Gilles Bransbourg, Infosys Member in the School of Historical Studies (2024–25), describes the nexus of community and thought that Rubenstein Commons provides to scholars at the Institute for Advanced Study, recounting how small talk at the bar led to a significant insight in his research into economic and monetary history.
Institute Instances is a collection of 1–2 minute video snapshots of scholars, administrators, and visitors to the Institute for Advanced Study answering a question (or two) about their work at IAS. Viewed individually, these clips allow audiences to get to know the people who are, in the words of founding IAS Director Abraham Flexner, "pushing beyond the present limits of human knowledge" through advancements in science and the humanities. Taken together, these "instances" of Institute life are designed to show how everyone can play a role in actualizing discovery, and to celebrate a community devoted to excellence in scholarship.