Ken Ono

Ken Ono, Member in the School of Mathematics (1995–97), reflects on how his father came to the U.S. from Japan after World War II at the invitation of André Weil, Professor in the School (1996–2001), and returned to IAS several times as a Member. Ono recalls the poetry of coming back to a scholarly community that feels like an extended family.

In November, out of the blue, I received a letter from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Nothing about the envelope suggested that the letter inside would be important. It was an ordinary white office envelope with Institute for...