Wikipedia

Lisa Randall

Lisa RandallHonFInstP(born June 18, 1962) is an Americantheoretical physicistand Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science atHarvard University.[1]Her research includes the fundamental forces of nature anddimensionsof space. She studies theStandard Model,supersymmetry,possible solutions to thehierarchy problemconcerning the relative weakness of gravity, cosmology of dimensions,baryogenesis,cosmological inflation,anddark matter.[2]She contributed to theRandall–Sundrum model,first published in 1999 withRaman Sundrum.[3]

Lisa Randall
HonFInstP
Born(1962-06-18)June 18, 1962(age 62)
Queens,New York City,U.S.
Alma materHarvard University(BA,PhD)
Known forRandall–Sundrum model
Warped Passages(2005)
AwardsKlopsteg Memorial Award(2006)
Lilienfeld Prize(2007)
Andrew Gemant Award(2012)
Sakurai Prize(2019)
Oskar Klein Medal(2019)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsLawrence Berkeley Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley
Princeton University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Doctoral advisorHoward Georgi
Doctoral studentsCsaba Csáki

Early life and education

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Randall was born inQueens,New York City,New York.[4]She graduated fromStuyvesant High Schoolin 1980,[5]where she was a classmate of fellow physicist and science popularizerBrian Greene.[6]She won first place in the 1980Westinghouse Science Talent Searchat the age of 18 and was also named aNational Merit Scholar.She attendedHarvard University,where she tookMath 55,[7]earned a BA in physics in 1983 and a PhD in theoretical particle physics in 1987 underHoward Georgi.[1]

Academia

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Randall researchesparticle physicsandcosmologyat Harvard, where she is a professor of theoretical physics. Her research concernselementary particlesand fundamental forces, and has involved the study of a wide variety of models, the most recent involvingdimensions.She has also worked onsupersymmetry,Standard Modelobservables,cosmological inflation,baryogenesis,grand unified theories,andgeneral relativity.

After her graduate work at Harvard, Randall held professorships atMITandPrinceton Universitybefore returning to Harvard in 2001.[8]Professor Randall was the first tenured woman in the Princeton physics department and the first tenured femaletheoretical physicistat Harvard. (Melissa Franklinwas the first tenured woman in the Harvard physics department.)[9][10]

Writing

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Randall's booksWarped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden DimensionsandKnocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern Worldhave both been onNew York Times100 notable books lists.[1]

Between the hardback and paperback release ofKnocking on Heaven's Door,the quest for the discovery of theHiggs bosonwas actually completed, a subject discussed in the book. Scientists at theLarge Hadron Colliderfound a particle identified as the Higgs boson.[11][12]She said about the discovery, that even if people don't understand everything about it, "what an exciting thing it is that people are excited that there is something fundamentally new that has been discovered."[13]Randall has an e-book entitledHiggs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space.Before the Large Hadron Collider was operating, she wrote an article explaining the discoveries that were expected from using it.[14]She was commonly asked about the misconception that the LHC could make black holes that could destroy the planet.[15]She answered that it was "not even conceivable unless space and gravity are very different from what we thought."[14]

Randall wrote thelibrettoof theoperaHypermusic Prologue: A Projective Opera in Seven Planeson the invitation of the composer,Hèctor Parra,who was inspired by her bookWarped Passages.[16]

Professional organizations

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Randall is a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences(2004) and theNational Academy of Sciences(2008),[2]theAmerican Philosophical Society,[17]and a fellow of theAmerican Physical Society.

Randall has helped organize numerous conferences and has been on the editorial board of several major theoretical physics journals.[1][8]

Awards and honors

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In autumn 2004, she was the most cited theoretical physicist of the previous five years. Randall was featured inSeedmagazine's "2005 Year in Science Icons" and inNewsweek's "Who's Next in 2006" as "one of the most promising theoretical physicists of her generation". In 2007, Randall was named one ofTimemagazine's 100 Most Influential People (Time100) under the section for "Scientists & Thinkers". Randall was given this honor for her work regarding the evidence of a higher dimension.[18]

Other honors:

Belief in God

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In an interview she was asked whether she believes in God, she said:

"... I probably don't believe in God. I think it's a problem that people are considered immoral if they'renot religious.That's just not true. This might earn me some enemies, but in some ways they may be even more moral. If you do something for a religious reason, you do it because you'll be rewarded in an afterlife or in this world. That's not quite as good as something you do for purely generous reasons. "[29]

Personal life

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Randall's sister,Dana Randall,is a professor of computer science atGeorgia Tech.[30]

Lisa is an avid climber.[31]A rockface along theMill CreeknearDumontinColorado,is named Lisa Randall Wall after her by a local climbing society.[32]In a climbing accident, after falling from the cliff despite proper safety measures, she injured her heel.[33]

Bibliography

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  • Randall, Lisa(2005).Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions.Ecco Press.ISBN0-06-053108-8.
  • Randall, Lisa(2011).Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World.Ecco Press.ISBN978-0-06-172372-8.
  • Randall, Lisa(2013).Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space.Ecco Press.ISBN978-0062300478.
  • Randall, Lisa(2015).Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe.Ecco Press.ISBN978-0-06-232847-2.

References

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  1. ^abcd"Faculty: Lisa Randall".Harvard University Department of Physics.Retrieved1 January2014.
  2. ^ab"Lisa Randall".NAS.Retrieved22 December2013.
  3. ^Randall, Lisa; Sundrum, Raman (1999). "Large Mass Hierarchy from a Small Extra Dimension".Physical Review Letters.83(17): 3370–3373.arXiv:hep-ph/9905221.Bibcode:1999PhRvL..83.3370R.doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.3370.
  4. ^Crace, John (June 21, 2005)."Lisa Randall: Warped view of the universe".The Guardian.RetrievedJanuary 12,2023.
  5. ^"Lisa Randall".Edge Foundation.Retrieved1 January2014.
  6. ^"The String is The Thing Brian Greene Unravels the Fabric of the Universe".Columbia Magazine.Columbia University.Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2006.Retrieved1 January2014.
  7. ^Robinson, Evan T.R. (June 2, 2009)."Class of 1984: Lisa Randall".The Harvard Crimson.RetrievedDecember 9,2018.As a college freshman, Lisa J. Randall '84 stood out for many reasons. In her first semester, she enrolled in Math 55 and Physics 55, the most difficult freshman math and physics classes offered.
  8. ^ab"Curriculum Vitae of Lisa Randall".Harvard University — Department of Physics. Archived fromthe originalon 17 November 2015.Retrieved22 December2013.
  9. ^"Professor Franklin".Harvard University.
  10. ^"Notable Female Physicists".weebly.Retrieved22 December2013.
  11. ^CERN."The Higgs Boson".Retrieved1 July2017.
  12. ^Greene, Brian."How the Higgs Boson was Found".Smithsonian Magazine.Retrieved1 July2017.
  13. ^"Point of Inquiry podcast".Point of Inquiry 8 Oct 2012.Center for Inquiry.2012-10-08.Retrieved1 July2017.
  14. ^abRandall, Lisa."A Tumultuous Year at the LHC".Discover magazine, 12 Nov 2009.Retrieved1 July2017.
  15. ^Pappas, Stephanie (2012-10-21)."Large Hadron Collider Won't Destroy Earth With Planet-Eating Black Hole, Court Says".Huffington Post, 19 Oct 2012.Retrieved1 July2017.
  16. ^"Opera in the Fifth Dimension".Seed Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016.Retrieved8 December2013.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.Retrieved2021-04-21.
  18. ^Rawe, Julie. "Time 100".TimemagazineMay 14, 2007: 108.
  19. ^"2018 Stanley Corrsin Award Recipient".
  20. ^"Theoretical Physicist Lisa Randall Wins 2012 Gemant Award".aip.org.2013-11-22.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  21. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  22. ^"2018 Stanley Corrsin Award Recipient".aps.org.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  23. ^"Part 1: Not Just Marie Curie - Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology - Simon Fraser University".sfu.ca.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  24. ^"AAPT Announces 2011 Klopsteg Memorial Award Winner is Dr. James E. Hansen".Physics Today.2011-06-15.doi:10.1063/PT.4.0365.
  25. ^"Klopsteg Memorial Lecture".aapt.org.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  26. ^"Lisa Randall | Edge.org".edge.org.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  27. ^"Recipient".aps.org.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  28. ^"NSF Award Search: Award#9257439 - NSF Young Investigator".nsf.gov.Retrieved2019-04-04.
  29. ^Powell, Corey S."The Discovery Interview: Lisa Randall".Discover Magazine, 29 July 2006.Retrieved1 July2017.
  30. ^"Class of 1984: Lisa Randall Randall's Theory Increases Number of Dimensions in Physical Universe".Harvard Crimson.Retrieved1 January2014.
  31. ^Ganahl, Jane (Sep 1, 2005)."Confused by the whole shebang? She'll explain".SFGATE.Retrieved5 June2024.
  32. ^"Rock Climbing in Lisa Randall Wall, Dumont vicinity".Mountain Project.Retrieved5 June2024.
  33. ^Crace, John (21 June 2005)."Lisa Randall: Warped view of the universe".The Guardian.Retrieved5 June2024.
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