Sabine Hossenfelder (born 1976) is a German theoretical physicist, author, musician and YouTuber. She is currently employed as a research fellow at the

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies The Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) is a private-public institution for basic theoretical research in various areas of science focusing on interdisciplinary research. It is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, at its own home at ...

. She is the author of ''Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray'', which explores the concept of elegance in fundamental physics and

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...

, and of ''Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions''.

Education

Hossenfelder received an undergraduate degree in Mathematics in 1997 from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. In 2004 she completed a doctorate in theoretical physics from the same institution with her thesis written in German titled ''Schwarze Löcher in Extra-Dimensionen : Eigenschaften und Nachweis'' (she published a paper in the same year with a similar title in the journal

Physics Letters B Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its 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 which relat ...

in English, ''Black Hole Relics in Large Extra Dimensions'').

Research

Hossenfelder remained in Germany until 2004 as a postdoctoral researcher at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. She was subsequently employed as a postdoctoral research fellow at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, Tucson,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

, and later at the Perimeter Institute, Canada. She joined the Nordita Institute for Theoretical Physics in Sweden in 2009 as an assistant professor. She has been employed by the

since 2015.

Public engagement and scientific achievements

Hossenfelder is a freelance

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

writer who has written a blog since 2006. She contributes to the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' column "Starts with a Bang" as well as ''

Quanta Magazine ''Quanta Magazine'' is an editorially independent online publication of the Simons Foundation covering developments in physics, mathematics, biology and computer science. ''Undark Magazine'' described ''Quanta Magazine'' as "highly regarded for ...

'', ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'', ''

Nature Physics ''Nature Physics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was first published in October 2005 (volume 1, issue 1). The chief editor is Andrea Taroni, who is a full-time professional editor employed by this ...

'', ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

,'' ''

Nautilus Quarterly ''Nautilus Quarterly'' is a New York-based online and print science magazine. It publishes one issue on a selected topic each month on its website, releasing one chapter each Thursday. Issue topics have included human uniqueness, time, uncertaint ...

'' and ''

Physics Today ''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. I ...

''. Her 2018 book, ''Lost in Math'', was also published in German with the title ''Das hässliche Universum'' (The Ugly Universe). Hossenfelder posits that the universe (and its particle model) is messy, and that it cannot be described by a mathematically beautiful Grand Unified Theory. She currently (as of 2022) runs an eponymous YouTube channel (subtitled "Science without the gobbledygook"). She also has a YouTube channel for music she writes and records. In August 2022, Hossenfelder released a book titled ''Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions'', published by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

Bibliography

* Sabine Hossenfelder, ''Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray'', Basic Books, June 2018. * Sabine Hossenfelder, ''Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions'', Viking Press, August 2022.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hossenfelder, Sabine 1976 births 21st-century German physicists 21st-century German women scientists German cosmologists German science writers German women physicists Women relativity theorists German relativity theorists Quantum gravity physicists Philosophers of physics Living people Science writers German YouTubers Female YouTubers