Contents
Edward Witten
Connecting quantum physics with mathematics, from the shapes of knots to string theory.
Positive energy theorem · Quantum fields and knots
- Born
- 26 August 1951
- Birthplace
- Baltimore, United States
More people
Edward Witten
Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist whose work crosses particle physics, geometry and topology. His physical insights earned a Fields Medal in 1990.
Early life
Baltimore
His father, Louis Witten, was a physicist studying gravitation.
An unexpected route
He studied history and linguistics at Brandeis before switching from an economics course to mathematics and physics.
Career
- 1976
Physics doctorate
Completed his Princeton PhD under David Gross, then pursued research at Harvard.
- 1980
Princeton professor
Joined Princeton's physics faculty.
- 1987
Institute for Advanced Study
Moved to the institute, where he became emeritus in 2022.
- 1990
Fields Medal
Received mathematics' leading international medal for insights drawn from physics.
Contributions
Positive energy theorem
Found a new proof that, under appropriate conditions, a gravitating system has nonnegative total energy.
Quantum fields and knots
Connected a quantum field theory with mathematical invariants used to distinguish knots.
M-theory proposal
Suggested that five string theories describe different limits of a broader theory.
Beyond physics
Politics before physics
Worked on George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign and considered journalism.
Scientific family
Married physicist Chiara Nappi in 1979; their children include researchers in neuroscience and statistics.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institute for Advanced Study biography ↗Photo: Ojan. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
