The American Physical Society (APS) and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) announced today, on behalf of the Heineman Foundation for Research, Educational, Charitable, and Scientific Purposes, that theoretical physicist Pierre Ramond, director of the Institute for Fundamental Theory at the University of Florida, has won the 2015 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics -- one of the highest honors for scientific investigators in that field.
In recognizing Ramond, the two organizations cited his "pioneering foundational discoveries in supersymmetry and superstring theory, in particular the dual model of fermions and the theory of the Kalb-Ramond field".
"Since the days of ancient Democritus, philosophers and scientists who pondered what makes up the fundamental building blocks of matter have thought about point-like particles -- first atoms then subatomic particles like electrons or quarks", said H. Frederick Dylla, executive director and CEO of AIP. "But by initiating superstring theory in the early 1970s, Pierre Ramond generalized to all particles the notion that the basic building blocks are not point particles at all, but tiny string-like objects that vibrate to form the particles."
The prize consists of a certificate and a $10,000 award, which will be presented at a special ceremony during the April 2015 APS meeting in Baltimore, Md.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @04:47PM
So his name was "ancient Democratus"? His friends probably just called him "Pops".
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday October 24 2014, @09:21PM
Isn't string theory up there with the Loch Ness Monster?... Maybe it's real, maybe it's not.
Can i have a prize for saying, "Maybe they'll find Elvis is alive in 10 years.... and maybe they won't?"
Make it something nice! Thanks! :)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Friday October 24 2014, @10:06PM
Yes, you get a prize!
A dunce cap....enjoy.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday October 25 2014, @06:28AM
We are dealing with the legacy of one man, I tell you, one man! And his name was: um, it's coming to me, oh, Sir Karl Popper! Falsificationism. Scientific theories are valid to the extent that they could be proven wrong, but are not. Very British, stiff upper lip and all, even though Popper was a Kiwi. I hear that Kiwis (except, of course, for the Maori) are more British than the British. So, string theory, Tup, Tup, Right O! Very proper then! Except it is a speculative theory, not a falsificationist one. Let's expand on the difference a bit, shall we? Speculative theory (and the falsificationist ones as well) are considered stronger based on coherence. If a theory explains a rather large amount of stuff, as opposed to competing theories, it is prima facie a better theory! But Falsificationism raises its ugly head to say, "yeah, nice theory, but what can you suggest for a test to see whether it is just a nice comprehensive theory, or a correct one? Give me the experimental design?
(Oh, my, are we on cold fusion, again?)
So, string theory is mathematically elegant, explanatorially expansive, and totally unfalsifiable. Pick two out of three, as they say.