Shamit Kachru
Encyclopedia
Shamit Kachru (born 1970 in Champaign, Illinois
) is a string theorist
who is a professor of physics at Stanford University
and at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
(SLAC). He is the son of the Indian Kashmir
i scholar Braj Kachru. He is married to Eva Silverstein
, who is also a professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University
and at SLAC. Kachru is an award-winning physicist and an expert in string theory and quantum field theory, and their applications in cosmology, condensed matter physics, and elementary particle theory. He has made central contributions to the study of compactifications of string theory from ten to four dimensions, especially in the exploration of mechanisms which could yield string models of dark energy or cosmic inflation.
He has also made notable contributions to the discovery and exploration of string dualities , to the study of models of supersymmetry breaking in string theory, and to the construction of calculable dual descriptions of strongly-coupled particle physics and condensed matter systems using the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Kachru, a Professor of Physics at Stanford University, is a recipient of a Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship, the Bergmann Memorial Award, and the ACIPA Outstanding Young Physicist Prize.
Kachru graduated from University High School in Urbana, Illinois
and from Harvard University
before obtaining a doctorate in physics from Princeton University
under the supervision of Edward Witten
. Kachru was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows
and a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University
.
Kachru is best known for his extensive work on stabilizing the extra dimensions of string theory
,
in particular finding (along with Renata Kallosh
, Andrei Linde
, and Sandip Trivedi
)
the first models of accelerated
expansion of the universe in low energy supersymmetric string compactifications.
He has also made notable contributions to string theory duality (with Cumrun Vafa
), the AdS/CFT correspondence
(with Eva Silverstein
), and to the
construction of models of cosmic inflation
in string theory.
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
) is a string theorist
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
who is a professor of physics at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S...
(SLAC). He is the son of the Indian Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
i scholar Braj Kachru. He is married to Eva Silverstein
Eva Silverstein
Eva Silverstein is a string theorist. She is married to fellow string theorist Shamit Kachru. She and Kachru were both proteges of Edward Witten.She is best known for her work on tachyon condensation...
, who is also a professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and at SLAC. Kachru is an award-winning physicist and an expert in string theory and quantum field theory, and their applications in cosmology, condensed matter physics, and elementary particle theory. He has made central contributions to the study of compactifications of string theory from ten to four dimensions, especially in the exploration of mechanisms which could yield string models of dark energy or cosmic inflation.
He has also made notable contributions to the discovery and exploration of string dualities , to the study of models of supersymmetry breaking in string theory, and to the construction of calculable dual descriptions of strongly-coupled particle physics and condensed matter systems using the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Kachru, a Professor of Physics at Stanford University, is a recipient of a Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship, the Bergmann Memorial Award, and the ACIPA Outstanding Young Physicist Prize.
Kachru graduated from University High School in Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
and from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
before obtaining a doctorate in physics from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
under the supervision of Edward Witten
Edward Witten
Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist with a focus on mathematical physics who is currently a professor of Mathematical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study....
. Kachru was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
and a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Kachru is best known for his extensive work on stabilizing the extra dimensions of string theory
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
,
in particular finding (along with Renata Kallosh
Renata Kallosh
Renata Kallosh is a well-known theoretical physicist. She is a professor at Department of Physics, Stanford University. She is well-known for her contributions to string theory, in particular finding the first models of accelerated expansion of the universe in low energy supersymmetric...
, Andrei Linde
Andrei Linde
Andrei Dmitriyevich Linde is a Russian-American theoretical physicist and professor of Physics at Stanford University. Dr. Linde is best known for his work on the concept of the inflationary universe. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Moscow State University. In 1975, Linde was...
, and Sandip Trivedi
Sandip Trivedi
Sandip Trivedi is an Indian theoretical physicist working at Tata Institute for Fundamental Research at Mumbai, India. He is well-known for his contributions to string theory, in particular finding the first models of accelerated expansion of the universe in low energy supersymmetric string...
)
the first models of accelerated
expansion of the universe in low energy supersymmetric string compactifications.
He has also made notable contributions to string theory duality (with Cumrun Vafa
Cumrun Vafa
Cumrun Vafa is an Iranian-American leading string theorist from Harvard University where he started as a Harvard Junior Fellow. He is a recipient of the 2008 Dirac Medal.-Birth and education:...
), the AdS/CFT correspondence
AdS/CFT correspondence
In physics, the AdS/CFT correspondence , sometimes called the Maldacena duality, is the conjectured equivalence between a string theory and gravity defined on one space, and a quantum field theory without gravity defined on the conformal boundary of this space, whose dimension is lower by one or more...
(with Eva Silverstein
Eva Silverstein
Eva Silverstein is a string theorist. She is married to fellow string theorist Shamit Kachru. She and Kachru were both proteges of Edward Witten.She is best known for her work on tachyon condensation...
), and to the
construction of models of cosmic inflation
Cosmic inflation
In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation or just inflation is the theorized extremely rapid exponential expansion of the early universe by a factor of at least 1078 in volume, driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density. The inflationary epoch comprises the first part...
in string theory.