Abhay Ashtekar
Indian-American theoretical physicist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abhay Vasant Ashtekar (born 5 July 1949) is an Indian theoretical physicist who created Ashtekar variables and is one of the founders of loop quantum gravity and its subfield loop quantum cosmology.[2] Ashtekar has also written a number of descriptions of loop quantum gravity that are accessible to non-physicists. He is an Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Physics and former Director of the Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Pennsylvania State University.
Abhay Vasant Ashtekar | |
---|---|
Born | (1949-07-05) 5 July 1949 (age 75) |
Alma mater | University of Texas, Austin, University of Chicago |
Known for | Ashtekar variables Quantum gravity |
Awards | Member of National Academy of Sciences, first Gravity Prize by the Gravity Research Foundation, Massachusetts, Einstein Prize |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Theoretical physics |
Institutions | Pennsylvania State University |
Doctoral advisor | Robert Geroch |
In 1999, Ashtekar and his colleagues were able to calculate the entropy for a black hole, matching a 1974 prediction by Stephen Hawking.[3] Oxford mathematical physicist Roger Penrose has described Ashtekar's approach to quantum gravity as "The most important of all the attempts at 'quantizing' general relativity."[4] Ashtekar was elected as Member to National Academy of Sciences in May 2016.[5]