Institute for Advanced Study Welcomes 2017–18 Scholars

Leading scientists and scholars come to the Institute for Advanced Study from around the world to interact, explore, and discover across historical studies, mathematics, natural sciences, and social science. Each year a new intellectual mix of researchers is created, spanning from young postdoctoral fellows to distinguished senior professors. Known as “Members,” these scholars are freed from teaching and administration, and are afforded opportunities to initiate new lines of research and collaboration across disciplines. The Institute’s community of scholars––more than eight thousand scholars and scientists––have held positions of intellectual and scientific leadership throughout the academic world. Thirty-three Nobel Laureates and forty-one out of fifty-six Fields Medalists, as well as many winners of the Wolf Prize and MacArthur Fellowship, have been affiliated with the Institute.

The 201­7–18 class of Members illustrates the breadth, depth, and diversity of the Institute’s academic community as approximately 250 scholars are drawn from more than 35 countries and 115 different institutions. Current research involves new ideas about theoretical machine learning; space and time; the origins and long-term fate of the universe; reconstructing history using novel sources such as ancient DNA; establishing the origins of modern democracy and human rights; and developing an anthropology of morality.

“Scholars visit the Institute to pursue fundamental research that identifies what we already know and what we yet need to understand in order to further our grasp of the world around us,” said Robbert Dijkgraaf, Institute Director and Leon Levy Professor. “We are very excited to welcome this diverse class of Members to the Institute who will undoubtedly push the boundaries of knowledge in their fields and shape new lines of inquiry for deeper exploration.”

The Institute is designed to encourage scholars to take their research to the next level. This includes creating and sustaining an environment where Members live in an academic village of apartments set at the edge of the Institute’s campus. Members eat in the same dining hall, share common rooms and libraries, and carry out their work in an institutional setting where human scale has been carefully maintained to encourage the sharing of ideas, mutual understanding and friendship.

To learn more about our scholars and their research click here.