Public lecture by renowned professor Cumrun Vafa: ‘Puzzles to Unravel the Universe’
When and Where: September 15th, at 6:00 PM, in the Auditorium of the Jardín Botánico, Madrid. Access: Cuesta Claudio Moyano, 2.
There’s a lot about the universe that is frankly, quite puzzling. But what if a puzzle is just what you needed to better understand the fundamental laws of the cosmos? For example, to illustrate how symmetries can spontaneously break, an important concept in modern physics, which is the fundamental reason why particles have mass, Vafa poses this problem: You have four cities on four corners of a square; What is the shortest highway system connecting all four cities? Solution? It turns out that it is not the obvious answer.
Cumrun Vafa is the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the Physics Department at Harvard University. Professor Vafa is world-renowned for his groundbreaking work in string theory and the mathematical technology needed to explore this field.
He is one of the founders of the duality revolution in string theory which has reshaped our understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe. He has uncovered mysteries of black holes using topological aspects of string theory and is the founder of `F-theory’ which is one of the most promising directions in connecting string theory solutions known as the `string landscape’ to particle physics. His ideas related to apparently consistent, but ultimately inconsistent, theories of quantum gravity which he initiated in the `swampland’ project has helped narrow down the vast string landscape and is currently an active area of research with impact on cosmology, as well as particle phenomenology.
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About
Born in Iran in 1960, professor Vafa moved to the US for higher education where he received his B.S. in math and physics from MIT before moving to Princeton University, where he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics. Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the Physics Department at Harvard University, he does research and teaches theoretical physics since 1985.
Professor Vafa has received numerous prizes and recognitions for his work on theoretical physics including the 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the 2008 Dirac Medal of ICTP and prizes for his work on mathematical physics from American Mathematical Society, as well as American Physical Society. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He has given numerous public talks on the relation between string theory, physics and geometry.