April 27, 2001

Colloquium Topic: Extra Dimensions and Weakness of Gravity

A new solution will be proposed to the puzzle of why gravity is so much weaker than the other fundamental forces, based on the possibility of extra "warped" space-time dimensions. Such extra dimensions are strongly motivated by string theory, the best developed theory for unifying general relativity with quantum mechanics. If the proposal is realized in nature we can expect spectacular signals of new gravitation resonances in upcoming particle collider experiments.

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Colloquium Speaker: Raman Sundrum

Professor Raman Sundrum received his B.Sc. with First Class Honours in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Sydney in 1984. He was awarded the Undergraduate Gold Medal and also received the Norbert Quirk Prize in Mathematics in 1983 and in 1984. After receiving his Ph.D. in Elementary Particle Theory from Yale University in 1990, Professor Sundrum held a number of Postdoctoral Fellowship appointments in Theoretical Physics at the University of California-Berkely (1990-93); Harvard University (1993-96); Boston University (1996-99) and Stanford University (1990-2000). In 2000, he joined the Department of Physics & Astronomy ­ JHU as an Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics working on superstring theory which is the best developed framework for incorporating quantum gravity with the other forces of nature. Professor Sundrum's recent proposal on a new mechanism for hiding an infinite extra dimension has sparked great interest among string theorists, general relativists and particle physicists.