Dr. Frank Saueressig

Associate Professor and Governing Board member

String Theory, Quantum Gravity

I am interested in…

What are you working on?

My research focuses on the unification of gravity with the laws of quantum mechanics – a research area that is commonly called “quantum gravity”. More concretely, I am interested in understanding whether gravity can be formulated consistently as a relativistic quantum field theory. In the last few years there has been substantial progress in this direction, indicating that this could be a phenomenologically viable path towards unifying gravity with the other known forces of nature within the same theoretical framework. Naturally, my group is then also interested in understanding potential observable consequences, e.g., by studying quantum corrections to black holes, cosmology, and implications at the level of the standard model of particle physics.

What does the DRSTP mean for you?

The Netherlands are a country with an exceptionally strong theoretical physics community. For me the DRSTP is an umbrella which brings this community together on a regular basis, motivating new collaborations between researchers at different institutions.

What interests do you have apart from your research?

I have two kids which are still very young. So, I am trying to spend time with them. This also opened the door to new outreach activities, sharing the excitement about science and mathematics with really young children where this is not a “natural path to explore” due to their family situation.

Dr. Elisa Chisari

Assistant professor

Cosmology

I am interested in…

What are you working on?

I work on developing and testing models of the structure of the Universe. My group mostly focuses on understanding what phenomena across the Universe can contribute to changing the shapes of galaxies. The two main ones are gravitational lensing (predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity) and gravitational tides. Tides work in a similar way to those on Earth: differences in gravity from one side to the other of a galaxy can make it stretch in particular directions. Modelling both effects is really important if we want to extract information about the dark components of the Universe: dark energy and dark matter, which constitute 95% of the energy density of the Universe today.

What does the DRSTP mean for you?

I view DRSTP as an excellent opportunity for students to get quality high level courses on the core areas of theoretical physics. As a supervisor, I think this is a fantastic asset to my students. I think they also get the opportunity to meet fellow students from other institutions who are at a similar stage in their professional careers. This helps them feel they belong to a broader community than their own research group.

What interests do you have apart from your research?

My family, reading, dancing, and the occasional cycle through the Dutch countryside!