Edward Witten

Edward Witten
Witten in 2008
Born (1951-08-26) August 26, 1951 (age 72)
Education
Known forM-theory
Seiberg–Witten theory
Seiberg–Witten map
Seiberg–Witten invariants
Wess–Zumino–Witten model
Weinberg–Witten theorem
Gromov–Witten invariant
Hořava–Witten domain wall
Vafa–Witten theorem
Witten index
BCFW recursion
Topological quantum field theory (Witten-type TQFTs)
Topological string theory
CSW rules
Witten conjecture
Witten zeta function
Hanany–Witten transition
Twistor string theory
Chern–Simons theory
Positive energy theorem
Witten–Veneziano mechanism
SpouseChiara Nappi
Children3
AwardsMacArthur Fellowship (1982)
Albert Einstein Medal (1985)
ICTP Dirac Medal (1985)
Alan T. Waterman Award (1986)
Fields Medal (1990)
Dannie Heineman Prize (1998)
Nemmers Prize (2000)
National Medal of Science (2002)
Harvey Prize (2005)
Henri Poincaré Prize (2006)
Crafoord Prize (2008)
Lorentz Medal (2010)
Isaac Newton Medal (2010)
Breakthrough Prize in
Fundamental Physics (2012)
Kyoto Prize (2014)
Albert Einstein Award (2016)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsTheoretical physics
Mathematical physics
Superstring theory
InstitutionsInstitute for Advanced Study
Harvard University
Oxford University
California Institute of Technology
Princeton University
ThesisSome Problems in the Short Distance Analysis of Gauge Theories (1976)
Doctoral advisorDavid Gross[2]
Other academic advisorsSidney Coleman[3]
Michael Atiyah[3]
Doctoral studentsJonathan Bagger (1983)
Cumrun Vafa (1985)
Xiao-Gang Wen (1987)
Dror Bar-Natan (1991)
Shamit Kachru (1994)
Eva Silverstein (1996)
Sergei Gukov (2001)
Websitewww.ias.edu/sns/witten

Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American mathematical and theoretical physicist. He is a professor emeritus in the school of natural sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.[4] Witten is a researcher in string theory, quantum gravity, supersymmetric quantum field theories, and other areas of mathematical physics. Witten's work has also significantly impacted pure mathematics.[5] In 1990, he became the first physicist to be awarded a Fields Medal by the International Mathematical Union, for his mathematical insights in physics, such as his 1981 proof of the positive energy theorem in general relativity, and his interpretation of the Jones invariants of knots as Feynman integrals.[6] He is considered the practical founder of M-theory.[7]

  1. ^ "Announcement of 2016 Winners". World Cultural Council. June 6, 2016. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  2. ^ Woit, Peter (2006). Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in Physical Law. New York: Basic Books. p. 105. ISBN 0-465-09275-6.
  3. ^ a b "Edward Witten – Adventures in physics and math (Kyoto Prize lecture 2014)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  4. ^ "Edward Witten". Institute for Advanced Study. December 9, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  5. ^ Atiyah, Michael (1990). "On the Work of Edward Witten" (PDF). Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians. pp. 31–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2017.
  6. ^ Michael Atiyah. "On the Work of Edward Witten" (PDF). Mathunion.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  7. ^ Duff 1998, p. 65

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