News

This spring, a vibrant series celebrating the art of musical collaboration will take place at IAS, featuring five programs of artistic encounter from around the world. The series, hosted in Wolfensohn Hall, will comprise concerts, lecture-demonstrations, and conversations, featuring an array of acclaimed, international performers.

A number of past scholars affiliated with the Institute's School of Mathematics have been honored as part of the 2026 American Mathematical Society (AMS) Awards. Their research spans fields ranging from geometric representation theory and its applications to number theory to work on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Irit Dveer Dinur, Betsey Lombard Overdeck Theory of Computing Professor in the School of Mathematics, has been announced as the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences' 2026 Michael and Sheila Held Prize, together with her four collaborators—each a former IAS Member.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has announced that Molly J. Crockett, Member (2025–26) in the School of Social Science, is a recipient of a 2026 Troland Research Award. Crockett, a cognitive scientist, has, in the words of NAS, "redefined our understanding of moral cognition."

Mario Draghi, IAS Trustee since 1998, has been announced as the 2026 laureate of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards granted in Europe, the Prize recognizes “outstanding personalities who have made a significant contribution to peace, unity, and cooperation in Europe.”

Five past scholars from the School of Natural Sciences have been named as recipients in the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 2026 Awards and Prizes for “outstanding achievements in research and education.” Their research spans a wide range of topics, including the formation, structure, and evolution of galaxies, as well as the study of relativistic deflection.

Cathy N. Davidson, Visitor in the School of Social Science, has been named a recipient of the 2025 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, for her work as a "leading voice in digital literacy, learning science, and interdisciplinary innovation."

Ten out of the 40 mathematicians named to the American Mathematical Society’s class of 2026 Fellows are current or former Members in the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Mathematics.

Sushant Sachdeva, Visitor (2019) in the School of Mathematics, has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Infosys Prize in Engineering and Computer Science for making "fundamental contributions [that] have profoundly impacted many algorithmic challenges underlying modern society."

Marco Fantuzzi, Member (2012) and Visitor (2013) in the School of Historical Studies, has been named a winner of a Carl Friedrich von Siemens Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Fantuzzi is a renowned classicist whose research interests span Greek literature and drama, philology, and literary criticism, among other fields.

Chen Ning Yang (杨振宁), Faculty (1955–66) and Member (1949–54) in the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Mathematics/Natural Sciences, passed away on October 18, 2025 at the age of 103. At the Institute, he produced a body of work which redefined how scientists conceptualize the fundamental symmetries of the universe. 

Lauren K. Williams, von Neumann Fellow (2017) in the Schools of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow. The award recognizes Williams’s influential and wide-ranging research that bridges algebraic combinatorics, geometry, and physics. 

Camillo De Lellis, IBM von Neumann Professor in the School of Mathematics, has been elected as a fellow of Italy’s most historic scientific academy: the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He is one of only 46 scholars to be honored with this distinction in 2025.

This summer, Park City, Utah once again became a vibrant hub for mathematical exploration as 198 participants from 21 countries gathered for the 2025 iteration of the Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI), an annual IAS outreach initiative. The program focused on the intersection of discrete mathematics and probability theory.

Victoria B. Bjorklund, IAS Trustee since 2006, will be presented with the insignia of Knight of the Légion d’Honneur, France’s most prestigious decoration, on September 10, 2025. The honor recognizes Bjorklund’s extraordinary commitment to building French-American ties through philanthropy and her remarkable service to French nonprofit initiatives.

Join the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s leading centers for foundational research, for the 2026–27 academic year. Accepted scholars, drawn from around the world, will be able to pursue their own research within one of the four IAS Schools: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Science. Funding is available.

When massive objects like black holes move through the universe, they create gravitational waves—ripples in the very fabric of spacetime. This summer, IAS became a hub for exploring this rapidly evolving field as the 2025 Prospects in Theoretical Physics (PiTP) program welcomed 85 attendees for an intensive workshop focused on gravitational wave physics and astrophysics.

Mario Draghi, Trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study since 1998, has been announced as the recipient of the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, "for his role as a key figure in the defence of European integration and international cooperation, being widely recognized for his leadership and firm commitment to the fundamental values and advancement of the European Union."

Renowned papyrologist Sofía Torallas Tovar from the School of Historical Studies has opened a new exhibition exploring the history and influence of Ezekiel’s Papyrus at the National Library of Spain. The exhibition invites visitors to view both original pages of the papyrus and digital recreations of the text in a journey that traverses both centuries and civilizations.

Marina von Neumann Whitman, Trustee Emerita of the Institute for Advanced Study and pioneering economist who broke barriers in academia, government, and corporate leadership, died on May 20, 2025. As the daughter of John von Neumann, one of the Institute's founding Faculty members (1933–55) in the School of Mathematics, Whitman had a lifelong connection to IAS.

This May, the Institute for Advanced Study hosted its annual WAM program, a weeklong mathematical symposium for educators, students, and researchers that explored the theme of "Convexity and Combinatorics in Algebraic Geometry."

Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science, was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Amherst College for "redefining how science serves our shared human dignity" and "illuminating the way toward a more humane technological age."

John Richard Bond, Member (2018) and Visitor (2012) in the School of Natural Sciences, received the Shaw Prize in Astronomy alongside George Efstathiou, Visitor (1986) in the School, for their pioneering research in cosmology, while Kenji Fukaya, Member (2002) in the School of Mathematics, was awarded the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences for his field-shaping work on symplectic geometry.

Robbert Dijkgraaf, who served as IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor from 2012–22, has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society, alongside Shivaji Sondhi, Member (1998) in the School of Natural Sciences, and Jacob Tsimerman, incoming Distinguished Visiting Professor (2025–26) in the School of Mathematics. 

Michael Harris, AMIAS Member (1983–84, 2011) in the School of Mathematics; Brigitte Bedos-Rezak, Member (1996–97) in the School of Historical Studies; and Valerie Ann Smith, Visitor (2005–06) in the School, have been honored with election to the American Philosophical Society this year.

Samson Shatashvili, Member (1992–94) in the School of Natural Sciences, has been awarded the 2025 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and American Physical Society (APS) for his “clever use of various techniques in studying symmetry in quantum field theory.”

Lorenz Eberhardt, Marvin L. Goldberger Member (2019–23) in the School of Natural Sciences, has been awarded the European Physical Society's 2025 Gribov Medal. Eberhardt's work was described as combining "profound physical insight, technical virtuosity, and mathematical rigor."

Edward Witten, Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences, has been announced as an honorary fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, a distinction conferred upon select notable individuals for their "expertise and experience, and their research and knowledge leadership." Witten was recognized for his "profound contributions to contemporary physics." 

Francesca Trivellato, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies, has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, joining nearly 250 honorees recognized for their expertise and leadership. A number of other Institute-affiliated scholars, representing all four IAS Schools, were also elected.

Two Members from the School of Social Science, Heba Gowayed (2022–23) and Peniel Emmaus Joseph (2025–26), have been named to the 2025 Class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. This year's fellows will conduct research "that seeks to understand how and why our society has become so polarized and how we can strengthen the forces of cohesion to fortify our democracy."

Nine past and incoming scholars across three IAS Schools—Historical Studies, Mathematics, and Social Science—have received 2025 Guggenheim Fellowships. The scholars were recognized for "both prior career achievement and exceptional promise" in fields ranging from classical archaeology and U.S. history to graph theory and combinatorics.

At a ceremony held in Istanbul on April 10, 2025, Wendy Brown, UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science, was presented with a Sakıp Sabancı International Research Award for her contributions to scholarship on the theme of "Realigning Values in a Transforming World Order: What needs preserving, reevaluating, and redefining?"

Three past IAS scholars representing the Schools of Mathematics and Natural Sciences have been named among the 2025 Breakthrough Prize Foundation laureates: Dennis Gaitsgory, John Pardon, and Gerard 't Hooft. Popularly known as "the Oscars of Science," the Breakthrough Prize honors scholars who are "driving remarkable discoveries" in their fields.

Itai Linial, Member (2022–23); Shi-Fan Chen, Member (2022–25); and Nadine Soliman, Member (2025–30), all from the School of Natural Sciences, have received 2025 Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships from NASA. The trio will join an “outstanding” class of fellows to address questions such as “How does the universe work?” and “How did we get here?”

Four of the six recipients of the International Congress of Basic Science's 2025 Basic Science Lifetime Award are past IAS scholars: Shigefumi Mori, George Lusztig, and Robert Tarjan from the School of Mathematics and David Gross from the School of Natural Sciences. The award is bestowed upon “extraordinary” scientists in their respective fields.

Yue Hu, NASA Hubble Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences, has been announced as one of the recipients of the 2025 Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Doctoral Dissertation Award in Astrophysics. Hu's thesis was praised for opening "new ways of exploring the properties of astrophysical turbulent magnetic fields."

Masaki Kashiwara, Member (1977–78) in the School of Mathematics, has been awarded the 2025 Abel Prize, often described as the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for his “fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory, in particular the development of the theory of D-modules and the discovery of crystal bases.”

Chris Hamilton, John N. Bahcall Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences, has been recognized in the 2024 Early Career Collection of the Physics of Plasmas journal for his “outstanding” paper on stellar systems and kinetic theory, a prestigious accomplishment for emerging physics scholars.

Derek Bermel, IAS Artist-in-Residence (2009–13), has been named a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for “notable achievement” in the field of music. Bermel's time at IAS inspired a number of significant compositions, including “A Short History of the Universe (as related by Nima Arkani-Hamed),” which presents a musical interpretation of gravity.

David Rubenstein, Trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study since 2005, will be conferred the highest honor from Eisenhower Fellowships for his philanthropic generosity, innovative leadership, and commitment to serving others.

David Leslie Kennedy, Member (1986–87, 2004) and frequent Visitor in the School of Historical Studies, was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his "significant service to archaeology as a researcher and academic." 

Robbert Dijkgraaf, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor (2012–22), has been elected to lead the International Science Council’s advancement and advocacy efforts to confront today’s most critical scientific challenges. 

This month, an effort to unite three astrophysical research communities who exploit common techniques to understand waves in gaseous disks, galaxies, and stars was made by three scholars from the School of Natural Sciences. John N. Bahcall Fellow Chris Hamilton and Members Callum W. Fairbairn and Uddipan Banik organized a workshop titled IAStrophysical Waves, at which over thirty astrophysicists from across the globe were in attendance.

Rubina Raja, Member (2019) in the School of Historical Studies, has received a Semper Ardens Advance grant from the Carlsberg Foundation for her groundbreaking project titled Locally Crafted Empires (LoCiS). The project, set to launch in the summer of 2025, will contribute a comprehensive and diachronic study of local portrait cultures in ancient West Asia.

Ten past IAS scholars from the School of Mathematics have been named as recipients in the 2025 American Mathematical Society (AMS) Awards. The work for which the scholars were recognized ranged from topics in algebraic geometry to contributions to the Langlands program. AMS described the 2025 awardees as having "far-reaching impact" that has "educated a generation" of mathematicians. 

IAS Trustee David M. Rubenstein has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden. This prestigious honor is the nation's highest civilian award. Rubenstein was recognized "for his philanthropy and generous support for the restoration of historic landmarks and the country’s cultural institutions."

Magdalena Małecka, Deutsche Bank Member (2020–21) in the School of Social Science, has been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council for a project titled “Encoded Knowledge: Epistemology of Computer Technology in Modern Economics.” Małecka's time at the Institute, which included visits to the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center, was formative for her project.

Ellie M. Hisama, Edward T. Cone Member in Music Studies in the School of Historical Studies, has been presented with an honorary membership of the American Musicological Society (AMS). Considered to be the Society's highest honor, such memberships are presented to scholars who have made "extraordinary contributions to the Society and to the study and teaching of music."

On November 11, 2024, Avi Wigderson, Herbert H. Maass Professor in the School of Mathematics, was officially presented with an honorary doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Wigderson was recognized for "his pioneering contributions to mathematics and computer science, which have opened new horizons in both fields, and at the interface between them."

A number of past and present IAS scholars, including Akshay Venkatesh, Robert and Luisa Fernholz Professor in the School of Mathematics, and Ellen Eischen, von Neumann Fellow in the School, have been appointed to the 2025 Class of American Mathematical Society (AMS) Fellows.