Michael Boris Green (born 22 May 1946) is a British

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and a pioneer of

string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and intera ...

. He is Professor of Theoretical Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

, emeritus professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and a Fellow of

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

. He was

Lucasian Professor of Mathematics The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics () is a mathematics professorship in the University of Cambridge, England; its holder is known as the Lucasian Professor. The post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, who was Cambridge University's Member of P ...

from 2009 to 2015.

Education and background

Green was born the son of Genia Green and Absalom Green. He attended William Ellis School in London and

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establis ...

where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in theoretical physics (1967) and a PhD in

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

particle theory (1970).

Career

Following his PhD, Green did postdoctoral research at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

(1970–72), Cambridge and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Between 1978 and 1993 he was a Lecturer and Professor at Queen Mary College,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, and in July 1993 he was appointed John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. On 19 October 2009 he was confirmed as the next

, to succeed Stephen Hawking on 1 November 2009. In 2015 was succeeded in that chair by

Michael Cates Michael Elmhirst Cates (born 5 May 1961) is a British physicist. He is the 19th Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and has held this position since 1 July 2015. He was previously Professor of Natural Philosophy at ...

, a specialist in colloids, gels, and particulate materials.

Research

After many years in collaboration with John Henry Schwarz, he co-discovered the anomaly cancellation in type I string theory in 1984. This insight, named the Green–Schwarz mechanism, initiated the

First Superstring Revolution The history of string theory spans several decades of intense research including two superstring revolutions. Through the combined efforts of many researchers, string theory has developed into a broad and varied subject with connections to quantu ...

. Green has also worked on Dirichlet boundary conditions in string theory which have led to the postulation of D-branes and instantons.

Awards and honours

Green has been awarded the Dirac and Maxwell Medals of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

, UK, the Dirac 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 ...

(Trieste) and the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

. He was elected a Fellow of 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. Green has co-authored more than 150 research papers. His nomination for the

reads On 12 December 2013, Michael Green shared the

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is one of the Breakthrough Prizes, awarded by the Breakthrough Prize Board. Initially named Fundamental Physics Prize, it was founded in July 2012 by Russia-born Israeli entrepreneur, venture c ...

with John Henry Schwarz "for opening new perspectives on quantum gravity and the unification of forces."

Selected publications

* Green, M., John H. Schwarz, and

E. Witten Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American mathematical and theoretical physicist. He is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Witten is a researcher in string theory, ...

. Superstring Theory. Vol. 1, Introduction. Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. . * Superstring Theory. Vol. 2, Loop Amplitutes, Anomalies and Phenomenology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. .

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Michael 1946 births People educated at William Ellis School Academics of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge English Jews English physicists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of Clare Hall, Cambridge Jewish scientists Living people British string theorists Lucasian Professors of Mathematics Maxwell Medal and Prize recipients Scientists from London John Humphrey Plummer Professors