The Art of Math

How might category theory be useful in quantum physics? A profile of CQT Visiting Research Professor John Baez on the website of the Foundational Questions Institute explains.

“They say that a picture is worth a thousand words—but how many equations might be saved with the right choice of image?” So begins a story about the work of CQT Visiting Research Professor John Baez, published this week on the website of the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). John is a mathematical physicist particularly known for his research in category theory, a visual branch of higher mathematics. Read the FQXi article, “The Art of Math”, for more on how category theory could be useful in quantum physics. For readers who want to dig deeper, John has posted details of the work on The n-Category Café blog.

FQXi supports and funds big-question research in physics and cosmology and awarded John and his students a grant of $131,865 towards “categorifying quantum theory and classical mechanics”.

John arrived in Singapore in July for a two-year stint at CQT, on leave from his professorial post at the University of California, Riverside. John blogs regularly about his research, quantum stuff from CQT and his newest project, a drive to get scientists to contribute their expertise towards solving the world's environmental problems. His blog, Azimuth, is here.