The Institute for Advanced Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Encyclopedia
The Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) of Jerusalem (Hebrew:המכון ללימודים מתקדמים) is a national science institution devoted to academic research. It is a self-governing body, both in its administrative function as well as its academic pursuits. It is located at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, on the Edmond J. Safra campus at Givat Ram, where the National Library of the State of Israel is located as well.
The Institute was founded in 1975 to provide a nurturing and stimulating academic environment, championing outstanding scholarly research in a wide range of disciplines. It brings together scholars from around the world to engage in collaborative research projects for periods of six to twelve months. The Institute is similar in concept to several existing Institutes of Advanced Study, yet also unique in its sponsoring unrestricted academic research and hosting collaborative teams throughout the more than thirty years since its establishment.
Two principles govern the activities of the Institute: sponsoring outstanding research and endorsing unrestricted academic enquiry. The Institute hosts world-class scholars dedicated to the advancement of scholarship. Research is encouraged from all disciplines. Research proposals may be submitted by any scholar from any country on any topic from a broad range of fields. Academic flexibility, creativity and innovation are encouraged in a receptive and open environment.
The Institute utilizes a variety of pedagogic models to promote interaction at the highest level. Each Collaborative Research Group invites experts from around the world to focus on a shared topic, with scholars offering their particular expertise in small group settings. Advanced Schools select a subject matter and probe it in both depth and breadth, enabling researchers to be mentored by eminent scholars in their field. In Workshops, specialists in a given field gather to hypothesize, analyze results or test working assumptions. Finally, Conferences are designed to share knowledge with the broader academic community as well as the public at large.
, winner of the Israel Prize for Mathematics, 1973. Professor Dvoretzky's visit to the Princeton IAS inspired him to establish an IAS in Jerusalem.
In March, 1976 Professor Dvoretzky wrote:
The Institute is similar in concept to several existing Institutes of Advanced Study, notably the Princeton Institute
. An IAS in Israel will fulfill a long-acknowledged need for an appropriate setting to encourage scientific and academic leadership, along with promoting the highest standard of research. The proliferation of universities in Israel, along with the overall trend toward mass higher education, has heightened the need for an IAS here in Israel. The inspiration and achievement of these Institutes are essential to strengthening and advancing Israel’s scientific and academic landscape.
In 1982, Yuval Ne’eman, Professor of Physics and Minister of Science, established the first School in Theoretical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Studies. Professor Steven Weinberg
, Nobel laureate in Physics, 1979, was asked to become the director of the School, and he filled this prestigious post admirably for twelve years. Four additional Schools were established, based on the same model, in the following fields: Economics, Life Sciences, Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion, and Mathematics. Each School is headed by a preeminent scholar in his or her field.
Each School is headed by an internationally preeminent scholar, working alongside an Israeli codirector. At present, three of the five Schools are directed by Nobel laureates. Senior scholars and capable young students (doctoral and postdoctoral students from Israel and abroad) create an exciting intellectual synergy for the approximately seven to twelve days the short-term School is in session.
The Institute subsidizes participants in the form of travel grants, tuition or hotel expenses. The Israeli coordinator, in coordination with IAS staff, allocates scholarships to candidates and assumes responsibility for technical arrangements. Scholars and students have come to the IAS from Western and Eastern Europe, South and North America, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and North Africa. Time is set aside to experience the city of Jerusalem, one of the most timeless and beautiful cities in the world.
General Directors of the advanced schools:
(SIAS) is a consortium of such establishments.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, on the Edmond J. Safra campus at Givat Ram, where the National Library of the State of Israel is located as well.
The Institute was founded in 1975 to provide a nurturing and stimulating academic environment, championing outstanding scholarly research in a wide range of disciplines. It brings together scholars from around the world to engage in collaborative research projects for periods of six to twelve months. The Institute is similar in concept to several existing Institutes of Advanced Study, yet also unique in its sponsoring unrestricted academic research and hosting collaborative teams throughout the more than thirty years since its establishment.
Mission
The mission of the Institute for Advanced Studies is to serve as a catalyst for high quality, innovative research in diverse fields. By providing an opportunity for scholars of the highest caliber to focus on their studies, the Institute enables scholars to delve into their research while also engaging in a cross-fertilization of ideas.Two principles govern the activities of the Institute: sponsoring outstanding research and endorsing unrestricted academic enquiry. The Institute hosts world-class scholars dedicated to the advancement of scholarship. Research is encouraged from all disciplines. Research proposals may be submitted by any scholar from any country on any topic from a broad range of fields. Academic flexibility, creativity and innovation are encouraged in a receptive and open environment.
The Institute utilizes a variety of pedagogic models to promote interaction at the highest level. Each Collaborative Research Group invites experts from around the world to focus on a shared topic, with scholars offering their particular expertise in small group settings. Advanced Schools select a subject matter and probe it in both depth and breadth, enabling researchers to be mentored by eminent scholars in their field. In Workshops, specialists in a given field gather to hypothesize, analyze results or test working assumptions. Finally, Conferences are designed to share knowledge with the broader academic community as well as the public at large.
History
The Institute for Advance Studies in Jerusalem was founded in 1975 by Professor Aryeh DvoretzkyAryeh Dvoretzky
Aryeh Dvoretzky was a Russian-born Israeli mathematician, the winner of the 1973 Israel Prize in Mathematics. He is best known for his work in functional analysis, statistics and probability.-Biography:...
, winner of the Israel Prize for Mathematics, 1973. Professor Dvoretzky's visit to the Princeton IAS inspired him to establish an IAS in Jerusalem.
In March, 1976 Professor Dvoretzky wrote:
The Institute is similar in concept to several existing Institutes of Advanced Study, notably the Princeton Institute
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
. An IAS in Israel will fulfill a long-acknowledged need for an appropriate setting to encourage scientific and academic leadership, along with promoting the highest standard of research. The proliferation of universities in Israel, along with the overall trend toward mass higher education, has heightened the need for an IAS here in Israel. The inspiration and achievement of these Institutes are essential to strengthening and advancing Israel’s scientific and academic landscape.
In 1982, Yuval Ne’eman, Professor of Physics and Minister of Science, established the first School in Theoretical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Studies. Professor Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles....
, Nobel laureate in Physics, 1979, was asked to become the director of the School, and he filled this prestigious post admirably for twelve years. Four additional Schools were established, based on the same model, in the following fields: Economics, Life Sciences, Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion, and Mathematics. Each School is headed by a preeminent scholar in his or her field.
Directors
- Aryeh DvoretzkyAryeh DvoretzkyAryeh Dvoretzky was a Russian-born Israeli mathematician, the winner of the 1973 Israel Prize in Mathematics. He is best known for his work in functional analysis, statistics and probability.-Biography:...
was the institute's first director (1975–1985). - Hanoch Gutfreund (1986–1989; 1990–1992)
- Menahem Yaari(1989–1990)
- David Shulman (1992–1998)
- Alexander LevitzkiAlexander LevitzkiAlexander Levitzki is an Israeli biochemist who is a Professor of Biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.- Birth and education :...
, (1998–2001). - Benjamin Z. Kedar, (2001–2005).
- Eliezer Rabinovici (2005–present).
Advanced Schools
The Institute hosts five short-term Schools annually under the auspices of the Victor Rothschild Memorial Symposia. They are in the fields of Theoretical Physics, Life Sciences, Economic Theory, Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion, and Mathematics.Each School is headed by an internationally preeminent scholar, working alongside an Israeli codirector. At present, three of the five Schools are directed by Nobel laureates. Senior scholars and capable young students (doctoral and postdoctoral students from Israel and abroad) create an exciting intellectual synergy for the approximately seven to twelve days the short-term School is in session.
The Institute subsidizes participants in the form of travel grants, tuition or hotel expenses. The Israeli coordinator, in coordination with IAS staff, allocates scholarships to candidates and assumes responsibility for technical arrangements. Scholars and students have come to the IAS from Western and Eastern Europe, South and North America, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and North Africa. Time is set aside to experience the city of Jerusalem, one of the most timeless and beautiful cities in the world.
General Directors of the advanced schools:
- School in Theoretical physics : David GrossDavid GrossDavid Jonathan Gross is an American particle physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W...
- School in Economics Theory : Eric MaskinEric MaskinEric Stark Maskin is an American economist and Nobel laureate recognized with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory." He is the Albert O...
- Midrasha Mathematicae : Peter SarnakPeter SarnakPeter Clive Sarnak is a South African-born mathematician. He has been Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University since 2002, succeeding Andrew Wiles, and is an editor of the Annals of Mathematics...
- School in Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion : Haym SoloveitchikHaym SoloveitchikRabbi Dr. Haym Soloveitchik is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He graduated from the Maimonides School which his father founded in Brookline, Massachusetts and then received his B.A. degree from Harvard College in 1958 with a major in History. After two years of post-graduate study...
- School in Life Sciences : Roger D. KornbergRoger D. KornbergRoger David Kornberg is an American biochemist and professor of structural biology at Stanford University School of Medicine.Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006 for his studies of the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA, "the molecular basis of...
Other Institutes for Advanced Study
There are many academic centers of varying status known as "Advanced Study" Institutes throughout the world, but the Institute for Advanced Study located in Princeton, NJ is the original Advanced Study Institute upon which all the others were modeled. Some Institutes for Advanced StudySome Institutes for Advanced Study
The Some Institutes for Advanced Study consortium organizes ten "institutes for advanced study" founded on the same principles as the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, which is also one of the members.- Overview :...
(SIAS) is a consortium of such establishments.