News

An international collaboration co-led by Andrew Mummery, Martin A. and Helen Chooljian Member (2025–30) in the School of Natural Sciences, has uncovered a universal rule governing one of the most powerful astronomical events in the universe. The team has shown that black holes—whether they are “stellar-mass” objects ten times the mass of our sun or supermassive giants millions of times heavier—fire powerful jets of material at the same juncture in their feeding cycles.

David Nirenberg, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor, has been awarded a 2026 Balzan Prize, recognizing his work in the field of Jewish Studies. The award celebrates groundbreaking scholarship that contributes “to the understanding of our world and our time” and promotes “the advancement of knowledge without borders.”

While scientists have demonstrated how the holographic principle works in hypothetical, highly curved spaces, such as Anti-de Sitter space—an approach pioneered by Juan Maldacena, Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences—they are still trying to determine if equivalent field theories can replicate these effects in so-called "flat space." This year’s Prospects in Theoretical Physics (PiTP) program probed this fascinating topic.

All three recipients of the 2026 International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) Medal in Mathematics have links to the Institute’s School of Mathematics: Claire Voisin, Distinguished Visiting Professor (2014–15); frequent IAS scholar Horng-Tzer Yau; and Shou-Wu Zhang, Member (1991–92). Xiao-Gang Wen, Member (1990–91) and IBM Einstein Fellow (2022–23) in the School of Natural Sciences, was also recognized with a Physics Medal.

Welcoming participants from 18 countries, the 2026 Park City Mathematics Institute outreach initiative once again transformed Park City, Utah, into a thriving nexus for mathematical discovery. 

Wendy Brown, Professor Emerita in the School of Social Science; Shatema Threadcraft, Ralph E. and Doris M. Hansmann Member (2017–18) in the School; and Peter J. Katzenstein, Member (2009–10) in the School, were recently announced as American Political Science Association (APSA) award winners.

Join the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s leading centers for foundational research, for the 2027–28 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.

A recent article in Scientific American spotlights the work of Ishan Levy, Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics, who, building on a “tour de force” contribution co-authored by Robert and Luisa Fernholz Professor Akshay Venkatesh, has “found a new framework that goes a long way toward proving” the Cohen-Lenstra conjecture.

A recent article in Town Topics highlights a common bond between three of the four Fields Medal winners announced at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians: ties to IAS. Drawing on an interview with Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg, the article goes on to emphasize the unparalleled research conditions at IAS that foster this level of excellence. 

Three of the four winners of this year’s Fields Medal, often called the Nobel Prize of Mathematics, are affiliated with the Institute's School of Mathematics: Jacob Tsimerman, Ashvin B. Chhabra and Daniela Bonafede-Chhabra Member and Distinguished Visiting Professor; Hong Wang, Member (2019–21); and John Pardon, Visitor (2016–17). With these additions, IAS scholars have now won 49 of the 68 total Fields Medals awarded since 1936.