The idea for NIAS was initiated by Dutch linguist
E.M. Uhlenbeck in the late 1960s. It was inspired on the concept of the
Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton and Stanford. The institute was founded in
Wassenaar in 1970 with the support of all Dutch universities, the
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and welcomed their first fellows in 1971 on the NIAS Campus. Since 1988 it has operated under the direction and auspices of the KNAW. From 1995 until 2002
Henk Wesseling has been
rector of the institute. He was succeeded by
Wim Blockmans in 2002. From 2010 to 2013 the rector was Professor Aafke Hulk. Paul Emmelkamp was rector from 2013 to 2016 and implemented plans to move NIAS to Amsterdam. As of 15 August 2016, the institute is located in the Jorishof wing of the
Oost-Indisch Huis in Amsterdam. Theo Mulder was interim rector in 2017. In 2018
Jan Willem Duyvendak became rector. == Fellows ==