Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study. His work in string theory, quantum field theory and mathematical physics has influenced both physics and mathematics. In 1990 he became the first physicist to be awarded the Fields Medal.<\/p>\n
[This interview was edited for length and clarity.]<\/p>\n
How would you describe the current state of American science? <\/p>\n
On supporting science journalism<\/p>\n
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing<\/a>. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n It’s a funny question to ask right now, as you know, because right now there are some clouds concerning funding and graduate student admissions, and so on. I don’t have an overview of how severe it is. I do know lots of very strong people in different fields whose federal funding has disappeared, and I find that discouraging.<\/p>\n What needs to change in American science?<\/p>\n It would be nice to go back to the way we were doing things a few years ago. I don\u2019t think that there\u2019s any broad public support for the obstacles the administration is placing for science. This is fairly clear from the fact that Congress rejected the administration\u2019s proposals last year for drastic cuts in the science budgets.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not going to immediately lose our [leadership] because of these cutbacks. It takes time. If there are fewer graduate students, it\u2019s going to have a big impact in 10 years or so. It\u2019s not going to have a big impact next week.<\/p>\n What gives you optimism right now? <\/p>\n Well, one thing that gives me optimism is that I don\u2019t think there\u2019s broad public support for what the administration has been doing. I hope it won\u2019t last.<\/p>\n How has your field changed in the past few years?<\/p>\n I think that the developments involving quantum gravity and quantum information theory have become quite exciting, and to me, that\u2019s the biggest change in the past decade or so. The biggest single advance was when [physicist Geoff] Penington and three others got a better understanding of what\u2019s called the Page curve in the evaporation of a black hole, and that was very clarifying about the nature of black holes at the quantum level. That was the most exciting.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/a>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts<\/a>, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters<\/a>, must-watch videos, challenging games<\/a>, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription<\/a>.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study. 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