Rob Myers, Faculty member at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada has been named a Royal Society of Canada Fellow. Prof. Myers is only 1 of 10 distinguished scientists accepted into the Mathematical and Physical Scientists division this year.
Robert Myers is an outstanding theoretical physicist whose research, characterized by deep physical insights and originality, has made him Canada's most renowned string theorist and places him among the highest ranks of string theorists around the world. His highly-cited groundbreaking contributions in gravitational physics and string theory include:
* Pioneering research on gravity in higher dimensions/black holes
* The discovery of the "Myers effect" in M-theory
* Work showing that cosmic superstrings may leave an observable imprint in the sky
The Royal Society membership follows a distinguished record of awards and recognition for Meyers including:
* The 2005 CAP/CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
* The 1999 CAP Herzberg medal
* Top prizes in the annual Gravity Research Foundation Prize Essay Competition
This is the same competition that famed scientist Stephen Hawking once won.
Rob has since taken top spot on two separate occasions.
Interaction with the international community is a strong focus of Rob's work. He was a co-organizer of Strings 2005, and a member of the international advisory committee for Strings 2006, recently held in Beijing.
Widely credited with being instrumental in building string theory within Canada, Myers was among the first researchers hired by Perimeter Institute in 2001. He received his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1986, after which he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Professor of Physics at McGill University.
Source: Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Related stories:
Newly devised test may confirm strings as fundamental constituent of matter, energy
Experimental verification would mean more spatial dimensions exist
Santa Barbara, Calif.--According to string theory, all the different particles that constitute physical reality are made of the same thing--tiny looped strings whose different vibrations give rise to the different fundamental particles that make up everything we know. Whether this theory correctly portrays fundamental reality is one of the biggest questions facing physicists.
Physicists investigate how time moves forward
As humans, we have a very intuitive concept of time, and of the differences between the past, present, and future. But, as scientists Edward Feng of the University of California, Berkeley, and Gavin Crooks of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory point out, science does not provide a clear definition of time.
Next stop: The fourth dimension
How did the universe come to be? What is it made of? What is mass? Can science prove that there are other dimensions? We may have answers soon.
Invisibility undone: Chinese scientists demonstrate how to uncloak an invisible object
Harry Potter beware! A team of Chinese scientists has developed a way to unmask your invisibility cloak. According to a new paper in the latest issue of
Optics Express, the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal, certain materials underneath an invisibility cloak would allow invisible objects be seen again.
Scientists reveal effects of quantum 'traffic jam' in high-temperature superconductors
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with colleagues at Cornell University, Tokyo University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Colorado, have uncovered the first experimental evidence for why the transition temperature of high-temperature superconductors -- the temperature at which these materials carry electrical current with no resistance -- cannot simply be elevated by increasing the electrons' binding energy. The research -- to be published in the August 28, 2008, issue of
Nature -- demonstrates how, as electron-pair binding energy increases, the electrons' tendency to get caught in a quantum mechanical "traffic jam" overwhelms the interactions needed for the material to act as a superconductor -- a freely flowing fluid of electron pairs.
Large Hadron Collider set to unveil a new world of particle physics
(PhysOrg.com) -- The field of particle physics is poised to enter unknown territory with the startup of a massive new accelerator--the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)--in Europe this summer. On September 10, LHC scientists will attempt to send the first beam of protons speeding around the accelerator.
New theory for latest high-temperature superconductors
Physicists from Rice and Rutgers universities have published a new theory that explains some of the complex electronic and magnetic properties of iron "pnictides." In a series of startling discoveries this spring, pnictides were shown to superconduct at relatively high temperatures. The surprising discoveries created a great deal of excitement in the condensed matter physics community, which has been scrambling to better understand and document the unexpected results.
Large area transistors get helping hand from quantum effects
Researchers from the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory, Japan, and the Advanced Technology Institute of the University of Surrey today report that nano-designed transistors for the large area display and sensor application field benefit hugely from quantum size effects.