Einstein Institute of Mathematics

מכון איינשטיין למתמטיקה

Manchester Building, Givat Ram
Former name	Einstein Mathematics-Physics Institute
Established	April 1, 1925; 101 years ago (1925-04-01)
Field of research	Mathematics
Address	Edmond J. Safra Campus Givat Ram, Jerusalem, Israel 9190401
Location	31°46′29″N 35°11′53″E / 31.7747°N 35.1980°E / 31.7747; 35.1980
Operating agency	Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Website	mathematics.huji.ac.il

The Einstein Institute of Mathematics (Hebrew: מָכוֹן אַייְנְשְׁטַייְן לְמָתֶמָטִיקָה) is a centre for scientific research in mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded in 1925 with the opening of the university. A leading research institute, the institute's faculty has included recipients of the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal, Wolf Prize, and Israel Prize.^[1]

History

About a year before the official inauguration of the Hebrew University, a Jewish-American philanthropist, Philip Wattenberg, endowed the new university with $190,000 (equivalent to $3.5 million in 2025) for a research institute in the name of theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.^[2][3]

The Einstein Mathematics-Physics Institute was established in 1925. Its inaugural lecture was given by Edmund Landau (on problems from number theory), the first lecture in higher mathematics to be delivered in modern Hebrew.^[4] The Institute moved to the Philip Wattenburg Building in 1928,^{[note 1]} designed by Benjamin Chaikin and Sir Frank Mears, where it remained until the Hebrew University lost access to Mount Scopus in 1948.

Edmund Landau served as the university's first Professor of Mathematics, and negotiated the transfer of Felix Klein's private library from Göttingen to Jerusalem, which served as the basis for the new mathematical library in Jerusalem.^[5] Other early faculty members included Binyamin Amirà, Abraham Fraenkel, and Michael Fekete.^[6] A number of researchers arrived at the institute during the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, such as Issai Schur and Otto Toeplitz.^[3]

The Israel Journal of Mathematics was founded at the institute in 1963 as a continuation of the Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel (Section F).^[6] A division for computer science was formed within the institute in 1969, which became the independent Institute for Computer Science in 1992.^{[note 2][6]}

Notable members

Notes

References

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