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Shamit Kachru
Professor of Physics and Director, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics, Emeritus
Department: Physics
Ph.D., Princeton University, Physics (1994)
A.B., Harvard University, Physics (1990)
Effective 9/1/23, I became Professor of Physics and Director, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics, Emeritus. I am now working with PDT Partners (a quantitative hedge fund). My research is focused on the modeling challenges, real-time dynamics, and rapid feedback processes that arise in understanding and trading liquid global financial markets. More generally, I am interested in the application of quantitative methods to complex adaptive systems across science, technology, and economic systems.
My previous research interests included diverse topics in theoretical physics, ranging from string theory and quantum gravity to cosmology, condensed matter theory and biophysics. Highlights of my past research include:
- The discovery of string dualities with 4d N=2 supersymmetry, and their use to find exact solutions of gauge theories (with Cumrun Vafa)
- The construction of the first examples of AdS/CFT duality with reduced supersymmetry (with Eva Silverstein)
- Foundational papers on string compactification in the presence of background fluxes (with Steve Giddings and Joe Polchinski)
- Basic models of cosmic acceleration in string theory (with Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, and Sandip Trivedi)
- First computation of the non-Gaussianity in general single field inflation (with Xingang Chen, Min-xin Huang, and Gary Shiu)
- Developing the framework underlying holography for non-relativistic field theories, relevant for modeling quantum matter at finite density (with Xiao Liu and Michael Mulligan)
- Simple and tractable models of non-Fermi liquids (with Liam Fitzpatrick, Jared Kaplan, and Sri Raghu)
- Studies of adaptive trade-offs in evolutionary dynamics of organisms exposed to a varying environment (with Daniel Fisher and Mikhail Tikhonov)
- Developing a new approach — using string duality — to find precise expressions for Ricci flat metrics on K3 surfaces (with Arnav Tripathy and Max Zimet)
For details about my former students, please see the “Research and Scholarship” link in my full Stanford profile.
My previous research interests included diverse topics in theoretical physics, ranging from string theory and quantum gravity to cosmology, condensed matter theory and biophysics. Highlights of my past research include:
- The discovery of string dualities with 4d N=2 supersymmetry, and their use to find exact solutions of gauge theories (with Cumrun Vafa)
- The construction of the first examples of AdS/CFT duality with reduced supersymmetry (with Eva Silverstein)
- Foundational papers on string compactification in the presence of background fluxes (with Steve Giddings and Joe Polchinski)
- Basic models of cosmic acceleration in string theory (with Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, and Sandip Trivedi)
- First computation of the non-Gaussianity in general single field inflation (with Xingang Chen, Min-xin Huang, and Gary Shiu)
- Developing the framework underlying holography for non-relativistic field theories, relevant for modeling quantum matter at finite density (with Xiao Liu and Michael Mulligan)
- Simple and tractable models of non-Fermi liquids (with Liam Fitzpatrick, Jared Kaplan, and Sri Raghu)
- Studies of adaptive trade-offs in evolutionary dynamics of organisms exposed to a varying environment (with Daniel Fisher and Mikhail Tikhonov)
- Developing a new approach — using string duality — to find precise expressions for Ricci flat metrics on K3 surfaces (with Arnav Tripathy and Max Zimet)
For details about my former students, please see the “Research and Scholarship” link in my full Stanford profile.