Talks on Mathematician Emmy Noether

On Friday, May 6, the Institute for Advanced Study will host a public event, “Celebrating Emmy Noether,” which will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the Institute campus.

The event will feature talks on the work and life of Emmy Noether, one of the first Visitors at the Institute from 1933–35. A highly prolific mathematician who published groundbreaking papers in rarefied fields of abstract algebra and ring theory, Noether is best known for her theorem, which united two conceptual pillars in physics: symmetry in nature and the universal laws of conservation.

The event, moderated by Ingrid Daubechies, Member (1999) in the School of Mathematics and James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University, will feature perspectives and insights on Noether’s life and mathematical legacy. Georgia Benkart, Member (1996) in the School of Mathematics and Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss Noether’s groundbreaking mathematical contribution to modern algebra. Karen Uhlenbeck, co-founder of the Women and Mathematics Program at the Institute and Professor Emerita at the University of Texas, will explore Noether’s fundamental insight into the conservation law in modern theoretical physics. Additionally, Catherine Chung, Visitor in the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies and Assistant Professor at Adelphi University, will give a brief overview of Noether’s life.

There will also be a display featuring archival materials from Noether’s time spent at the Institute and the Emmy Noether plaquette created by artist Stephanie Magdziak for the International Mathematical Union. The display will also include tools Magdziak used to create the plaquette including the original pencil sketch, the clay rendering, the silicone mold, and the finished bronze plaquette. This event is free and open to the public. To register for this lecture visit www.ias.edu/events/noether-lecture. For more information on other events at the Institute, visit www.ias.edu/events.

Support for this event is provided by the Schwab Charitable Fund made possible by the generosity of Eric and Wendy Schmidt.