Many of the public lectures, conferences, seminars, and workshops that have been held at the Institute for Advanced Study are available for viewing on these pages. Selected talks are highlighted below, and you may also search for others by subject, School, or year via the side menu.

Prospects in Theoretical Physics 2010

Prospects in Theoretical Physics is an intensive two-week summer program designed for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars considering a career in theoretical physics. The 2010 program focused on “Aspects in Supersymmetry.” Supersymmetry is one of the deepest and most important concepts in theoretical physics. It has played a central role in the formulation of superstring theory, in the understanding of strong coupling dynamics in gauge theory, and in uncovering the many remarkable dualities connecting gauge theories, string theory and gravity. Listen to lectures on the latest advances and open questions in the field.

For more talks related to the School of Natural Sciences, see a complete listing of videos here.

The "P vs. NP" Problem: Efficient Computation, Internet Security, and the Limits of Human Knowledge 

The "P vs. NP" problem is a central outstanding problem of computer science and mathematics.  In this talk, Professor Avi Wigderson  attempts to describe its technical, scientific, and philosophical content, its status, and the implications of its two possible resolutions.

For more talks related to the School of Mathematics, see a complete listing of videos here.
 

Mechanism Design - How to Implement Social Goals

Eric Maskin, Albert O. Hirschman Professor in the School of Social Science, shared the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his work in Mechanism Design Theory. This is the study of how, given an economic or social goal, we can design a procedure or institution (that is, a mechanism) for achieving that goal. In this lecture, he gives an introduction to mechanism design using several simple examples.  The lecture is nontechnical and suitable for a general audience.

For more talks related to the School of Social Science, see a complete listing of videos here.
 

Experiments on Animals in Ancient Greece and Rome: Private and Public Science

The nature and extent of experimentation in ancient Greek and Roman science remains controversial. In this lecture, Heinrich von Staden, Professor in the School of Historical Studies, analyzes experiments conducted by biologists and physicians on living animals from the fourth century BC to the second century AD.  He looks closely at the motivations of the ancient scientists, their methods, their results, and the range of animal species—indigenous and exotic—on which they performed experiments, as well as the limits, ethical or other, on animal experimentation in antiquity. Significant changes over time, in particular the bold move from conducting such experiments only before a small circle of students to performing them in public spaces, often before a sizable audience, are also examined.

 For more talks related to the School of Historical Studies, see a complete listing of videos here.

Return to Space

Charles Simonyi, Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Trustees and President and CEO of Intentional Software Corporation, is the first and only “space tourist” to fly twice: first in 2007 and most recently in 2009, for a combined total of twenty-eight days in space. In this talk, Dr. Simonyi discusses daily life in a spacecraft and on the International Space Station, and shows footage of the dynamic return trip from orbit to the ground in Kazakhstan