The Korea Institute for Advanced Study was founded in 1996, modeled after The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. After many difficulties in the early years, KIAS has grown into a well-established research institute today.
It comprises three schools: Mathematics, Physics, and Computational Sciences. The faculty and research fellows in residence are fully engaged in research at the highest level. With frequent international conferences on cutting-edge topics and attractive visiting programs, KIAS has become a world-renowned research institute favored by domestic and international scientists. KIAS has achieved this remarkable accomplishment thanks to the hard work and passion of all the past and present members of KIAS: professors, research fellows, staff, and visitors.
Most of the research done at KIAS is usually motivated and driven by curiosity only. It is not well known that many great discoveries that benefited humankind resulted from research to satisfy curiosity. The curiosity-driven investigation leads directly to creativity and, in many cases, creates fruitful results for humanity. Creativity will be more and more essential in the future. KIAS will play a significant role in enhancing this creativity. Because of this, KIAS should be at the forefront of curiosity in Korea. Moreover, KIAS should be the source of creativity, and KIAS should be the theater to inspire the imagination of mathematicians and physicists. The motto of KIAS is 'Imagine the Impossible.' The Impossible arouses curiosity. Imagination is what makes the impossible possible, making us create new things.
As of January 2023, there are 31 professors and 83 research fellows in the three schools of KIAS. Every year, KIAS holds about 1,000 seminars and organizes about 50 conferences. The professors and research fellows do not have teaching duties and administrative burdens. Instead, they have total freedom and complete independence to perform the highest level of research. KIAS is committed to creating a research environment so its members can venture into the unexplored scientific world.
Leopold Infeld, a physicist who collaborated with Einstein at the IAS of Princeton, once remarked romantically, "It is the IAS in which you can bring new ideas everywhere if you reach out your hands." I hope all KIAS members can stretch out their hands and discover the charming theorems and theories in every corner of KIAS.
President of KIAS
Choe, Jaigyoung