ISQG Council Results

My research focuses on classical and quantum gravity in the context of string theory and the  holographic principle. My work explores various non-perturbative and perturbative aspects of holography with the aim of building a consistent theoretical description of gravitational phenomena  at different scales. 
I believe that quantum gravity intertwines many corners of theoretical physics in novel and  important ways. The concept of duality is central to several recent advances in the past decades, and this has allowed for synergy, collaborations, and breakthroughs that tie the gravity community with  other branches of physics and astrophysics. Fostering this synergy and increasing these collaborations are paramount, and I hope to maintain this as a possible member of the ISQG  council. 

My name is Alok Laddha. I did my Ph.D. from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, India in  2008. During graduate school as well as postdoctoral years (at Raman Research Institute, Bangalore and Pennsylvania State University), I worked in the field of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG). More in detail, most of my work was focused on the analysis of quantum constraint algebra and its representation on LQG Hilbert space and applications of these ideas to lower dimensional toy  models of Quantum Gravity. Since 2014 I have been working on the subject of scattering  amplitudes. Some of my primary research work has been in (1) the understanding of soft factorisation theorems in Quantum Gravity and gauge theories, (2) Exploring the precise  relationship between universal soft theorems and conservation laws associated with boundary  symmetries, (3) some ideas centered around flat space holography and more precisely a set of  structural results which go under the name, holography of information in Quantum Gravity, and finally (4) I have increasingly been trying to understand various aspects of positive geometries in  the kinematic space that generate amplitudes of various quantum field theories. 

In the last 20 years, I have hence spent roughly an equal amount of my time on LQG and Scattering  Amplitudes in gravity and gauge theories which is closer in perspective to how certain questions  associated with quantum gravity are asked in String theory. In my opinion ISQG is relevant since it is attempting to break sectarian barriers in the quantum gravity community by opening a channel of  regular communication between different practitioners. However I believe that a genuine and open dialogue about our belief in certain directions and a  transparent appraisal of the open issues in the subject are perhaps a key requirement for such a  society to make a meaningful contribution beyond simply breaking the barriers of communication  between communities practicing other approaches to QG and String theory. 

One important activity in this regard would be to have more in depth discussions centered around  some questions of common interest (for example the definition of general covariance in formulating quantum theory of gravity as formulated by various approaches) with a complete transparency as regards to the details underlying many of the stated results.

I am a theoretical physicist working on fundamental aspects of quantum gravity, quantum field  theory, black holes and the holographic principle. Generally, I refrain from identifying with a more  specific label since I aim to work beyond narrowly defined horizons. This is also what I would like  to foster as a member of the ISQG. 

My scientific trajectory — associate professor at the University of Amsterdam, CNRS researcher at  Ecole polytechnique, postdocs at Harvard and UC Santa Barbara, PhD at IPhT-CEA/Saclay — has  exposed me to different communities, backgrounds and cultures. The research I pursue is driven by  tackling, from different angles and using a variety of tools, fundamental problems in quantum field theory and quantum gravity connected to the real world. One of my research directions which aims  at developing a holographic principle for asymptotically flat spacetimes is at the intersection of  several different subfields and brings together physicists and mathematicians from different  backgrounds as well as different “schools’’. In my view such an across-fields approach is very  fruitful, in particular in a time of high-level specialization. Another line of my work is about  fundamental aspects of black holes. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard  I experienced first-hand the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach and culture to tackling  different aspects towards one and the same overarching goal. As a member of the ISQG, I would  aim to promote discussion across fields and disciplines to bridge the divides.

I’ve been studying various aspects of quantum gravity, from different approaches, since my PhD  work at the University of Texas under Bryce DeWitt (1987-1992). In the 1990’s I largely focused on loop quantum gravity, the study of constrained systems in general, and the construction of relational observables. In recent years my work has emphasized semiclassical analyses of the quantum gravity path integral which one might hope to be relevant to a variety of approaches. 

If elected to the ISQG Council, I would work to facilitate communication and interaction across the broad quantum gravity community and, in particular, to break down barriers between sub-communities. More than ever, this is a time when we all need to welcome open discussion and, in particular, to avoid the construction of echo chambers where we hear only the repetition of our own  views. In addition, I hope to ensure that the relationship between ISQG and the International  Society for General Relativity and Gravitation is cooperative rather than competitive, and that the  two organizations work together to strengthen the broader community.

I did my PhD work at Harvard (under Strominger) on the Kerr black hole and related geometries, and the de Sitter cosmology. Upon completion, I embarked on postdoctoral positions at Stanford,  the IAS, and then held a Delta ITP fellowship at the University of Amsterdam. I was subsequently awarded a University Research Fellowship of the Royal Society hosted at King’s College London, where I am currently a Professor in the Mathematics department. I hold the role of executive board  member in Classical Quantum Gravity, and am board member and secretary of the gravitational  division of the European Physical Society. 

My perspective for ISQG is aligned with the approach I have taken in my own research. I have  developed and adopted tools to attack challenging and relevant problems in quantum gravity and  cosmology. These range between matrix models, higher spin theories, string theory and supergravity, and lower-dimensional models. Most recently I have actively engaged with the  mathematics community on the formulation of gravity in the presence of finite size timelike boundaries. I believe progress in quantum gravity requires a unified and consorted approach. Along  the way, I have engaged with community building activities, organizing several focused workshops (e.g. on matrix models, quantum cosmology, timelike boundaries, and gravity). A consolidated effort will be required to tackle challenging and physically relevant problems in quantum gravity  and cosmology. I aim to bring this vision and expertise to ISQG.

I work on foundational questions at the intersection of quantum theory and gravity, such as the  nature of space and time. For instance, one of my research goals is to formalise how reference  frames could acquire quantum properties when gravity is quantum, and which type of quantum  spacetime structure this would give rise to. In addition, I am interested in understanding which observation could prove convincingly that the gravitational field is quantum. 

Coming from a low-energy perspective on the challenge of unifying quantum theory and general relativity, I have focused on thought experiments and concrete scenarios, which could in principle be tested experimentally. These experiments could provide a viable phenomenological window on quantum effects in gravity, however we still know very little about how broad the quantum effects  testable in such experiments are. My hope is that, by joining forces with diverse quantum gravity approaches, the low-energy approach could help to uncover new phenomenological windows, and the high energy approach could help the low-energy one to unveil more complex quantum features  of gravity than those found so far. On the conceptual side, I believe that the diverse perspectives and approaches that the ISQG gathers could boost progress on shared fundamental questions.

I study quantum (noncommutative) spacetime and its symmetries, and use astrophysical and  cosmological observations to test Planck-scale physics. 

I am a member of the Physics Department of the University of Naples Federico II, Italy and  associate member of INFN (Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics), for which I am involved in the  initiative QUAGRAP – Quantum Gravity Theory and Phenomenology. Since September 2024, I am  chair of the European network COST Action CA23130 “Bridging high and low energies in search of quantum gravity”, which involves about 300 scientists, and since October 2024 I am an elected  member of the Directive Council of SIGRAV (Italian Society of General Relativity and  Gravitational Physics). Between 2018 and 2023 I was a member of the COST Action CA18108  “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, for which I participated in the Management Committee as Italy’s representative and co-lead the Working Group 1 (Theoretical  approaches to Planck-scale physics). Before moving to Naples, I worked at the University of  Burgos, Radboud University in Nijmegen, Imperial College London, University of Rome Sapienza,  IPhT/Saclay and University of California Berkeley. 

I believe in the transformative power of scientific collaboration, and would like to contribute to the  consolidation of a strong community joining scientists working on all the different aspects of  quantum gravity research, both on theory and phenomenology. I would like to help the ISQG achieve its full potential in this respect, encouraging active participation, communication and collaboration between scientists working in the variety of approaches that fall under the umbrella of ISQG. Moreover, I would like to encourage the involvement of young researchers, who have the  energy and enthusiasm to help the community strive. Finally, I would like to bring to ISQG my experience with the managing of European networks. COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach” had an instrumental role in creating a community that did not exist before, where scientists working on the theory and phenomenology of quantum  gravity and scientist working on an array of astrophysical experiments (gamma rays, cosmic rays,  neutrino, gravity waves) found ground to communicate and build a shared language and knowledge. Success of this network was facilitated by a continuous effort to achieve a balance between the  different groups taking part in it, concerning participation in the decision-making process, representation in conferences and in training schools. I believe that the lessons learned in this  experience will be precious to me if I were to be elected to the ISQG Council.

My name is Jose Manuel Carmona, and I am a Full Professor at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). My scientific background spans various areas of theoretical physics with a focus on their  phenomenological and experimental implications. Over the course of my career, I have worked on  statistical mechanics, lattice QCD, dark matter detection, and solar axion searches. In the early  2000s, together with Jose Luis Cortes, I pioneered studies on possible violations of Lorentz invariance in particle and astroparticle physics, helping to establish what is now known as “quantum gravity phenomenology”, which remains my main research focus. 

From 2019 to 2023, I was Action Chair of the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum Gravity  Phenomenology in the Multi-Messenger Approach” (QGMM), a network of over 300 researchers from 38 countries that fostered collaboration between quantum gravity theorists and experimentalists working with the cosmic messengers. This experience highlighted the potential of  high-energy astrophysics to uncover quantum gravity effects and the need for stronger theory– experiment links. As a member of the ISQG Council, I aim to represent the QGMM network and  promote synergies between astroparticle-based phenomenology and other approaches to quantum  gravity.

I have been working on a relatively wide array of topics loosely centred on the topic of quantum  gravity, and have especially pursued the fruitful interaction of many-body physics with the theory  of gravity. Very much relatedly I am also working on analog and digital quantum simulation  approaches to holographic duality, actively working with experimentalists on concrete cavity-QED  based implementations. This activity naturally spans a wide range of – to my mind – profound  questions in quantum gravity, from what is theoretically measurable to what is practically  implementable on realistic laboratory platforms and many questions in between. 

Over the course of my scientific work I have never found denominational boundaries between  different communities working on quantum gravity, or indeed theoretical physics more widely,  particularly meaningful, and certainly not useful. My own work has drawn inspiration from a range  of approaches, and I believe that communities and activities like the ISQG should be facilitators of  such exchanges. I believe that these exchanges need to be research driven and ideally should arise  naturally out of common interests and methodological convergence. However, in order to agree on or even discover such common interests and needs, it is invaluable to facilitate wide exchanges in  the first place. The ISQG council is ideally placed to foster these exchanges and interactions and I  am therefore very eager to contribute to its mission and activities. 

I have been working in the field of Loop Quantum Gravity since I started my PhD in 2003 and have been a professor at FAU since 2011. My research focuses on the dynamics in LQG with applications in quantum cosmology and black holes and I recently also started to work on open quantum systems including gravity with applications in astroparticle physics. Although I have been working in the field of LQG for about 20 years, I have also very much enjoyed and appreciated working with people from different fields such as cosmology, astroparticle physics or quantum foundation in the past, because one gets to know different perspectives on how to approach and work on physical questions. The same applies to the various approaches to quantum gravity. Compared to my time as a PhD student, the interaction between the various approaches to quantum gravity has already increased in intensity, not exclusively but especially also among the younger researchers, which is of great benefit to the entire field. 

The ISQG provides an excellent framework for further promoting and establishing precisely this. If I get the opportunity, I would be happy to contribute to the activities of ISQG to the best of my ability. Through my involvement in numerous committees and working groups at my home university in recent years, as well as organising workshops and conferences and as the current secretary of the International Society on Loop Quantum Gravity (ISLQG), I have already gained some experience in the work of the steering board of a society that is still younger than the ISQG. Besides coordinating the activities of the ISQG within the society and improving internal and external communication, I also believe that opportunities such as the working groups are important for members to actively participate in the further shaping and development of the society, and I think that young researchers in particular play a crucial role in this. In addition, the ISQG provides an excellent environment for supporting young researchers, for example in the form of mentoring and networking, as well as opportunities to exchange scientific ideas across different approaches to quantum gravity. The opportunity to do this not only within the LQG community, but also beyond, sounds very exciting to me. The ISQG can help the quantum gravity community to better reflect the diverse environment that the community offers scientifically and beyond, and to promote dialogue within the society and with other scientific communities.

The main goal of my research is to uncover some of the fundamental quantum aspects of gravity in  realistic spacetimes. My interests cover in particular black hole physics and the development of a  holographic correspondence for asymptotically flat spacetimes. This has led me to explore and develop novel approaches for holographic dualities based on the emergence of infinite-dimensional  symmetries at spacetime boundaries. 

The field of quantum gravity has major tasks ahead, with many challenges left to be addressed. I am convinced that significant advances will arise not from an isolated perspective alone, but  through collective efforts that integrate different viewpoints and methodologies. Over the past few years, I have been constantly trying to contribute in this direction by creating new or deepening existing dialogues between researchers working in different areas. I plan to continue  doing so in the future. In particular, I am very enthusiastic about creating new connections between  the QG community and researchers in mathematics and gravitational wave observations. 

While progress has been made, discrimination and hostile behavior against underrepresented groups remain a systemic reality in our community, and we should be prepared to confront serious  challenges in the near future. As a Council member, I will be committed to strengthening ISQG’s efforts to ensure equity,  inclusion, and safety of underrepresented groups in our community.

I am a researcher and faculty member who has devoted his career to the development of quantum  gravity. I have worked on quantum gravity from many different perspectives, including Loop  Quantum gravity, Spin foam models, String theory, Holography, quantum reference frames, philosophy and quantum foundation. I am also profoundly interested in Quantum gravity  phenomenology. I am an interdisciplinary researcher interested in helping quantum gravity progress and converge. 

It is important for the field not only to communicate across different approaches but also to learn  from one another and develop an integrated perspective that merges, in some way, the lessons we  have learned from previous studies and previous successes and failures. 

I believe that the future of quantum gravity research is bright and that progress will be made by  developing a synthesis of the main questions different approaches have learned. It is, in my view,  necessary for the field to organize itself efficiently through schools, publications and the  development of AI tools and benchmarks to help protect scientific ownership and diversity and  foster new progress. The ISQG society is well placed to help the community grow, not only by  protecting and integrating what we have learned but also by helping new talent and new ideas  emerge. 

With a background in string theory (M.Sc.) and a PhD focused on supergravity (2014-2018), my  research has spanned various aspects of classical and quantum gravity. During my postdoctoral  work at INFN Milano and Politecnico di Torino, I investigated supergravity theories, non relativistic physics, black hole solutions, metric-affine gravity, and modified gravity. My studies  extended to holography, analog modeling, and, more recently, a broader reconsideration of  fundamental classical and quantum physics through advanced mathematical tools. My work on  supergeometry and supersymmetric field theory focuses on developing these frameworks beyond  their conventional role in particle physics, aligning more closely with both their original  formulations and new theoretical directions. This perspective remains independent of the empirical fate of standard supersymmetric field theory, embracing a more fundamental and agnostic approach. Given the current challenges in quantum gravity, I believe that a fresh perspective is necessary,  including a critical reassessment of foundational principles. I strongly believe that conceptual and  technical aspects must advance together, to challenge existing frameworks and drive new  breakthroughs in quantum gravity. This critical approach is necessary and can also strengthen and  foster new collaborations across different fields in a synergistic and multidisciplinary way. I believe that my experience in diverse research domains could offer a valuable perspective in these  discussions and contribute to the Society’s mission. 

Beyond research, I have actively contributed to the scientific community by organizing events such  as the “Supergravity 2025” conference at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, and a dedicated workshop on  supergravity and holography. My international network includes collaborations across Europe and  Latin America, where I have also delivered numerous seminars. I may represent part of the community working on supersymmetric field theory, but also researchers exploring broader  approaches to (general-relativistic) gauge field theory. If elected as a member of the Society’s  Council, I would leverage my experience to foster collaboration, facilitate discussions also on  possible paradigm shifts in quantum gravity, and contribute to organizing high-impact scientific  events that drive the field forward. 

Interested in all aspects of gravity. Phd university of London, postdoc university of Cape Town,  visitor Surrey, Freiburg, IHES, AEI. 

64 papers, 299 mathematical reviews. Guest editor for a mdpi journal called symmetry on the topic string theory, supersymmetry, supergravity.

Formulating, evaluating and testing proposals for quantum gravity requires the implementation of  consistency conditions and approximations, such as effective descriptions, that are often more  universal than formal properties of specific approaches. These tests, if sufficiently developed, can  also be used to reveal fundamental properties of gravity and space-time. My past research has  focused on semiclassical and effective methods suitable for space-time theories, which I applied to  approaches as diverse as canonical and loop quantum gravity, group field theory, and causal  dynamical triangulations. Physical phenomena include the expanding universe and black holes, as  well as geodesic propagation and the fundamental nature of time. 

This general viewpoint will allow me to contribute in a meaningful way to ISQG activities through  events such as conferences, online seminars, and discussion sessions. My experience supervising  undergraduate and graduate research projects will support the inclusion of early-career participants.  The broad field of quantum gravity is currently in a dynamical state, with many new opportunities emerging from an influx of quantum information methods. These new ideas have the potential to  become another universal tool to compare and evaluate different approaches, but in many cases  special requirements for space-time applications still have to be incorporated. I am looking forward  to promoting related questions as a unifying topic within the ISQG.

As a researcher specializing in theoretical cosmology and modified gravity, my work explores the  fundamental nature of spacetime and the role of alternative gravitational models in addressing open  problems in cosmology. With over 240 publications in high-impact journals and affiliations with  leading academic societies, I have been actively contributing to the advancement of gravitational  physics, particularly in the context of dark matter, dark energy, and the early universe. My editorial  roles and extensive peer-review experience further demonstrate my commitment to maintaining the  highest standards in scientific research and dissemination.

As a council member of the International Society for Quantum Gravity, my vision is to foster  interdisciplinary collaborations between quantum gravity, astrophysics, and cosmology  communities, promoting innovative approaches to unifying gravity with quantum mechanics. I aim to support young researchers by creating platforms for knowledge exchange, advocating for open access dissemination, and organizing thematic conferences and workshops that bring together  experts from diverse backgrounds. By integrating insights from modified gravity and geometric  methods into the society’s broader discourse, I hope to contribute to shaping the future directions of  quantum gravity research.

Quantum gravity research benefits from different approaches and perspectives. We are not at the  stage that it is reasonable to bet one’s house on a single one. There is plenty to be learned from different subcommunities and, upon scrutiny, one finds that they often think about similar problems  and concepts, but with different terminology and tools. My own research has greatly benefited from drawing from different approaches, and it has allowed me to bridge different communities and unify some concepts in recent years. This “approach-independent approach” is rooted in a focus on  universal properties and problems in quantum gravity that any approach must eventually touch on.  A central role in this is played by observables and quantum reference frames, the latter of which are  a universal tool for dealing with symmetries in quantum systems. 

My approach to problems in quantum gravity and related subjects has been informed by a somewhat nonlinear career trajectory that passed through mathematical relativity, background independent quantum gravity, the foundations of quantum theory, and high-energy physics, as well  as their respective communities. This experience is further reflected in the diverse composition and  activities of my group, which I regard as its core strength. Bringing communities and approaches  together is also what I want to support in my role as an ISQG Council Member, if elected. I view  the role of the Society as a platform to enhance the communication between different communities  and giving different approaches a space in joint events and activities. Specifically, I would like to  strengthen across-approaches activities for early-career researchers, for example such as setting up a summer school preceding the biannual QG.

Pitch: Quantum Gravity is a beautiful and challenging part of fundamental physics, which deserves  (more) visibility and resources. In a time of growing uncertainties regarding the status of scientific  research and the funding of its institutions, it is more important than ever to strengthen the  cohesiveness of the QG community, taking into account its strong interconnectedness with the  theoretical high-energy and gravitational physics communities. This can be done by establishing  channels of communication, exchanging ideas and being mutually supportive, while making sure  our research lives up to the highest standards. The ISQG can play an important role in facilitating  joint activities, promoting a constructive attitude and sharing our enthusiasm, which is critical to  attracting the next generation of researchers. How we organize the ISQG should reflect the principles that should also govern our research: rational dialogue, respect, transparency and  inclusiveness. 

Background: I have engaged in quantum gravity research for most of my life, including on loop  quantum gravity, and co-founded the formulation of lattice quantum gravity in terms of Causal  Dynamical Triangulations. I ran a sizeable QG research group at Utrecht for over 10 years, before  moving to Radboud University, where under my leadership we have grown to a group of five  permanent members working on quantum and strong gravity. I am currently the Chair of the  Gravitational Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS), which aims to promote scientific dialogue and strengthen the gravity community across subdisciplinary and national  borders. I am very well connected internationally, hold a Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at  the Perimeter Institute and am an elected Fellow of the International Society on General Relativity  and Gravitation. I have extensive experience as both chair and member of boards and committees,  and on how to work constructively and efficiently. 

Biosketch: Roberto Emparan has been ICREA Research Professor at the University of Barcelona  since 2003. He received his PhD from the University of the Basque Country in 1995, followed by  postdoctoral positions at UC Santa Barbara, Durham University, and CERN. His research focuses  on the classical, quantum, holographic, and string-theoretic properties of black holes, often in  spacetimes with low or high dimensionality. Since 2009, he has co-organized a successful biannual  workshop series on these topics at the Benasque Center for Science. He received an ERC Advanced  Grant in 2016, was elected Fellow of the ISGRG in 2022, and served on its committee from 2010 to 2019. He is a member of the editorial boards of Living Reviews in Relativity, Journal of High  Energy Physics, and Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics. 

Vision for my contribution to the Society: I aim to foster dialogue across the diverse approaches  to quantum gravity, encouraging demanding but constructive critique, and supporting the pluralism  of ideas that drives the field forward. A key priority is nurturing the next generation of researchers.  

Through the Benasque workshops, I’ve seen how focused, informal meetings can spark lasting  collaborations and launch young scientists’ careers. I will support similar initiatives within ISQG, especially those bridging geographical and disciplinary divides. Finally, I believe the Society should strengthen the visibility and identity of quantum gravity as a field in its own right. Through public  outreach, support for underrepresented regions, and continued excellence in meetings and  publications, we can broaden the reach and impact of our community. 

My best known work in quantum gravity was in the context of the QFT of gravity, more precisely in the Asymptotic Safety approach. This choice did not come from the conviction that the continuum  picture of spacetime is the ultimate truth, but rather because QFT is well understood and in my view has the greatest potential to provide definite, quantitative answers. I view AS as the most conservative possibility, after the Effective Field Theory of gravity and the possibility of  Asymptotic Freedom, as in quadratic gravity. Lately, however, I have become more sympathetic to  the notion of emergent gravity, and to the possibility that progress in the foundations of quantum  mechanics may be needed for a better understanding of spacetime. 

I also think that there is a lot of room for the application of ideas that, though not new in a  gravitational context, have been used more in particle physics. I have in mind e.g. a dynamical  connection, as in metric-affine gravity, but also GUT-like unification (e.g. putting together the  Lorentz (or rotation) groups and, say, weak SU(2) into a larger unifying group.) Spinor and twistor  geometry could play important roles here. 

I do believe that some, and probably more than one, of the existing approaches does contain parts of the truth. Identifying and putting together such kernels of truth will be a difficult task. For this  reason I think that the most important role for the ISQG will be to promote communication between different communities.

My name is Sebastian Steinhaus, I am an Emmy Noether junior research group leader at FSU Jena,  Germany. My research focuses on loop quantum gravity, more precisely its path integral  formulation called spin foams, and Regge calculus. I investigate how to define a continuum limit,  how to make the models computable non-perturbatively and how to define observables of and  couple matter to quantum geometry. Most recently, I am particularly interested in Lorentzian  signature models and cosmological subsectors of the theory. 

While I mostly work on one approach, I highly value the ideas and perspectives of researchers from  other approaches. Frequently, discussions with them have given me vital new ideas and directions to explore. This is a result of the diversity of quantum gravity approaches, which we should foster and  learn from. Therefore, in teaching I discuss many approaches to quantum gravity to provide a broad  overview for our students. Moreover, I have (co-)organized conferences and seminar series bringing together researchers with different backgrounds, e.g. the series “Quantum Gravity across  Approaches”. 

The International Society for Quantum Gravity is the ideal organization to tap into the potential of  this diversity by creating a constructive environment encouraging exchange and new collaborations. As a member of the Council, it is my goal to shape such an environment and raise awareness for  quantum gravity in the physics community. 

I am currently a Professor at the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (YITP), Kyoto University, and a Visiting Senior Scientist at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), University of Tokyo. My work focuses on cosmology, gravitation, and quantum gravity, aiming to explore the fundamental structure of the universe, with a particular emphasis on brane-world cosmology, modified gravity, dark energy, and the quantum nature of cosmological spacetime. 

I have been fortunate to contribute to the field through research such as the introduction of dark radiation in brane cosmology, the proposal of ghost condensation, the development of early universe models based on Horava-Lifshitz quantum gravity, and advancements in massive gravity cosmology. These efforts have offered potential clues to longstanding theoretical questions related to cosmic inflation, dark energy, and the nature of spacetime. 

Looking ahead, I hope to continue expanding our understanding of the most profound questions in the universe, particularly in the realm of quantum gravity. I am committed to bridging theoretical models with experimental observations, aiming to provide deeper insights into the quantum aspects of gravity and the behavior of cosmological spacetime under extreme conditions. I believe that integrating quantum gravity research with observational data, especially in areas such as black hole physics and the early universe, will be key to advancing our knowledge. 

My work has been recognized by a number of awards, including the Young Scientist Award from the Physical Society of Japan (2007) and the Lagrange Award from the Institut Lagrange de Paris (2014). I am truly grateful for these acknowledgments, as they encourage me to continue my research and contribute to the scientific community. 

In addition to my research, I have had the opportunity to take on leadership roles within the scientific community. I serve on the editorial boards of journals such as European Physical Journal C, General Relativity and Gravitation, Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, AAPPS Bulletin, and Universe. I have also been involved in organizing several major international conferences and workshops, such as COSMO 2024, the JGRG conference series, GR22, and long term workshops and schools on gravity and cosmology at YITP. Through these experiences, I have worked to promote global collaboration and contribute to the international advancement of quantum gravity research. 

As I continue to grow as a researcher and leader, I am dedicated to advancing the goals of the ISQG. I look forward to contributing to the development of new theories and methodologies that will shape the future of quantum gravity and deepen our understanding of the universe. 

I am originally from India and did my thesis work on quantum gravity (Horava-Lifshitz theory) at  Baylor University in the US. I came to Brazil as a postdoc working on Black Hole Thermodynamics and got hired to a permanent position. I am currently an Assistant Professor of Physics at the  Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State. I am interested in all aspects of gravity. I have been an  active member of the Young Researchers Team at ISQG since its inception. 

As a council member of ISQG, I want to work toward shaping ISQG into a legitimate and reputable organization on par with the American Physical Society and European Physical Society. Today’s  quantum gravity scene is totally different from what one would have imagined 50 years ago, with  new areas like quantum gravity phenomenology, tabletop experiments involving quantum optics, and information theory. So, we need an organization that brings all these fields together (besides the usual suspects!) and plays a unifying role. I also envision that ISQG will bring out an open-access,  free online journal dedicated to the field. Besides, as an organization, we may need to identify ripe  research areas (like a decadal survey of the US National Academy of Sciences) to lobby funding  agencies across the globe for resources. Of course, we need to carry on the annual Quantum Gravity meetings, which are getting better every year.

Veronika Hubeny is a theoretical physicist, currently a Professor in the Department of Physics at  University of California, Davis. She is one of the founding members of the Center for Quantum  Mathematics and Physics (QMAP). She received her PhD in Physics in 2001 from UC Santa  Barbara, held a postdoctoral research position at Stanford University (and at UC Berkeley for a few  months) followed by a Professorial position in Durham University in the UK, before joining the  faculty at UC Davis in 2015. Prof. Hubeny is an ISGRG Fellow, presently a member of the ISGRG  International Committee as well as a number of advisory/scientific committees. In the past, she has  served as a Co-Chair of the KITP Advisory Board, Chair of the SOC for GR23, and Co-convener  for the Snowmass process, among others. 

Prof. Hubeny’s research interests lie mainly in areas of string theory and quantum gravity. Hoping to elucidate the fundamental nature of spacetime, she is particularly fascinated by ‘holographic  dualities’ which describe higher-dimensional gravitational theory by a lower-dimensional non gravitational one. Much of her work involves deeper understanding of black holes within this  context, and their mysterious links to quantum information theory. 

The surprising interconnectivity between seemingly disparate areas of physics further substantiates  the value of exploring relations between different approaches to quantum gravity: bridging between  these not only facilitates progress by sharing the toolkit and techniques, but more importantly it can  more easily uncover the underlying links and dualities. The broad vision for ISQG would be to  assist this natural process of discovery and unification. But for the concrete steps, Hubeny’s general  approach would be to brainstorm and optimize these locally based on the circumstances.

Now I am a Professor at the Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS and the position professor at the University of CAS. I was awarded Ph.D. at the Pennsylvania State University in 2002, then was a  post-doctor at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, CAS. In 2004-2011, I worked at the Nanchang  University as a professor and the director of the Center for the Relativistic Astrophysics and the  High Energy Physics. I moved to the Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS in 2011. 

My major interests focus on quantum gravity and gauge/gravity duality. At the early stage of my  scientific career, we developed the formalism of quantum supergravity and supersymmetric spin  networks in the framework of LQG. We systematically investigated the impacts of quantum gravity  effects, including modified dispersion relations and generalized uncertainty principle, on black  holes and the very early universe. We proposed the notion of rainbow universe and revealed the deep connections between quantum geometry and the quantized matter fields. In later years we  systematically investigated the holographic nature of gravity, and contributed the pioneer work on  the construction of holographic lattices and its applications to strongly coupled quantum systems.  We made substantial progress on holographic charge density waves and provided novel mechanism  for the metal-insulator transition. We also investigated the quantum critical phenomenon in  holographic gravity, and revealed the universal behavior of entanglement entropy as well as the  butterfly velocity in quantum chaos near the critical point of phase transition. Recently we are  developing our understandings on the relationship between quantum entanglement and space time  structure, quantum gravity effects at low energy, as well as the shadow of regular black holes. Up to date, the list of publications is over 100 with 3470 citations at Inspirehep.