Dr. Vijay Balasubramanian has been named the Cathy and Marc Lasry Professor of Physics & Astronomy. His research focuses on basic questions concerning the nature of space and time. His other interests include string theory, particle physics, high energy physics and neuroscience. He teaches the capstone course for the computational neuroscience minor in the Biological Basis of Behavior program and, in addition to his appointment in the physics & astronomy department, is an associate professor of neuroscience in the department of neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine. He was a 2006 recipient of the Ira H. Abrams Award for Distinguished Teaching, the highest teaching honor in the School of Arts & Sciences.
From 1997 to 2000, Dr. Balasubramanian was a junior fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows and was also a fellow at-large at the Santa Fe Institute. In 2006, he received the first prize in the Gravity Research Foundation essay competition. He earned his PhD in theoretical physics and computer science from Princeton University.
This chair was established by Mr. and Mrs. Marc Lasry. Mr. Lasry is a founder and managing partner of Avenue Capital Group and the founder and senior managing director of Amroc Investments.
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