A Community of Scholars

Impressions of the Institute for Advanced Study

Institute for Institute for Advanced

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9780691151366
• eBook ISBN:
  9781400839797
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The Institute for Advanced Study in essays and photos

This beautifully illustrated anthology celebrates eighty years of history and intellectual inquiry at the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research. Featuring essays by current and former faculty and members along with photographs by Serge J-F. Levy, the book captures the spirit of curiosity, freedom, and comradeship that is a hallmark of this unique community of scholars.

Founded in 1930 in Princeton, New Jersey, the institute encourages and supports fundamental research in the sciences and humanities—the original, often speculative thinking that can transform how we understand our world. Albert Einstein was among the first in a long line of brilliant thinkers to be affiliated with the institute. They include Kurt Gödel, George Kennan, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Erwin Panofsky, Homer A. Thompson, John von Neumann, and Hermann Weyl. This volume offers an intimate portrait in words and images of a storied institution that might best be described as a true academic village. The personal reflections collected here—written by leading figures from across the disciplines—bring this exceptional academic institution and its history vibrantly to life.

The contributors to this anthology are Michael Atiyah, Chantal David, Freeman Dyson, Jane F. Fulcher, Peter Goddard, Barbara Kowalzig, Wolf Lepenies, Paul Moravec, Joan Wallach Scott, and David H. Weinberg.

Index of Photographs

Members at Teatime, outside Fuld Hall, Fall 2009

School of Historical Studies Medieval Table Lunchtime Colloquium, Dilworth Room, Spring 2010: Ian Wei of the School of Social Science (left), Caroline Walker Bynum (center), Sandy Bardsley (right)

School of Historical Studies Medieval Table Lunchtime Colloquium, Dilworth Room, Winter 2010

Alexia Schulz of the School of Natural Sciences (right), Member Housing, Fall 20095

Math Seminar, Simonyi Lecture Hall, Winter 2010

School of Natural Sciences Lunch Table, Dining Hall, Winter 2010

Martin Pessah (left), Jacob Bekenstein (center), and Scott Tremaine (right) of the School of Natural Sciences, Astrophysics Library, Bloomberg Hall, Winter 2010

Peter Goddard, Director’s Office, Fuld Hall, Fall 2009

Photoboard, School of Mathematics, Simonyi Hall, Spring 2010

School of Mathematics Lunch Table, Dining Hall, Winter 2010

Math Notes, Spring 2010

Lam Hui of Columbia University (left) with Matias Zaldarriaga of the School of Natural Sciences, outside Bloomberg Hall, Spring 2010

Analytic Number Theory Workshop, School of Mathematics, Simonyi Lecture Hall, March 2010: from right, Roger Heath-Brown, Enrico Bombieri, and Antoine Chambert-Loir

John Nash, Teatime, Common Room, Fuld Hall, Spring 2010

School of Historical Studies Lunchtime Colloquium, Dilworth Room, October 2009: John Baines (left), Patricia Crone (right)

Nicole Rachel Belayche of the School of Historical Studies, Spring 2010

Teatime, Common Room, Fuld Hall, Fall 2009: Irving Lavin of the School of Historical Studies (center)

Teatime, outside Fuld Hall, Spring 2010: Danielle Allen of the School of Social Science (center)

Easter Egg Hunt, Crossroads Nursery School, March 2010

View toward the Hist...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• A Paradise for Scholars? Peter Goddard
• The Institute for Advanced Study
• Eighty Years On Michael Atiyah
• Historical Times Barbara Kowalzig
• Warmth amid the Cold Chantal David
• Unusual Business Wolf Lepenies
• Essential Exchanges Jane F. Fulcher
• Looking for Leaders Freeman Dyson
• Shaping Time Paul Moravec
• The Interlocutors Joan Wallach Scott
• Night Owls and Early Birds David H. Weinberg
• Index of Photographs
• Biographies