Robbert Dijkgraaf Elected as Fellow of the Royal Society

Robbert Dijkgraaf, who served as Director and Leon Levy Professor of the Institute for Advanced Study from 2012–22, has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society. 

A mathematical physicist and the current president-elect of the International Science Council, Dijkgraaf made significant contributions to string theory and the advancement of international science advice. He works frequently at the interface between science and society, including during his service as the Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands from 2022–24. Dijkgraaf is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Dijkgraaf has been elected this year alongside Shivaji Sondhi, Member (1998) in the School of Natural Sciences, whose work spans a wide range of topics in theoretical condensed matter physics. He is currently the Wykeham Professor in the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford after a twenty-six-year tenure at Princeton University.

Jacob Tsimerman, incoming Distinguished Visiting Professor (2025–26) in the School of Mathematics, has also been elected. Tsimerman works in number theory and arithmetic geometry at the University of Toronto and has been described as “the foremost number theorist of his generation” by Robert Jerrard, chair of their Department of Mathematics.

Established in the seventeenth century, the Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Its fundamental purpose is to “encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.” Robert Boyle, John Locke, and Isaac Newton were counted among the earliest fellows––their ranks also include Albert Einstein, founding IAS Professor (1933–55).

“The strength of the Fellowship lies not only in individual excellence, but in the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences each new member brings,” said Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society. “This cohort represents the truly global nature of modern science and the importance of collaboration in driving scientific breakthroughs.”

Read the full list of fellows on the Royal Society website.