File:Edward_Witten.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
Edward Witten is an American mathematician, physicist, and university teacher specializing in physics, mathematical physics, and string theory. Born in Baltimore, he holds citizenship in the United States and resides in Princeton. His academic career includes positions at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study, where he has also served as a doctoral advisor to researchers such as Shamit Kachru, Cumrun Vafa, Dror Bar-Natan, and Xiao-Gang Wen. He received his education at Brandeis University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Princeton University, with David Gross serving as his doctoral advisor.
Witten’s notable work includes M-theory, and he has authored texts such as Superstring Theory: Volume 1 and Superstring Theory: Volume 2. He has been recognized with the Fields Medal, the MacArthur Fellows Program, the Isaac Newton Medal, and the Lorentz Medal. Additionally, he is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Crossref, Open Library, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 12
Top works
- Current Algebra and Anomalies
- Study guide [to accompany] Chemistry
- General Chemistry Laboratory Manual for Science Majors
- Superstring Theory : Volume 2, Loop Amplitudes, Anomalies and Phenomenology
- Superstring Theory : Volume 1, Introduction
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 43
- Total plays
- 75
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Edward+Witten">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Equation of State Calculations by Fast Computing Machines
· 1953 · cited 29,949x
- Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.
· 2000 · cited 28,532x
- The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior
· 2000 · cited 24,754x
- Adsorption of Gases in Multimolecular Layers
· 1938 · cited 24,534x
- THE USE OF LEAD CITRATE AT HIGH pH AS AN ELECTRON-OPAQUE STAIN IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
· 1963 · cited 18,992x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “It is very possible that a proper understanding of string theory will make the space-time continuum melt away.... String theory is a miracle through and through.”
- “Vibrating strings in 10 dimensions is just a weird fact... An explanation of that weird fact would tell you why there are 10 dimensions in the first place.”
- “I don't think that any physicist would have been clever enough to have invented string theory on purpose... Luckily, it was invented by accident.”
- “String theory is extremely attractive because gravity is forced upon us. All known consistent string theories include gravity, so while gravity is impossible in quantum field theory as we have known it, it is obligatory in string theory.”
- “Most people who haven't been trained in physics probably think of what physicists do as a question of incredibly complicated calculations, but that's not really the essence of it. The essence of it is that physics is about concepts, wanting to understand the concepts, the principles by which the world works.”
- “Quantum mechanics... developed through some rather messy, complicated processes stimulated by experiment. While it's a very rich and wonderful theory, it doesn't quite have the conceptual foundation of general relativity. Our problem in physics is that everything is based on these two different theories and when we put them together we get nonsense.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Edward
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Baltimore
- Child
- Daniela Witten
- Father
- Louis Witten
- Employer
- Institute for Advanced Study
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Notable work
- M-theory
- Doctoral advisor
- David Gross
- Field of work
- string theory
- Official website
- www.ias.edu/sns/witten
- Image
- Edward Witten.jpg
- Residence
- Princeton
Show 7 more facts
- member of
- American Mathematical Society
- Commons category
- Edward Witten
- date of birth
- 1951-01-01
- Erdős number
- 3
- Commons gallery
- Edward Witten
- name in native language
- Edward Witten
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
Sources (12)
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions to string theory, topological quantum field theory, and various areas of mathematics. He is a professor emeritus in the school of natural sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. 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. 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. He is considered the practical founder of M-theory.
Early life and education
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Edward Witten” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.