School of Natural Sciences, and James Owen, NASA Hubble Fellow (2014–17) in the School, have achieved unprecedented detection of vaporized metals within a dusty, gaseous cloud during rare stellar occultation. Their work utilized the Gemini South telescope.

Five past scholars from the School of Natural Sciences have been named as recipients in the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 2026 Awards and Prizes for “outstanding achievements in research and education.” Their research spans a wide range of topics, including the formation, structure, and evolution of galaxies, as well as the study of relativistic deflection.

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.

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.

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.