We had an interesting discussion the other day about two orthogonal approaches in faculty recruitment: in one, a department tries to distribute its expertise broad across a discipline so as to be able to teach a variety degree programs. In the other, a department focuses on one particular area, so as to become “the best place in the world” to do research on that particular set of research questions.
Interestingly, neither of those approaches works for an institute like Krasnow. Fundamentally, an institute for advanced study is about research that can change the paradigm–in any number of fields. You do that by hiring risk takers who think about science across disciplines.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 