Salil P. Vadhan, Harvard University, and Senthil Todadri, MIT, were among the 13 mathematicians, theoretical physicists, and theoretical computer scientists who have been selected as Simons Investigators in 2013.

The Simons Investigator programs provides a stable base of support for outstanding scientists, enabling them to undertake long-term study of fundamental questions.

A Simons Investigator is appointed for an initial period of five years with possible renewal for a further five years. An Investigator will receive research support of $100,000 per year, with an additional $10,000 per year provided to the Investigator’s department. The Investigator’s institution will receive 20 percent for indirect costs.

Salil P. Vadhan
Harvard University

Salil Vadhan has produced a series of original and influential papers on computational complexity and cryptography. He uses complexity-theoretic methods and perspectives to delineate the border between the possible and impossible in cryptography and data privacy. His work also illuminates the relation between computational and information-theoretic notions of randomness, thereby enriching the theory of pseudorandomness and its applications. All of these themes are present in Vadhan’s recent papers on differential privacy and on computational analogues of entropy, which are elegant, impressive, and far-reaching.

Senthil Todadri
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senthil Todadri’s work with Fisher on Z2 topological order in models of spin liquid states provided key insights and initiated the systematic investigation of gauge structures in many-body systems, now a vital subfield of condensed matter physics. Senthil and co-workers also pioneered the theory of deconfined quantum criticality as a new paradigm for some phase transitions. Senthil and collaborators also introduced the concept of fractionalized Fermi liquids and developed a theory of continuous electronic Mott transitions. His most recent work in the theory of symmetry-protected topological phases and on combining ideas of quantum entanglement and many-body physics continues to move the boundaries of the field quantum many-body physics.


(https://www.simonsfoundation.org/program-areas/mathematics-and-physical-science/simons-investigators/)

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