DescriptionDr. Lara Anderson is a theoretical physicist at Virginia Tech and has worked on string compactifications of M theory and F theory, and model building in type II and heterotic theories. A list of her works can be found at the link below.Some links1) Her works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1030318?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Intro of the guest(0:15) Her work on compactifications(6:30) Algebraic Geometry(8:08) Swampland Program(11:24) Calabi-Yau manifolds(24:56) CICY manifolds(27:18) Intersecting branes(30:35) Science communication(38:31) Coursework to research transition(40:27) Difficult problems in postdocs(42:37) Getting stuck in research(44:01) Getting a PhD student(47:57) Choosing a problem to work on(51:42) Building collaborations(52:53) (People's question) F theory(54:15) (People's question) Moduli stabilization(55:11) (People's question) Career vs Job(56:40) (People's question) Homeschooling(59:40) (People's question) Interest in Physics(1:01:40) (People's question) Influential papers(1:03:33) (People's question) Virginia Tech

DescriptionDr. Tejinder Pal Singh is a theoretical physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Physics, working on the unification of interactions using trace dynamics and octonions. A list of his works is linked below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/988555?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Intro of the guest(0:16) His current projects(3:37) Octonions(13:57) Spacetime being classical(17:38) Structure of the Lagrangian and Connes time(22:50) Calculating path integral(33:21) Why octonions?(35:43) Role of SU(2)(39:57) Electroweak scale as QG scale?(46:17) Top quark problem(50:18) Fine structure constant(1:00:11) RG flow of Fine structure constant(1:02:45) (People's question) Advice for students(1:10:22) Anthropic reasoning(1:14:21) (People's question) AI's impact(1:17:29) (People's question) TIFR theory group(1:33:42) (People's question) Relativistic collapse models(1:38:45) (People's question) Thanu Padmanabhan(1:40:43) (People's question) John Baez's work

DescriptionDr. Aninda Sinha is a theoretical physicist at the Indian Institute of Science, working on S matrix bootstrap, string amplitudes, and conformal field theories, among other things. A list of his works is linked below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1019630?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:21) Introduction of the guests(0:37) His current projects(3:13) His interest in Physics(4:28) c-theorem and a-theorem(11:54) g-theorem(12:54) Conformal bootstrap(17:46) Conformal bootstrap and holography(24:20) String amplitudes and π(33:12) Circuit complexity(41:52) Building collaborations(44:56) Choosing a research problem(46:24) Coursework to research transition(50:04) Taking a PhD student(51:24) (People's question) Thoughts on LLMs(54:25) (People's question) Bootstrap for extended operators(54:57) (People's question) Non-Physics courses at IISc(57:15) (People's question) Academic job market(1:04:30) (People's question) N-point scattering(1:06:20) (People's question) Bootstrap and positive geometry

DescriptionEran Palti is a theoretical physicist at Ben-Gurion University, working on the low-energy behavior of string theory, string compactifications, and the swampland program. The list of his works can be found below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/10293902) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comJoin the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Email: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:11) Introduction of the guest(0:28) His current projects(6:41) Swampland Program(10:47) Distance conjecture(16:12) Metric on moduli spaces(17:52) Metric on vacuua(26:30) AdS distance conjecture(33:17) Building metrics on AdS vacuua(45:32) DGKT's holographic dual(47:24) DeSitter conjecture(51:39) Challenges of writing a review(56:00) Conceptual vs. calculation-based research(1:02:03) His other interests(1:02:58) (People's question) Textbook on swampland(1:06:16) (People's question) First postdoc expectation(1:10:36) (People's question) Purpose of swampland(1:15:39) (People's question) Giving up on a problem(1:19:38) (People's question) Passion vs Profession

DescriptionKeshav Dasgupta is a theoretical physicist at McGill University, working on string compactifications, especially on achieving deSitter spacetime from string theory (including the possibility of achieving deSitter as an excited state). The list of his works can be found below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1012406?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:41) Introduction of the guest(0:59) His current projects(15:23) The deSitter problem in string theory (a summary)(26:42) deSitter as an excited state(35:09) Breaking supersymmetry(38:05) Norm of coherent states(39:08) Fluctuations as coherent states(41:28) Why did the 500-page paper become that long?(45:50) Duality sequences(55:16) Non-supersymmetric case?(1:02:30) What are you calculating?(1:07:39) Evading no-go theorems(1:14:09) Worldsheet description available?(1:17:10) Holographic dual of Glauber Sudharshan state(1:18:23) The issue of scale separation(1:21:00) Satisfying swampland constraints(1:24:34) Embedding standard model(1:27:51) Using localization techniques(1:31:22) Open problems(1:36:41) Choosing research problems(1:43:19) Handling multiple projects(1:44:50) (People's question) Comparison with KKLT(1:49:16) (People's question) Writing short papers(1:53:16) Interaction with Ed Witten(1:54:50) (People's question) Living in Montreal

DescriptionAlok Laddha is a theoretical physicist at the Chennai Mathematical Institute, who majorly works on soft theorems, S matrices, and the positive geometry program. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/10369562) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] Stamps(0:00) Coming up(0:22) Intro of the guest(0:44) His current projects(01:59) Soft theorems(12:16) Soft theorems and symmetries(18:43) Soft theorems for scalars(21:50) Soft theorem for higher spin?(25:40) Positive Geometry program(36:50) Unitarity from positive geometry(48:08) Gentle Quivers (for positive geometry)(50:37) Positive Geometry and Holography(53:30) Positive Geometry and String Field Theory(55:44) Reading Literature(1:01:02) Choosing problems(1:02:30) (People's question) Important problems(1:05:13) (People's question) Advice for PhD/Postdocs(1:07:37) (People's question) Research outside academia(1:09:40) (People's question) PhD after a big gap(1:11:07) (People's question) Hep-th job market(1:13:53) (People's question) Gravitational wave memory(1:15:53) (People's question) Leaving LQG(1:19:22) (People's question) His hobbies

DescriptionJonathan Heckman is a theoretical physicist at the University of Pennsylvania and works on generalized symmetries, the swampland program, holography, and F theory, among other related areas. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/10452682) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] Stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:24) Introduction of the guest(0:40) His current projects(4:54) Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) and F theory(17:19) Algebraic Geometry for F theory(22:40) Role of singularities in model building(24:53) GUT models in F theory (continued)(28:50) Engineering SCFTs from F theory(43:38) Engineering SCFTs in odd dimensions(48:58) Transitioning to generalized symmetries(52:54) Defining QFTs(55:44) Swampland and Cobordism conjecture(1:03:20) R7 branes(1:08:35) Falsifying string theory at colliders(1:18:33) Building collaborations (and fear of being wrong)(1:22:56) Choosing a problem to work on(1:27:53) Handling multiple projects(1:30:34) Selecting a Ph.D student(1:34:30) (People's question) Learning string theory(1:36:27) (People's question) Learning abstract topics(1:38:12) (People's question) Important problems(1:43:30) (People's question) UPenn funding(1:45:03) (People's question) Symmetries on T folds

DescriptionJacob McNamara is a theoretical physicist at Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, who has worked on swampland (quite notably on the cobordism conjecture), holography, and non invertible symmetries. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1804692?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] Stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:45) Introduction of the guest(1:01) His current projects(4:40) Swampland and no global symmetries(16:30) Cobordism conjecture(35:34) R7 branes(51:26) Stringy Non-Invertible Symmetries(59:39) What does gauging mean?(1:08:34) Weak Gravity Conjecture(1:13:36) Use of the word "conjecture"(1:17:42) Consciousness and Swampland(1:27:27) Weak Gravity Conjecture (contd.)(1:30:16) Distance conjecture(s)(1:35:45) Dark dimension(1:40:45) Emergent String & generalized distance conjectures(1:53:15) No scale separation conjecture(1:59:30) Gravity being classical(2:09:26) Why study JT gravity?(2:13:21) Baby universes(2:16:05) Cobordism conjecture and Wheeler Dewitt equation(2:21:40) Building collaborations and doing research(2:32:45) Imposter syndrome(2:38:16) Learning Geometry and Topology(2:38:55) Using different platforms(2:42:07) Pure Math rabbit hole(2:45:10) Physics vs. Math perspectives and attitudes(2:25:36) Book recommendations(2:54:40) Interpretational issues(3:03:58) What problems do you want to be solved

DescriptionDr. Shiraz Minwalla is a theoretical physicist at TIFR Mumbai, India. He has worked on the problem of classification and existence of conformal and superconformal field theories in various dimensions, black holes and superfluids. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/997328?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:48) Intro of the guest(1:07) His current projects(4:37) Grey Galaxies(10:48) Non-commutative field theories(16:51) Cosmological Constant problem(27:25) Non-commutative solitons(29:27) Existence of CFTs and SCFTs(41:41) Index of SCFTs(47:16) Gravity/Fluid correspondence(1:00:05) Turbulence(1:03:57) Millenium Prize problem (Navier Stokes)(1:10:30) His interest in Physics(1:12:33) How to choose a Ph.D. student?(1:14:14) How to choose a problem to work on?(1:21:44) Talent and environment for Physics(1:23:20) (People's question) Advice for Ph.Ds(1:25:51) (People's question) Fav. collaboration(1:26:12) (People's question) Fuzzball and Islands(1:30:42) (People's question) Becoming a Physicist(1:31:31) (People's question) Coming back to India(1:33:14) (People's question) Regrets about returning(1:33:54) (People's question) Research spending(1:35:38) (People's question) Learning a new topic(1:37:17) (People's question) CBS Mumbai(1:37:50) (People's question) His Infinite Energy

DescriptionDr. Sonia Contera is a professor of Biological Sciences at Oxford, senior fellow at Oxford Martin School. She works at the interface of physics, biology, medicine and nanotechnology. She has authored two books titled “ Nano comes to life” and “Six problems that science can’t solve" which respectively talk about the use of nanotechnology in biological sciences, and the problems that may require a different approach to solve than conventional methods. The list of her works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) Her works: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yr6AJ50AAAAJ&hl=en2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected] stamps(0:00) Introduction of the guest(0:36) Her currents projects(4:13) Her interest in Physics(7:02) Quantitative biology and origin of life(15:33) DNA nanotech(18:54) Protein design(21:56) Application in cancer treatment(23:23) Emergence of life(29:40) Overcoming ageing(38:46) Intelligent machines(45:16) Zero emission buildings(51:03) Physics and Power(58:03) Einstein and Eddington example(1:00:02) (People's question) Advice for students(1:01:35) (People's question) Emergent systems(1:02:49) (People's question) Learning languages