Andrew Yee[_1_]
January 10th 08, 01:07 AM
Media Relations
Caltech
Contact:
Jackie Scahill, (626) 395-3226
January 8, 2008
Physicist Hirosi Ooguri Awarded for Novel Research on Black Holes
PASADENA, Calif. -- Hirosi Ooguri, the Kavli Professor of Theoretical
Physics at the California Institute of Technology, is a corecipient of the
first ever Leonard Eisenbud Prize for Mathematics and Physics, awarded by
the American Mathematical Society (AMS). The prize, created in 2006, has
gone to Ooguri and coauthors Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa of Harvard
University for their paper "Black hole attractors and the topological
string," published in 2004.
This work stems from concepts formulated by scientists Jacob Bekenstein and
Stephen Hawking. Originally, scientists thought that a black hole must be
simple in structure and somewhat dull as a phenomenon. In the 1970s,
however, Bekenstein and Hawking proposed that a black hole would have
entropy, and that its quantum configuration would have an exponentially
large number of possibilities, much as there are a number of ways you can
arrange the furniture in your bedroom.
In what the AMS calls a "beautiful and highly unexpected proposal," Ooguri
and his coauthors related the property of black holes to state-of-the-art
mathematics in higher dimensions. A new geometric method in six dimensions
called topological string theory, whose development has been inspired by
superstring theory, turned out to be essential in explaining the origin of
the black hole entropy.
"We had an answer, which was topological string theory," says Ooguri. But
they did not know how it could be applied. "It turns out counting the states
of black holes was the question we had been looking for. This work was the
discovery of the question." Ooguri says that this prize is exciting not just
for his work, but because it recognizes the connection between physics and
mathematics. Ooguri had trouble understanding physics while in high school
until he took calculus.
"Mathematics is a language, and we need that language to understand the
physics of our universe," says Ooguri. Mathematics and physics complement
each other. Discoveries in physics can catalyze developments in mathematics,
and vice versa.
The $5,000 prize was awarded to Ooguri, Strominger, and Vafa on January 7,
2008, at the AMS meeting in San Diego, the largest annual gathering of
mathematicians in the world.
The AMS was founded in 1888 to advance mathematical research and
scholarship. It aims to promote mathematical research and its uses through
programs and services, to strengthen mathematical education, and to foster
awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connection to other
disciplines and to everyday life. The society has 28,000 individual members
in the United States and around the world.
David Eisenbud, a former president of the AMS, established the Leonard
Eisenbud Prize for Mathematics and Physics in memory of his father, a
mathematical physicist who died in 2004. The prize honors work that connects
the two fields. The prize will be awarded every three years for a work
published in the preceding six years.
John Schwarz, one of Ooguri's colleagues and the Brown Professor of
Theoretical Physics at Caltech, says, "Hirosi Ooguri is one of the leading
theoretical physicists in the world. Research on string theory and quantum
field theory has had a profound impact on fundamental mathematics in recent
times, and this is epitomized by Ooguri's contributions. I am delighted that
he is receiving this richly deserved recognition."
Caltech
Contact:
Jackie Scahill, (626) 395-3226
January 8, 2008
Physicist Hirosi Ooguri Awarded for Novel Research on Black Holes
PASADENA, Calif. -- Hirosi Ooguri, the Kavli Professor of Theoretical
Physics at the California Institute of Technology, is a corecipient of the
first ever Leonard Eisenbud Prize for Mathematics and Physics, awarded by
the American Mathematical Society (AMS). The prize, created in 2006, has
gone to Ooguri and coauthors Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa of Harvard
University for their paper "Black hole attractors and the topological
string," published in 2004.
This work stems from concepts formulated by scientists Jacob Bekenstein and
Stephen Hawking. Originally, scientists thought that a black hole must be
simple in structure and somewhat dull as a phenomenon. In the 1970s,
however, Bekenstein and Hawking proposed that a black hole would have
entropy, and that its quantum configuration would have an exponentially
large number of possibilities, much as there are a number of ways you can
arrange the furniture in your bedroom.
In what the AMS calls a "beautiful and highly unexpected proposal," Ooguri
and his coauthors related the property of black holes to state-of-the-art
mathematics in higher dimensions. A new geometric method in six dimensions
called topological string theory, whose development has been inspired by
superstring theory, turned out to be essential in explaining the origin of
the black hole entropy.
"We had an answer, which was topological string theory," says Ooguri. But
they did not know how it could be applied. "It turns out counting the states
of black holes was the question we had been looking for. This work was the
discovery of the question." Ooguri says that this prize is exciting not just
for his work, but because it recognizes the connection between physics and
mathematics. Ooguri had trouble understanding physics while in high school
until he took calculus.
"Mathematics is a language, and we need that language to understand the
physics of our universe," says Ooguri. Mathematics and physics complement
each other. Discoveries in physics can catalyze developments in mathematics,
and vice versa.
The $5,000 prize was awarded to Ooguri, Strominger, and Vafa on January 7,
2008, at the AMS meeting in San Diego, the largest annual gathering of
mathematicians in the world.
The AMS was founded in 1888 to advance mathematical research and
scholarship. It aims to promote mathematical research and its uses through
programs and services, to strengthen mathematical education, and to foster
awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connection to other
disciplines and to everyday life. The society has 28,000 individual members
in the United States and around the world.
David Eisenbud, a former president of the AMS, established the Leonard
Eisenbud Prize for Mathematics and Physics in memory of his father, a
mathematical physicist who died in 2004. The prize honors work that connects
the two fields. The prize will be awarded every three years for a work
published in the preceding six years.
John Schwarz, one of Ooguri's colleagues and the Brown Professor of
Theoretical Physics at Caltech, says, "Hirosi Ooguri is one of the leading
theoretical physicists in the world. Research on string theory and quantum
field theory has had a profound impact on fundamental mathematics in recent
times, and this is epitomized by Ooguri's contributions. I am delighted that
he is receiving this richly deserved recognition."