Robbert Dijkgraaf

Best Wishes for the Holidays and a Wonderful New Year

December 20, 2019

Created by Robbert Dijkgraaf , Director and Leon Levy Professor, the artwork above depicts Russian nesting dolls that try to capture the different scales of knowledge about the natural world, from the largest matryoshka doll that depicts our universe through the cosmic microwave background, the “first light” emitted soon after the Big Bang to the smallest doll, the Planck scale, where spacetime becomes a quantum phenomenon.

Press Release

$1 Million Schmidt Futures Grant Awarded to Accelerate Computer Modeling of the Cosmos at IAS

December 16, 2019

Schmidt Futures has awarded $1 million to the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) to leverage advances in high-performance computing to understand challenging astrophysical problems. The project, led by James M. Stone , Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, seeks to deepen our understanding...

IAS News

Watch: Robbert Dijkgraaf Advocates Frontier Research in ERC Live Debate

December 02, 2019

Watch Robbert Dijkgraaf , IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor, join distinguished scientists at the European Research Council conference in a panel debate on the role o f frontier research with a view on sustainability.

IAS News

11/7: Robbert Dijkgraaf to Give Public Lecture at Princeton Gravity Initiative Opening Celebration

October 17, 2019

Robbert Dijkgraaf , IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor, will give the public lecture "Einstein's Dream—From the Big Bang to Black Holes" during the opening celebration of the Princeton Gravity Initiative on Thursday, November 7. Dijkgraaf will speak about the current golden era of...

IAS News

Robbert Dijkgraaf Awarded Inaugural Iris Medal for Excellent Science Communication

October 07, 2019

Robbert Dijkgraaf , IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor, was awarded the inaugural Iris Medal for Excellent Science Communication for his ability to communicate the importance and beauty of science, to explain difficult concepts in a way that listeners can understand, and to combine logic with boundless imagination.

Press Release

Sir James Wolfensohn, Visionary Advocate, to Receive IAS Bamberger Medal

September 12, 2019

The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) announces Sir James Wolfensohn as the recipient of the 2020 IAS Bamberger Medal, to be presented at the IAS Einstein Gala on March 12, 2020, at [ the New York Public Library — UPDATED LOCATION as of Jan....

In the Media

The Subtle Art of the Mathematical Conjecture

May 07, 2019

"In a perverse way, the refutation of a great conjecture can be even better news than its success, since the failure makes clear that our imagined map of the mathematical world is seriously wrong. Defeat can be productive, the reverse of a Pyrrhic victory." In a column for Quanta Magazine , Robbert Dijkgraaf , Director and Leon Levy Professor, covers how conjectures are proven, what makes a particular one great, and the role conjecture plays in the advancement of mathematics.

In the Media

Hotel Genius

April 22, 2019

Listen to the BBC Radio 3 broadcast by Director's Visitor (2018) Sally Marlow , who interviews IAS Director Robbert Dijkgraaf , and Professors Joan Wallach Scott , Freeman J. Dyson , Nima Arkani-Hamed , and Myles W. Jackson .

IAS News

Robbert Dijkgraaf "Ask Me Anything"

April 18, 2019

On April 18, Robbert Dijkgraaf , IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor hosted an "Ask Me Anything" session on the AskScience Reddit forum, coordinated in partnership with the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute , a co-organizer with the IAS and MoMath of the National Math Festival , which will take place in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 4, 2019.

In the Media

What Does a Black Hole Look Like?

April 10, 2019

In writing about the first image of a black hole, released today by the Event Horizon Telescope Project, Nsikan Akpan of PBS News Hour enlists the perspective of Robbert Dijkgraaf , Director and Leon Levy Professor, for insights on the mysterious nature of black holes, the importance of international collaborations, and why an image of a black hole matters.

IAS News

Robbert Dijkgraaf Elected Foreign Member of Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium

April 05, 2019

Robbert Dijkgraaf , Director and Leon Levy Professor, has been elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, a society of outstanding scientists, artists, and business leaders.

IAS News

"It’s a Fact that You Can Trust Science"

April 05, 2019

Addressing an audience at Vrije Universiteit Brussel on the occasion of receiving an honorary doctorate, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Director and Leon Levy Professor, spoke on the state of science today: “Simply put, we are moving to the next level. The previous century can be characterized as the search for the building blocks of reality....This century will explore the brave new world that can be constructed with these building blocks, in our labs and in our minds.”