IAS History

The Institute is home to an intriguing collection of marginalia. Appearing in books and offprints, on photographs and squeezes, and on notecards, it transforms what might seem like static artifacts into dynamic records of scholarly engagement, creating a multilayered conversation that can even stretch across millennia. 

Should materials existing outside the Institute’s immediate space be incorporated into its archival collection? A challenge of precisely this nature arose in 2024, when the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center acquired documents received and collected by Friedrich Adolf Paneth (1887–1958), an Austrian-born chemist with no direct IAS affiliation but who had close contact with IAS scholars.

In the Spring 2023 edition of The Institute Letter, archivist Caitlin Rizzo outlined her research into Thayyoor K. Radha, one of the earliest women of color at the Institute. Radha joined IAS in 1965–66 as a Member, but her continued success was rendered virtually undiscoverable after her marriage saw her change her surname. After reading The Institute Letter, Radha’s daughter reached out to the Archive, allowing more elements of her story to be collected.

Caitlin Rizzo, Archivist at the Institute for Advanced Study's Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center, highlights the role she played in bringing Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer to life, and how the film has provided opportunities to share stories not only about the former IAS Director, but about the people around him who helped to push the boundaries of knowledge.

Emma Moore, Mathematics - Natural Sciences Librarian at the Institute for Advanced Study, shares the storied history of the library, including its links to Hermann Weyl, Faculty in the School of Mathematics (1933–55), and trailblazing librarian Judith Sachs.

"From our cherished teatime tradition to celebratory dinners, the Institute fosters its unique network of intimacy, illumination, and understanding by gathering its community around the table," writes archivist Caitlin Rizzo. "The Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center is home to a range of documents which speak to dining at IAS, from dinner menus to seating charts."

At a moment when movies are at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the Institute for Advanced Study is delighted to present a 90-second film of its own: a new anthem video showcasing IAS and its mission of enabling foundational discovery. 

Zhengkai Li, a participant in the 2023 Women in Mathematics program, recounts her recent archival investigations into C.S. Wang Chang, the Institute's first woman of color, who joined the School of Mathematics/Natural Sciences in 1945.

The role of reproductions in facilitating the study of the ancient Mediterranean has long been recognized at IAS. Upon his appointment as the Institute’s first professor of Greek epigraphy in 1935, Benjamin D. Meritt petitioned then-Director Abraham...

The life and work of renowned scientist, visionary, and iconoclast Freeman Dyson, who spent most of his career at the Institute for Advanced Study, is the focus of a new book edited by American physicist and historian of science David Kaiser.