The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

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 an academic home to internationally distinguished scholars, many of whom emigrated to the United States from Europe, including Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Emmy Noether, Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann, Michael Walzer, Clifford Geertz, and Kurt Gödel. It was founded in 1930 by American educator Abraham Flexner and philanthropists Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld. Despite the collaborative ties and adjacent geographic location, the independent institute has "no formal ties" to Princeton University.[5] The institute does not charge tuition fees or fees. Flexner's guiding principle in founding the institute was the pursuit of "knowledge for its own sake." Faculty members do not have classes to teach. The institute does not have degree programs or experimental facilities. Research is never contracted or directed. It is left to the discretion of each researcher to pursue their own goals. Founded during the rise of fascism in Europe, the institute played a key role in the transfer of intellectual capital from Europe to America. In a short time, it gained a reputation as the pinnacle of academic and scientific life and maintained this reputation. 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 donations, grants and gifts. It is one of eight American mathematics institutes funded by the National Science Foundation. It is a model for all ten members of the "Some Institutes for Advanced Study" consortium.