Geometry, from the ancient Greek geo (earth) and metron (measurement), is often considered a universal quality in human thinking. In fact, this idea of an innate ability to “know” geometry dates back to Plato. In the dialogue Meno, written about 380 BC by Plato, the philosopher Socrates draws out an accurate answer to a geometric … Read more
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics wishes to congratulate our Trustee Juan Maldacena: Juan Maldacena, Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, at the Institute for Advanced Study, has been awarded the Lorentz Medal for his innovative work in theoretical physics. Over the past two decades, Maldacena has made major contributions to … Read more
Carl Schoonover’s acclaimed book Portraits of the Mind is a fascinating visual odyssey exploring how we investigate the workings of the human brain through images—from medieval sketches and 19th century drawings by the founder of neuroscience, to state-of-the-art techniques that fuel research today. Schoonover is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Axel Laboratory at Columbia … Read more
It is with great sadness that we announce that Joseph (Joe) Polchinski has died on February 2, 2018. Polchinski made fundamental contributions to Quantum Field Theory and String theory. Joe is best known for his discovery of D-branes – the key elements of string theory. For his many contributions to theoretical physics Joseph Polchinski has … Read more
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics wishes to congratulate Director Luis Álvarez-Gaumé for being appointed Distinguished Severo Ochoa Visiting Professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Madrid Autonoma University. The Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT) in Madrid hosts a Distinguished Severo Ochoa Visiting Professor program, funded by its Severo Ochoa Excellence Grant from the Spanish … Read more
The Selection Committee of the 2018 Sackler Prize in the physical sciences has decided to award the 2018 Sackler Prize in the field of “Quantum Field Theory (QFT) – Novel Developments and Applications” to Professor Zohar Komargodski from the Weizmann Institute, Israel and the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, US, and to Professor Pedro … Read more
By George Sterman, Director of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics Most of us would agree that addition and subtraction are simpler than multiplication and division, at least for big numbers. And this is not just for people who lack an affinity for math. When quantitative astronomy began in earnest, astronomers like Tycho Brahe … Read more
By Kenji Fukaya Recently there has been a discussion among mathematicians, as well as in press and several blogs, covering the developments in symplectic geometry. Professor Fukaya expressed interest in giving his opinion and we are happy to present it here: The set of the solutions of the equation x2 + y2 – z2 = … Read more
By Simon Donaldson If we have four objects—say A, B, C, D—there are just three ways of dividing them into pairs: (AB)(CD) (AC)(BD) (AD)(BC). The salient property is that 3 is less than 4. This simple fact expresses something special about the number 4. For example if we take 6 objects there are 10 ways to divide … Read more
