Department Of Mathematics, Kansas State University
| July 2006 : | Louis Crane included in $2M Grant |
| Louis Crane in the Mathematics Department at Kansas State University
has received a grant to study foundational questions in physics and
cosmology from The Foundational Questions Institute, as described below.
The Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi), a new philanthropically funded scientific grant-awarding agency, congratulates thirty Awardees receiving funding from its Inaugural Request for Proposals, totaling over US$2M in grants to study foundational questions in physics and cosmology (list of Awardees enclosed). The thirty grant recipients were chosen in a two-step process by expert review panels, from a total of 172 Initial Applications originating from nineteen countries on five continents. FQXi-funded researchers will investigate fascinating questions about the deep or “ultimate” nature of the universe, such as:
In his project, Crane will complete the interpretation of a model for quantum gravity he helped develop (the BC model) by finding expressions for its classical histories. This will make it possible to compute quantum effects for experiments involving gravity. This technique will be applied to small black holes to see how their formation, radiation and interaction with matter differs from the semiclassical predictions. This information will be used to study the feasibility of using small artificial black holes as sources of energy and as propulsion methods for starships. The BC model can be extended to include singular points in the space-time, which have interesting similarities to ordinary matter. These are referred to as conical matter. Calculations using the classical states for the BC model will be used to explore the behavior of conical matter, and its interactions with black holes. A more distant goal is to explore the Evolutionary Universe hypothesis, which explains the fine-tuning of the laws of Physics for life by means of an evolution of baby universes. The Scientific Director of FQXi, Max Tegmark of MIT, says: “Over the past century, scientists have discovered how the universe evolved, and revolutionized our understanding of the nature of space and time, matter and energy. We’re delighted to help give them a crack at new big questions, and to see what they find.” Anthony Aguirre of UC Santa Cruz, Associate Scientific Director, adds, “We were amazed that there were so many really exciting, high-quality projects proposed by top-notch scientists that would otherwise have languished for lack of funding. It’s clear that FQXi is filling a real need.” Like many thinkers throughout history, top scientists are often deeply interested in big questions; but more risk-averse conventional funding sources often shy away from this type of high-risk/high- reward research, which might have huge intellectual significance but cannot promise immediate practical value. For this reason, the Institute will make a major impact both by significantly increasing the available funding in these areas, and by supporting exploratory projects that, if fruitful, will help researchers make a strong case for mainstream support. FQXi is a “virtual institute,” conducting almost all business online, with no building and little overhead. This allows the Institute to maximize funding to researchers as grants, and to easily connect with and support researchers anywhere in the world. Although privately funded, FQXi is independent and autonomous – run by scientists, for scientists – with the sole mission to “To catalyze, support, and disseminate research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.” More information about FQXi can be found at fqxi.org |