Dr Damián Galante, Research Associate in the Department of Mathematics, is one of eleven new recipients of the Stephen Hawking fellowship. This was established by UKRI in 2019 in honour of the late Stephen Hawking, to support a new generation of visionary theoretical physicists.

Damián’s research looks for the microscopic quantum theory from which expanding spacetimes like our own universe emerge. He said:

"It is an honour for me to receive this Fellowship. My research has always been greatly inspired by the work of Stephen Hawking and I am excited to see where this idea of spacetime being emergent can take us. It is also a fantastic opportunity for me to continue developing as a science communicator and to contribute to making science a more diverse field".

Damián is part of the Theoretical Physics group in King’s Department of Mathematics, whose goal is focused on discovering the consistent unified fundamental laws of nature. The group’s work is centered on supersymmetry and string theory, and includes studies on a range of subjects including the quantum properties of black holes, the symmetries underlying a fundamental theory of strings and branes, the properties of de Sitter spacetime and the quest to find exact quantities in relativistic quantum field theories. Dr Dionysios Anninos, Lecturer in Theoretical Physics, said:

“We are all delighted that Damián has been awarded the Stephen Hawking Fellowship. This is a wonderful recognition of the depth of his research programme in theoretical physics and his commitment to communicating science to a broad and diverse audience. I enthusiastically look forward to his future discoveries and endeavours".