Eva Silverstein
Encyclopedia
Eva Silverstein is a string theorist
. She is married to fellow string theorist Shamit Kachru. She and Kachru were both proteges of Edward Witten
.
She is best known for her work on tachyon condensation
in string theory and resulting resolution of some spacetime
singularities (with Adams, Polchinski
, and others).
Her other significant research contributions include
the construction of the first models of dark energy in
string theory, some basic extensions of the AdS/CFT
correspondence to more realistic field theories (with Kachru), and the discovery of a predictive new mechanism
for cosmic inflation
involving D-brane
dynamics
(with Tong
and Alishahiha).
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
. She is married to fellow string theorist Shamit Kachru. She and Kachru were both proteges of Edward Witten
Edward Witten
Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist with a focus on mathematical physics who is currently a professor of Mathematical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study....
.
She is best known for her work on tachyon condensation
Tachyon condensation
In particle physics, theoretical processes that eliminate or resolve particles or fields into better understood phenomena are called, by extension and metaphor with the macroscopic process, "condensation"...
in string theory and resulting resolution of some spacetime
singularities (with Adams, Polchinski
Joseph Polchinski
Joseph Polchinski is a physicist working on string theory. He graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1971, obtained his B.S. degree from Caltech in 1975, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 under the supervision of Stanley Mandelstam...
, and others).
Her other significant research contributions include
the construction of the first models of dark energy in
string theory, some basic extensions of the AdS/CFT
correspondence to more realistic field theories (with Kachru), and the discovery of a predictive new mechanism
for cosmic inflation
Cosmic inflation
In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation or just inflation is the theorized extremely rapid exponential expansion of the early universe by a factor of at least 1078 in volume, driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density. The inflationary epoch comprises the first part...
involving D-brane
D-brane
In string theory, D-branes are a class of extended objects upon which open strings can end with Dirichlet boundary conditions, after which they are named. D-branes were discovered by Dai, Leigh and Polchinski, and independently by Hořava in 1989...
dynamics
(with Tong
David Tong (mathematician)
David Tong is a professor of theoretical physics at DAMTP in Cambridge, a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and joint recipient of the 2008 Adams Prize...
and Alishahiha).
Education
- A.B., Physics, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, 1992 - Ph.D., Physics, Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, 1996
Professional academic history
- Postdoctoral Associate, Rutgers University, 1996-1997
- Assistant Professor, SLAC, Stanford, 1997-2001
- Associate Professor, SLAC and Stanford Physics Department, Stanford, 2001-2006
- Professor, SLAC and Stanford Physics Department, Stanford, 2006-Present
- Professor, University of California Physics Department
Awards and honors
- MacArthur Fellow, 1999
- Bergmann Memorial Award, 1999
- DOE Outstanding Junior Investigator, 1999 - 2001
- Sloan Fellowship, 1999 - 2003