Sabine Hossenfelder
German physicist and popular science writer (b. 1976) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sabine Karin Doris Hossenfelder (born 18 September 1976) is a German theoretical physicist, author, science communicator, and YouTuber. She is the author of Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions.
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Sabine Hossenfelder | ||||||||||
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Hossenfelder in 2017 | ||||||||||
| Born | 18 September 1976 | |||||||||
| Alma mater | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Stefan Scherer | |||||||||
| Scientific career | ||||||||||
| Fields | Quantum gravity | |||||||||
| Institutions | ||||||||||
| Thesis | Schwarze Löcher in Extra-Dimensionen : Eigenschaften und Nachweis (2003) | |||||||||
| Doctoral advisor | Horst Stöcker | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2007–present | |||||||||
| Genre | Science communication | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 1.61 million[1] | |||||||||
| Views | 251 million[1] | |||||||||
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Last updated: 14 February 2025 | ||||||||||
| Website | sabinehossenfelder | |||||||||
Early life and education
Sabine Hossenfelder was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, on 18 September 1976.[2][3] She received an undergraduate degree in mathematics in 1997 from the Goethe University Frankfurt.[4] In 2004, she completed a doctorate in theoretical physics from the same institution, with her thesis titled "Schwarze Löcher in Extra-Dimensionen: Eigenschaften und Nachweis" (lit. 'Black Holes in Extra Dimensions: Properties and Detection').[2]
Employment
Hossenfelder remained in Germany until 2004 on a postdoctoral research position from the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt.[4] She was subsequently employed as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Arizona, Tucson, University of California, Santa Barbara, and later at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada. In 2009, she became an assistant professor at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Sweden.[5] Between 2015 and 2023, she was employed at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies,[6][citation needed] followed by a post at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich's Center for Mathematical Philosophy.[7][8][9]
Public engagement and scientific outreach
Hossenfelder is a popular science writer who has written books, and written a blog since 2006.[10] The blog is called Backreaction and it is run by both Hossenfelder and her husband Stefan Scherer who is also a physicist.[11] Her 2018 book, Lost in Math, was also published in German with the title Das hässliche Universum (The Ugly Universe). Hossenfelder posits that the universe (and its particle model) is messy, and that it cannot be described by a mathematically beautiful Grand Unified Theory.[12]
Hossenfelder runs an eponymous YouTube channel subtitled "Science with Sabine".[13] In August 2022, Hossenfelder released a book titled Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, published by Viking Press.[14] In January 2023, Hossenfelder started her association with Big Think YouTube channel. Her first video published on the channel was a lecture named "Do humans have souls?".[15][16]
Personal life
Hossenfelder married physicist Stefan Scherer in 2006.[17][18] They have twin daughters, born in December 2010.[17]
Selected publications
- Hossenfelder, Sabine (12 June 2018). Lost in Math. New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09425-7.
- Hossenfelder, Sabine (9 August 2022). Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions. New York, NY: Penguin. ISBN 978-1-9848-7945-5.
- Hossenfelder, Sabine; Palmer, Tim (2020). "Rethinking Superdeterminism". Frontiers in Physics. 8: 139. arXiv:1912.06462. Bibcode:2020FrP.....8..139P. doi:10.3389/fphy.2020.00139. ISSN 2296-424X.
References
External links
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