Kip Thorne
Theoretical physicist
Biografía
A theoretical physicist at Caltech (USA), Kip Thorne was the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech until 2009 and is one of the world’s leading experts on the astrophysical implications of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. His first film project, Interstellar, teams him with Steven Spielberg. About 50 physicists have received PhDs at Caltech under Thorne’s personal mentorship. In 1984, he cofounded the LIGO Project to open the gravitational-wave window onto the Universe; LIGO is the largest project ever funded by the NSF. In 1988, Thorne triggered modern research on whether the laws of physics allow backward time travel. In 1973, he co-authored the classic textbook Gravitation with Charles Misner and John Wheeler, from which most of the present generation of scientists have learned general relativity theory.