Ideas

A variety of systems in natural sciences are described through physically measurable quantities that depend on “independent variables.” For instance, we routinely measure the pressure and the temperature of the air in the Earth’s atmosphere, and...

In mathematics, there are many surprising parallels between problems in the theory of numbers and questions in three-dimensional geometry.

In "Primes and Knots," a public lecture at the Institute for Advanced Study that took place October 25, 2019, A...

From May 31–June 1, 2019, the Institute for Advanced Study hosted a remembrance in honor of Jean Bourgain, Professor in the School of Mathematics for twenty-four years. The public event brought together colleagues, friends, and collaborators to...

Who makes a paper every week,
and every month a new technique,
and founds new branches every year,
and does not know the sense of fear?
And legends—whom d'you hear about?
And if you met him you'd be proud.
Of course, he made his early traces
in the...

There are two labyrinths of the human mind: one concerns the composition of the continuum, and the other the nature of freedom, and both spring from the same source—the infinite. —Baron von Leibniz

"During World War II, when von Neumann was...

I think many of the people who are interested in congratulating me on the Abel Prize are doing so because I’m a woman and I’m the first woman to get it.

And I can’t help resist telling the story that actually it isn’t quite as unnerving as being...

On March 19, 2019, the IAS community gathered to celebrate 2019 Abel Prize laureate Karen Uhlenbeck with a reception in her honor.

Listen to remarks on Uhlenbeck's work and influence made by speakers (in order of appearance):

Helmut Hofer, Professor...

On February 22, 2019, Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics Sanjeev Arora hosted a day of talks titled "Deep Learning: Alchemy or Science?"

Featuring lectures by Arora, Zachary Lipton, Yann LeCun, Joelle Pineau, Shai Shalev-Shwartz, and Mic...

On November 8, 2010, Sir Michael Atiyah, Professor (1969–72) in the School of Mathematics, gave a seminar on "Beauty and Truth in Mathematics: A Tribute to Albert Einstein and Hermann Weyl."

View the seminar above, or on the IAS YouTube page.

In 2017–18, I led a special program about analysis and topology on locally symmetric spaces as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics. Locally symmetric spaces are the home of the Langlands program—a set of overarching and...