Sabine Hossenfelder

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Sabine Hossenfelder
Sabine Hossenfelder.jpg
Hossenfelder in 2017
Born (1976-09-18) 18 September 1976 (age 49)
Frankfurt, West Germany
Alma mater Goethe University Frankfurt (Diploma, 1997; Dr. phil. nat., 2003) [1]
SpouseStefan Scherer [2]
Scientific career
FieldsQuantum gravity
Institutions
  • GSI Helmholtz Centre, Darmstadt (post-doc) [1]
  • University of Arizona (post-doc) [3]
  • UC Santa Barbara (post-doc) [3]
  • Perimeter Institute, Canada (post-doc) [3]
  • NORDITA (assistant professor, 2009–2015) [3]
  • FIAS (research fellow, 2015–2023) [4]
  • LMU Munich, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (2023-2025) [5] [6]
Thesis Schwarze Löcher in Extra-Dimensionen : Eigenschaften und Nachweis  (2003)
Doctoral advisor Horst Stöcker
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2007–present
GenreScience communication
Subscribers1.7 million [7] [8]
Views293 million [7] [8]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2020
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2023
Last updated: 27 April 2025

Sabine Karin Doris Hossenfelder (born 18 September 1976) is a German theoretical physicist, author of popular-science books, and host of a YouTube channel. [9]

Contents

Early life and education

Hossenfelder was born in Frankfurt and earned a mathematics diploma from Goethe University Frankfurt in 1997. [1] She stayed on to complete a doctorate in theoretical physics in 2003; her dissertation, supervised by Horst Stöcker, studied microscopic black-hole production in models with large extra dimensions. [10]

Academic career

After post-doctoral posts at the GSI Helmholtz Centre, University of Arizona, UC Santa Barbara and Perimeter Institute in Canada, [3] she joined NORDITA in Stockholm as an assistant professor in 2009. In 2015 she moved to the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, where she led the "Analog Systems for Gravity Duals" group and, in 2019, received the institute's inaugural Award for Innovative Thinking. [4] From 2023 to 2025, she was affiliated with the LMU Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, where she researched the role of locality and fine-tuning in quantum-mechanical foundations. [6] [ non-primary source needed ]

Public engagement

Hossenfelder has written the popular-science blog Backreaction since 2006 and has contributed articles to Nature , New Scientist and Quanta Magazine. [9] Her first trade book, Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray (Basic Books, 2018), argues that an aesthetic preference for "beautiful" theories has hindered progress in fundamental physics. [11] Her follow-up, Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, was published by Viking in 2022. [12]

On YouTube, her channel reached 1.7 million subscribers and 293 million total views by April 2025, making it one of the most popular physics channels on the platform. [7]

Hossenfelder's more recent content has received criticism for her attacks on academic research [13] [14] and for conspiracy theory-style portrayals of the physics community. [15]

Honours

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sabine Hossenfelder – Scholarly Community Encyclopedia". encyclopedia.pub. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ↑ "Why I am a physicist: Stefan Scherer". Backreaction. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "New staff members at NORDITA". NORDITA Newsletter. 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "FIAS is courageous and encourages—FIAS Award for Innovative Thinking 2019". fias.news. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dr Sabine Hossenfelder". LMU Munich. Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hossenfelder, Sabine. "The more I think about this, the more disturbing it becomes" . Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Sabine Hossenfelder – YouTube Statistics". SocialBlade. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  8. 1 2 "About Sabine Hossenfelder". YouTube.
  9. 1 2 Fox, Killian (26 November 2022). "Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder: 'There are quite a few areas where physics blurs into religion'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "Schwarze Löcher in Extra-Dimensionen : Eigenschaften und Nachweis". Goethe-University publication server. 2003. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Anathaswamy, Anil (12 June 2018). "How the belief in beauty has triggered a crisis in physics". Nature. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "Existential Physics". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  13. ↑ Jarry, Jonathan (18 April 2025). "Sabine Hossenfelder Asks If Science Is Dying. It's Not". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  14. ↑ Neuman, Scott (23 September 2023). "She got famous on YouTube. Now it helps fund her research in quantum gravity". NPR. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  15. ↑ Kagan-Kans, Dan (11 September 2025). "Essay | The Rise of 'Conspiracy Physics'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
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