Christopher Isham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 April 1944 (age 80) |
| Alma mater | Imperial College London (PhD, 1969) |
| Known for | Research in Quantum gravity |
| Awards | IOP Dirac Medal (2011) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Quantum gravity Quantum theory foundations |
| Institutions | Imperial College London |
| Doctoral advisor | Paul Taunton Matthews[1] |
| Other academic advisors | Abdus Salam[2] |
Christopher Isham (/ˈaɪʃəm/; born 28 April 1944),[3] usually cited as Chris J. Isham, is a theoretical physicist at Imperial College London.
Isham's main research interests are quantum gravity and foundational studies in quantum theory. He was the inventor of an approach to temporal quantum logic called the HPO formalism, and has worked on loop quantum gravity and quantum geometrodynamics. Together with other physicists, such as John C. Baez, Isham is known as a proponent of the utility of category theory in theoretical physics. In recent years, since at least 1997, he has been working on a new approach to quantum theory based on topos theory.
Isham has appeared in several NOVA television programmes as well as a film about Stephen Hawking. Physicist Paul Davies has described Isham as "Britain's greatest quantum gravity expert."[4] As a practising Christian, Isham has also written about the relationships among philosophy, theology, and physics.
