Andrew Strominger

Andrew Strominger
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Name	Andrew Strominger
Birth date	30 July 1955
Birth place	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	American
Fields	Theoretical physics, String theory
Workplaces	Harvard University, University of California, Santa Barbara
Alma mater	Harvard University (BA), University of California, Berkeley (PhD)
Doctoral advisor	John Henry Schwarz
Known for	Black hole information paradox, String theory, Gauge theory, Quantum gravity
Awards	Dirac Medal (2014), Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2017), Albert Einstein Medal (2020)

Andrew Strominger is an American theoretical physicist whose work has profoundly shaped modern understanding of quantum gravity and black hole physics. A professor at Harvard University, he is renowned for his foundational contributions to string theory and for resolving key aspects of the black hole information paradox. His research, often in collaboration with leading figures like Stephen Hawking and Cumrun Vafa, bridges deep mathematical structures with fundamental physical principles.

Early life and education

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is the son of the prominent biochemist Jack Strominger. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1977. He then pursued graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied under the supervision of pioneering string theorist John Henry Schwarz. He received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1982, with a dissertation that contributed to the early development of superstring theory.

Career and research

After postdoctoral positions at the Institute for Advanced Study and the University of California, Santa Barbara, he joined the faculty at Harvard University in 1997, where he is currently the Gwill E. York Professor of Physics. His research career is distinguished by groundbreaking work in string theory and quantum gravity. In the 1990s, with Cumrun Vafa, he used D-brane techniques to derive the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula for certain black holes from first principles in string theory, a landmark achievement. More recently, his collaborative work with Stephen Hawking and Malcolm Perry on soft hair and the black hole information paradox has proposed new mechanisms for how information might be preserved in black hole evaporation. His investigations into the AdS/CFT correspondence, asymptotic symmetries, and the memory effect have also been highly influential in connecting gauge theory, quantum field theory, and general relativity.

Awards and honors

Strominger's contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. He received the Dirac Medal of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in 2014. In 2017, he was a co-recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his work on black hole entropy and information. He was awarded the Albert Einstein Medal in 2020. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has also delivered distinguished lectures such as the Loeb Lectures at Harvard University.

Selected publications

* Strominger, A. & Vafa, C. (1996). "Microscopic origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy". *Physics Letters B*. * Hawking, S.W., Perry, M.J., & Strominger, A. (2016). "Soft Hair on Black Holes". *Physical Review Letters*. * Strominger, A. (2014). "On BMS Invariance of Gravitational Scattering". *Journal of High Energy Physics*. * Strominger, A. (1998). "Black Hole Entropy from Near-Horizon Microstates". *Journal of High Energy Physics*. * Strominger, A. (1995). "Les Houches lectures on black holes". In *String Theory and Quantum Gravity*.

Personal life

He is married to Caroline Strominger, and they have two children. Beyond his research, he is known as an inspiring teacher and mentor to many students in the Harvard University Department of Physics. He maintains active collaborations with physicists at institutions worldwide, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Category:American theoretical physicists Category:Harvard University faculty Category:String theorists Category:1955 births Category:Living people