Institute for Advanced Study

This article is about the institute in Princeton, New Jersey. For other institutions with the same or similar names, see Institute for Advanced Study (disambiguation).

Institute for Advanced Study
MottoTruth and Beauty
TypePrivate
Established1930; 94 years ago (1930)
FounderAbraham Flexner
Endowment$784.7 million (2020)[1]
DirectorDavid Nirenberg
Academic staff
25[2] (current faculty only)
Administrative staff
26[3]
StudentsNone[4]
Location
Princeton
,
New Jersey
,
US
CampusSuburban
Websiteias.edu

The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann, Michael Walzer, Clifford Geertz and Kurt Gödel, many of whom had emigrated from Europe to the United States.

It was founded in 1930 by American educator Abraham Flexner, together with philanthropists Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld. Despite collaborative ties and neighboring geographic location, the institute, being independent, has "no formal links" with Princeton University.[5] The institute does not charge tuition or fees.[6]

Flexner's guiding principle in founding the institute was the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.[7] The faculty have no classes to teach. There are no degree programs or experimental facilities at the institute. Research is never contracted or directed. It is left to each individual researcher to pursue their own goals.[8][9] Established during the rise of fascism in Europe, the institute played a key role in the transfer of intellectual capital from Europe to America. It quickly earned its reputation as the pinnacle of academic and scientific life—a reputation it has retained.[10][11][12]

The institute consists of four schools: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. The institute also has a program in Systems Biology.

It is supported entirely by endowments, grants, and gifts. It is one of eight American mathematics institutes funded by the National Science Foundation.[13] It is the model for all ten members of the consortium Some Institutes for Advanced Study.[12]

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Faculty & Emeriti". December 26, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Administration". April 4, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCFP9F7Tbr4 "there is no student body here"
  5. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions | Institute for Advanced Study". Institute for Advanced Study. November 24, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Institute for Advanced Study: Frequently Asked Questions What is the relationship between the Institute and Princeton University?
  7. ^ Jogalekar.
  8. ^ Nevins pp. 45–46.
  9. ^ Institute For Advanced Study Frees Scholar From Class, Tests, Students The Harvard Crimson, November 7, 1953
  10. ^ Reisz.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Leitch1978 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Wittrock (1910).
  13. ^ Arntzenius, Introduction p. iii.