Daniel Robbins
BSc, University of Alberta (2000)
PhD, University of Chicago (2006)
Research Associate, University of Texas at Austin (2006-2009)
Research Associate, Texas A&M University (2009-2012, 2014-2016)
Research Associate, University of Amsterdam (2012-2014)
Assistant Professor, University at Albany (2016-present)
Research Areas:
String theory, conformal field theory, supersymmetry.
Current Research:
My field of research is high-energy theoretical physics. I study the structures that arise in quantum field theory, especially conformal field theory, and in string theory. The goal which drives much of my research program is to understand the "space of consistent theories". Many questions stem from this goal: Given some way of describing a class of theories, how can we determine which examples are self-consistent? What are the relationships between different classes of theories? What can these quantum consistency conditions tell us about the laws which govern our universe?
String theory, besides being the most promising candidate for a consistent quantum theory of gravity, is also a rich source of quantum field theory constructions relevant to the questions above. My research investigates these ideas and looks for connections among them and to other areas of physics and mathematics.