Lee Smolin is an American theoretical physicist, a faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo and a member of the graduate faculty of the philosophy department at the University of Toronto. Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics criticized string theory as a viable scientific theory. He has made contributions to quantum gravity theory, in particular the approach known as loop quantum gravity. He advocates that the two primary approaches to quantum gravity, loop quantum gravity and string theory, can be reconciled as different aspects of the same underlying theory. He also advocates an alternative view on space and time he calls temporal naturalism. His research interests also include cosmology, elementary particle theory, the foundations of quantum mechanics, and theoretical biology.
Abhay Vasant Ashtekar is an Indian theoretical physicist. He is the Eberly Professor of Physics and the Director of the Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Pennsylvania State University. As the creator of Ashtekar variables, he is one of the founders of loop quantum gravity and its subfield loop quantum cosmology. He has also written a number of descriptions of loop quantum gravity that are accessible to non-physicists. In 1999, Ashtekar and his colleagues were able to calculate the entropy for a black hole, matching a legendary 1974 prediction by Hawking. Oxford mathematical physicist Roger Penrose has described Ashtekar's approach to quantum gravity as "The most important of all the attempts at 'quantizing' general relativity." Ashtekar was elected as Member to National Academy of Sciences in May 2016.
Laurent Freidel is a French theoretical physicist and mathematical physicist known mainly for his contributions to quantum gravity, including loop quantum gravity, spin foam models, doubly special relativity, group field theory, relative locality and most recently metastring theory. He is currently a faculty member at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy, the United States and, since 2000, in France. He is also currently a Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute, and core member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy of Western University. He works mainly in the field of quantum gravity and is a founder of loop quantum gravity theory. He has also worked in the history and philosophy of science. He collaborates with several Italian newspapers, including the cultural supplements of the Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore and La Repubblica. His popular science book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, was originally published in Italian in 2014. It has been translated into 41 languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. In 2019, he was included by Foreign Policy magazine in a list of 100 most influential global thinkers.
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent research centre in foundational theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1999. The institute's founding and major benefactor is Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Mike Lazaridis.
The French National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics is the coordinating body for nuclear and particle physics in France. It was established in 1971 as a division of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Its purpose is "to promote and unite research activities in the various fields of physics".
Eduard Prugovečki was a Canadian physicist and mathematician of Croatian-Romanian descent.
Alexander Grossmann was a French-American physicist of Croatian origin.
Robert C. Myers is a Canadian theoretical physicist who specializes in black holes, string theory and quantum entanglement.
François, Baron Englert is a Belgian theoretical physicist and 2013 Nobel prize laureate.
Giuseppe Nardulli was an Italian physicist based in Bari.
Raymond Félix Stora was a French theoretical physicist. He was a researcher at Service de Physique Théorique at CEA Saclay, then a research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at CPT Marseille and at LAPP Annecy, as well as a member of CERN's theory group. His work focused on particle physics.
Antoine Georges is a French physicist. He is a professor at the Collège de France in Paris and the director of the Center for Computational Quantum Physics at the Flatiron Institute, New York.
Physics outreach encompasses facets of science outreach and physics education, and a variety of activities by schools, research institutes, universities, clubs and institutions such as science museums aimed at broadening the audience for and awareness and understanding of physics. While the general public may sometimes be the focus of such activities, physics outreach often centers on developing and providing resources and making presentations to students, educators in other disciplines, and in some cases researchers within different areas of physics.
Bianca Dittrich is a German theoretical physicist known for her contributions to loop quantum gravity and the spin foam approach to quantum gravity. She has been a faculty member at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada since 2012. She is also currently an adjunct professor at the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo.
Atish Dabholkar is an Indian theoretical physicist. He is currently the Director of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) with the rank of Assistant Director-General, UNESCO. Prior to that, he was head of ICTP's High Energy, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics section, and also Directeur de Recherche at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at Sorbonne University in the "Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Hautes Énergies" (LPTHE).
Richard Kerner is a French theoretical physicist and Professor Emeritus of Pierre and Marie Curie University whose research extends into gravitation, cosmology, field theory, solid-state physics, noncommutative geometry, quantum mechanics and mathematical and theoretical biology.
Francesca Vidotto is an Italian theoretical physicist.
Monique Combescure, is a French physicist specializing in mathematical physics. In 2001, she became director of research at the Lyon Institute of Nuclear Physics. From 2000 to 2008, she was director of the European Mathematics and Quantum Physics Research Group which aims to promote synergy between theoretical physicists and mathematicians in the field of quantum physics. She received the Irène-Joliot-Curie Prize in 2007 and the rank of Officer of the National Order of Merit in 2011.
Anna Minguzzi is an Italian condensed matter physicist who works in France as a director of research for the French National Centre for Scientific Research, affiliated with the Laboratoire de Physique et Modélisation des Milieux Condensés (LPMMC) in Grenoble. Her research involves quantum fluids, gases of ultracold atoms, fermionic condensates, Bose–Einstein condensates, exciton-polaritons, and atomtronics.