Christopher Isham (; born 28 April 1944), usually cited as Chris J. Isham, is a

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

Research

Isham's main research interests are

quantum gravity Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics. It deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the v ...

and foundational studies in quantum theory. He was the inventor of an approach to temporal

quantum logic In the mathematical study of logic and the physical analysis of quantum foundations, quantum logic is a set of rules for manipulation of propositions inspired by the structure of quantum theory. The formal system takes as its starting p ...

called the HPO formalism, and has worked on

loop quantum gravity Loop quantum gravity (LQG) is a theory of quantum gravity that incorporates matter of the Standard Model into the framework established for the intrinsic quantum gravity case. It is an attempt to develop a quantum theory of gravity based direc ...

and quantum geometrodynamics. Together with other physicists, such as John C. Baez, Isham is known as a proponent of the utility of

category theory Category theory is a general theory of mathematical structures and their relations. It was introduced by Samuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane in the middle of the 20th century in their foundational work on algebraic topology. 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 In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally, on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notio ...

theory. He is the author of ''Modern differential geometry for physicists'', first published in 1989. Isham has appeared in several '' NOVA'' television programmes as well as a film about

Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...

. Physicist

Paul Davies Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...

has described Isham as "Britain's greatest quantum gravity expert". As a practising

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, Isham has also written about the relationships among

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Awards

* 2011: Dirac Medal of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

for his works on

.2011 Dirac Medal of the Institute of Physics
on the IOP website

Bibliography

* Isham, C. J., Physics, Philosophy, and Theology, 1988 * Isham (1989), ''Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists''; 2nd edn in 1999. * Christopher Isham, "Quantum Theories of the Creation of the Universe," in R. Russell, N. Murphy and C. J. Isham (eds.), Quantum Cosmology and the Laws of Nature (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 1993), p. 74. * Christopher Isham, "Creation of the Universe as a Quantum Tunnelling Process," in (eds. R. J. Russell et al.), Physics, Philosophy and Theology (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 1988), pp. 375–408. * Isham, C. J. (1993), "Canonical Quantum Gravity and the Problem of Time", in L. A. Ibort and M. A. Rodríguez (eds.), Integrable Systems, Quantum Groups, and Quantum Field theories. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 157-288. * Isham, C. J., K. V. Kuchař, "Representations Of Space-Time Diffeomorphisms. 2. Canonical Geometrodynamics," Annals of Physics 164:316 (1985). * Isham, C. J. (1994)
Prima facie questions in quantum gravity
in Ehlers and Friedrich 25 (1994), 1-21. * Isham, C. J. (1997), "Structural Issues in Quantum Gravity", in M. Francaviglia et al. (eds.), Florence 1995, General Relativity and Gravitation, World Scientific. * Butterfield, Jeremy, and Chris Isham (1999), "On the Emergence of Time in Quantum Gravity", in Butterfield (1999), 111-168. * Butterfield, Jeremy, and Christopher Isham (2001), "Spacetime and the Philosophical Challenge of Quantum Gravity", in Craig Callender and Nick Huggett (eds.) (2001), 33-89. * Döring, Andreas and Isham, Chris, "What is a Thing?: Topos Theory in the Foundations of Physics", in Bob Coecke, New Structures in Physics, Chapter 13, pp. 753–940, Lecture Notes in Physics, 813, Springer, 2011, , (also see )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isham, Christopher Living people Academics of Imperial College London British theoretical physicists Donegall Lecturers of Mathematics at Trinity College Dublin Members of the International Society for Science and Religion British Christians 1944 births Deans of the Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences

Research

Awards

Bibliography

See also

References