Peter Goddard (born 3 September 1945) is a British

mathematical physicist Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developmen ...

who works in string theory and

conformal field theory A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometime ...

. Among his many contributions to these fields is the

Goddard–Thorn theorem In mathematics, and in particular in the mathematical background of string theory, the Goddard–Thorn theorem (also called the no-ghost theorem) is a theorem describing properties of a functor that quantizes bosonic strings. It is named after ...

(proved together with Charles Thorn).

Biography

Goddard was educated at Emanuel School and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where he was a professor in the

Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

(DAMTP), and founding deputy director of the

Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences is an international research institute for mathematics and its many applications at the University of Cambridge. It is named after one of the university's most illustrious figures, the mathemat ...

. He was Master of St John's College from 1994 until 2004. He was Director of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

from January 2004 through June 2012. He is now a professor in the Institute's School of Natural Sciences. He was elected to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1989, was awarded the

Dirac Medal The Dirac Medal is the name of four awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations, named in honour of Professor Paul Dirac, one of the great theoretical physicists of the 20 ...

and Medal of the

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Educatio ...

in 1997, and was made a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2002.

References

1945 births Living people 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians Academics of the University of Cambridge British string theorists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society Directors of the Institute for Advanced Study Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Study Institute for Advanced Study faculty Masters of St John's College, Cambridge Cambridge mathematicians People educated at Emanuel School {{UK-physicist-stub