VANCOUVER, BC , July 21, 2022 /CNW/ – More than two dozen of the world’s leading physicists, including three Nobel Prize winners, will gather in Vancouver this August for a Quantum Gravity conference that will host the launch of a Quantum Gravity based at the Vancouver Institute (QGI) and a new global research collaboration that could significantly improve our understanding of physics and gravity and profoundly change the world as we know it.
For about 100 years, the world’s understanding of physics has been based on Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (GR), which explored the theory of space, time and gravity, and quantum mechanics (QM), which focuses on the behavior of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. GR has given us a deep understanding of the universe, leading to space travel and technology such as atomic clocks, which govern global GPS systems. QM is responsible for most of the equipment operating in our world today, including electronics, lasers, computers, cell phones, plastics and other technologies that support modern transportation, communications, medicine, agriculture, energy systems and others.
While each theory has led to countless scientific discoveries, in many cases, they are incompatible and seemingly contradictory. Discovering a unifying link between these two fundamental theories, the elusive Theory of Quantum Gravity, could give the world a deeper understanding of time, gravity and matter and how to potentially control them. It could also lead to new technologies that will affect most aspects of daily life, including how we communicate, grow food, provide health care, transport people and goods, and generate energy.
“The discovery of the Theory of Quantum Gravity could lead to the possibility of time travel, new quantum devices or even vast new energy resources that produce clean energy and help us tackle climate change,” said Philip Stamp, Professor, Dept. Physics and Astronomy. University of British Columbia and Visiting Fellow in Theoretical Astrophysics at Caltech. “The potential long-term implications of this discovery are so incredible that life on earth 100 years from now could seem as miraculous to us as today’s technology would have seemed to people living 100 years ago.”
The new Quantum Gravity Institute and conference were founded by the Quantum Gravity Society, which was formed in 2022 by a group of Canadian technology, business and community leaders and leading physicists. Among its goals is to advance physical science and facilitate research on the Theory of Quantum Gravity through initiatives such as the conference and the gathering of the world’s leading archive of scientific papers and lectures related to efforts to reconcile these two theories in last century.
The Quantum Gravity Conference in Vancouver (August 15-19) will feature two dozen of the world’s leading physicists, including Nobel laureates Kip Thorne, Jim Peebles and Sir Roger Penrose, as well as physicists Baron Martin Rees, Markus Aspelmeyer, Viatcheslav Muk . Paul Steinhardt. On Wednesday, August 17, the conference will be open to the public, providing them with an opportunity to attend keynote addresses from the world’s leading physicists. (See schedule below.) A lunchtime discussion on the importance of research will be delivered by Kip Thorne, the former Feynman Professor of Physics at Caltech. Thorne is known for his popular books and for developing the original concept for the 2014 film Interstellar. He was also instrumental in the development of the book Contact by Carl Sagan, which was made into a motion picture.
“We look forward to welcoming many of the world’s brightest minds to Vancouver for our first Quantum Gravity conference,” said Frank Giustra, CEO of the Fiore Group and co-founder of the Quantum Gravity Society. “One of our Society’s goals will be to establish Vancouver as a supportive base for research and to facilitate the scientific collaboration that will be required to unlock this mystery that has eluded some of the world’s brightest physicists for so long.”
“Form is key,” explains Terry Hui, UC Berkley Physics graduate student and co-founder of the Quantum Gravity Society. “Like the Solvay conference almost 100 years ago, the Quantum Gravity conference will bring together leading scientists in salon-style gatherings. The relaxed evening format after the conference will lower barriers and allow these great minds to exchange ideas freely. I hope that this problem of a year will soon be resolved in relative terms.’
“As amazing as our journey of scientific discovery has been over the past century, we still have so much to learn about how the universe works at the macro, atomic and subatomic levels,” added Paul Lee, Managing Partner, Vanedge Capital and Co. -Founder, Quantum Gravity Society. “New experiments and observations capable of advancing work on this scientific challenge are becoming increasingly possible in today’s physics laboratories and using new astronomical tools. The Quantum Gravity Society looks forward to leveraging this growing technical capability with joint theory and experimental work that leverages the collective expertise of the great physicists of the world”.
About the Quantum Gravity Society
The Quantum Gravity Society was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2020 by a group of Canadian business, technology and community leaders and leading international physicists. The Company’s founding members include Frank Giustra (Fiore Group), Terry Hui (Concord Pacific), Paul Lee and Moe Kermani (Vanedge Capital) and Markus Frind (Frind Estate Winery), along with renowned physicists Abhay Ashtekar, Sir Roger Penrose , Philip Stamp. , Bill Unruh and Birgitta Whaley. For more information, visit the Quantum Gravity Society.
About the Quantum Gravity Conference (Vancouver 2022)
The inaugural Quantum Gravity Conference (August 15-19) is presented by the Quantum Gravity Society, Fiore Group, Vanedge Capital, Concord Pacific, The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver and Frind Estate Winery. For conference information, visit conference.quantumgravityinstitute.ca. To register to attend the conference, visit Eventbrite.com.
SOURCE Quantum Gravity Society
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