News

John J. Hopfield, Visiting Professor (2010–13) in the School of Natural Sciences, was named a recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” He remains active within the Institute’s Simons Center for Systems Biology, which concentrates on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences.

Amalie "Emmy" Noether, a renowned mathematician and frequent IAS Visitor (1933–35) while working at Bryn Mawr College, has been posthumously recognized as a "Legacy Honoree" by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S). She was nominated by Helmut Hofer, Hermann Weyl Professor in the School of Mathematics, who described her as "a great mathematician and human being."

Two past Members of the Institute's School of Social Science have been named as 2024 MacArthur Fellows: Ruha Benjamin (2016–17) and Jennifer L. Morgan (2014–15). They join the prestigious ranks of "genius grant" recipients, recognized for their groundbreaking work and potential to make significant societal impacts.

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Brian Greene, Member (1992–93) in the Schools of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, argues that scholars should continue exploring string theory, even in the absence of experimental verification.

Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the School of Social Science, has received the Huxley Memorial Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the highest British distinction in anthropology. He was recognized "for his outstanding contribution and conceptual leadership" in medical anthropology, the anthropology of the state, and humanitarian and critical moral anthropology.

Geordie Williamson, Distinguished Visiting Professor (2020–21) in the School of Mathematics, has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Max Planck–Humboldt Research Award. 

Rubina Raja, Member (2019) in the School of Historical Studies, has received one of the Carlsberg Foundation’s Research Prizes for 2024. She was honored, in part, for work conducted at the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria. 

Join the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s leading centers for foundational research, for the 2025–26 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.

In August, 157 participants from 10 countries gathered at the Institute for the initial focus weeks of a workshop on Quantum Information and Physics. The workshop, which will continue through October 31, 2024, considers the relation of quantum complexity to physical systems such as many-body problems in quantum simulators, condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, and quantum gravity.

In July, 184 participants from 17 countries travelled to Park City, Utah to attend the latest iteration of Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI), an annual Institute for Advanced Study outreach program. The attendees explored motivic homotopy theory, which offers mathematicians the opportunity to better understand complex algebraic shapes by using flexible tools from homotopy theory.