Lorentz Medal

Physicist Juan Martín Maldacena, Professor at Princeton University’s Institute for Advanced Study, has been awarded the Lorentz Medal for his groundbreaking and innovative work in theoretical physics over the past two decades.

Maldacena has made a major contribution to our understanding of the quantum physics of black holes. In 1997, he was the first to propose a fundamental relationship between the two most important theories in modern physics: quantum field theory and quantum gravity. This 'AdS/CFT correspondence', as it is known, set into motion a true revolution in string theory. Since then, scientists have developed numerous theoretical implementations of this correspondence, the physical implications of which are still being studied. One example is the prediction of the 'minimal viscosity' of the strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma, which has subsequently been observed by measurements in Brookhaven and CERN. Maldacena’s work also extends into other branches of theoretical physics. For example, in 2003 he proved that cosmic background radiation must contain a very specific signature that supports the inflationary models of the creation of the universe.

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