Peter Woit

Peter Woit is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, where he has been a faculty member since 1989. His work bridges mathematical physics, quantum field theory, and representation theory, with recent focus on unification through twistor geometry in Euclidean space-time.

• PhD in particle theory (Princeton), postdocs at ITP Stony Brook and MSRI Berkeley
• Author of Quantum Theory, Groups and Representations and Not Even Wrong
• Maintains an influential blog on physics and mathematics since 2004

Research trends emphasize twistor methods for unification, critiques of string theory, and the intersection of representation theory with quantum mechanics. His 2022-2023 articles explore spacetime chirality and Euclidean twistor frameworks, while older works (1983-1989) laid foundations in lattice gauge theory and topological quantum field theory.

Scientific recognition includes a Gravity Research Foundation Honorable Mention (2022) for 'Is Spacetime Really Doomed?'. His teaching spans calculus, Fourier analysis, and advanced topics in Lie groups and quantum field theory. He actively engages in public science communication through podcasts, book reviews, and conference talks.