Back to FAQ for FQXi
(also see: Who We Are)

Who is FQXi? How is FQXi administered and run?

FQXi consists of the interacting groups of people listed below. In short, the Scientific Directorate provides scientific leadership; the Scientific Advisory Panel provides scientific oversight; the NPT-led Board of Directors provides legal and financial oversight; and anonymous, expert, external reviewers make funding decisions. Scientists may participate in FQXi by receiving grants, and/or by becoming Members.
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  • The Scientific Directorate (Scientific Director, Associate Scientific Director, and Scientific Program Manager) guides the FQXi scientific mission, and is the heart of FQXi:
    Scientific Director: Max Tegmark, Associate Professor, MIT
    A native of Sweden, Tegmark earned his Ph.D. in physics at Berkeley in 1994. He then worked as a research associate at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Physik in Munich, as a Hubble Fellow and member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and as faculty at the University of Pennsylvania before joining MIT in 2004 as an Associate Professor. Tegmark's research has focused on cosmology theory and phenomenology, but has also included diverse topics such as interpretations of quantum mechanics, predictions of inflation, and parallel universes.

    Associate Scientific Director: Anthony Aguirre, Associate Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz
    Aguirre received his Ph.D. in Astronomy in 2000 from Harvard University. He then spent three years as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (narrowly missing Tegmark) before accepting an Assistant Professorship at the physics department of the University of California at Santa Cruz. Aguirre has worked on a wide variety of topics in theoretical cosmology, ranging from intergalactic dust to galaxy formation to gravity physics to the large-scale structure of inflationary universes and the arrow of time.

    Scientific Program Manager: Kirsten A. Hubbard
    Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Hubbard received an M.A. in Astrophysics from the Johns Hopkins University in 1995. Her subsequent activities have included serving as the Director of Tutorial Programs at the Naval Academy, leading her own startup company, and writing The Physics ToolBox, a "paperback mentor" for students taking introductory college-level physics. Her broad interests range from cosmology to confections.
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  • The Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) consists of eminent scholars in physics, cosmology, and related fields, and provides counsel to the Scientific Directorate on scientific and programmatic matters. The current SAP members are:
    Alan Guth, Professor of Physics, MIT
    Guth's research interests are cosmology and particle physics, especially inflationary theory.

    Christopher Chyba, Professor of Astrophysics & International Affairs, Princeton University
    A MacArthur Fellow, Chyba's research interests include astrobiology, planetary science, and international security.

    David Chalmers, Director, Centre for Consciousness & Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University
    Chalmers' research interests include the philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and the foundations of physics.

    Eva Silverstein, Associate Professor of Physics, SLAC & Stanford University
    An ex-MacArthur Fellow and Sloan Fellow, Silverstein's research interests include string theory, gravity and particle physics.

    Frank Wilczek, Professor of Physics, MIT
    Wilczek's research interests include particle physics, cosmology, condensed matter physics and the quantum theory of black holes. His work on asymptotic freedom was awarded the 2004 Nobel prize.

    Gregory Chaitin, Researcher, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
    Chaitin's research interests include physical and mathematical complexity, algorithmic information theory, metamathematics, and philosophy of science.

    John Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University
    Barrow's research interests are cosmology, the foundations of physics, gravitational and particle physics. Barrow has written a number of popular books on these topics.

    Lee Smolin, Researcher, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
    Smolin's research interests center on quantum gravity and include cosmology, particle physics, string theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics.

    Martin Rees, Professor of Cosmology & Astrophysics, Cambridge University
    Master of Trinity College and President of the Royal Society, Rees' research interests include understanding the large-scale structure of the Universe (for which he was awarded the 2005 Crafoord Prize) and high-energy astrophysics.

    Nick Bostrom, Director, Oxford Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University
    Bostrom's research interests are philosophy of science, ethics, transhumanism, and probability theory.
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  • The Board of Directors (BOD) provides legal and financial oversight.
    Anthony Aguirre - Associate Scientific Director, FQXi
    Eileen R. Heisman, Chair - President & CEO, NPT
    M. Amanda High, Secretary - Assistant Vice President, NPT
    Christopher A. Liedel - Executive Vice-president and CFO, National Geographic Society; and Chair of the NPT Board of Trustees
    Judith Marchand - Vice President of Global Affairs and Corporate Governance, and Assistant Treasurer, John Templeton Foundation.
  • FQXi Members include all who participate in FQXi programming, such as funded researchers and invited scholars

  • The Foundational Questions Consortium (FQXc) consists of the Scientific Directorate, the SAP, and FQXi Members

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