Edward Witten
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.
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