What was the name of Einstein's last assistant at the Institute for Advanced Study?
Answer
Bruria Kaufman
Answer
Bruria Kaufman
Einstein's last assistant at the Institute for Advanced Study was Bruria Kaufman. A theoretical physicist and mathematician, Kaufman worked with Albert Einstein in Princeton from 1950 until his death in 1955.
Kaufman joined the Institute as a research associate and had already worked with John von Neumann. Her collaboration with Einstein focused on mathematical problems in general relativity, especially his attempts to develop an extended or unified field theory. She also coauthored papers with him, including work on the algebraic structure of a nonsymmetric field theory.
Her career extended far beyond assisting Einstein. In 1949, she published important work with Lars Onsager on the two-dimensional Ising model, using spinor analysis to simplify the treatment of its partition function. She later worked on mathematical physics, the Mössbauer effect, and applied mathematics in Israel.
The wording can cause confusion because Einstein had other notable colleagues and assistants, including Ernst Straus and Peter Bergmann. Kaufman is the answer associated with his final years at the Institute for Advanced Study, where she worked with him during the last period of his life.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026