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Foundational Questions Institute

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The Foundational Questions Institute, styled FQxI (formerly FQXi), is an organization that provides grants to "catalyze, support, and disseminate research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology."[1] It was founded in 2005 by cosmologists Max Tegmark and Anthony Aguirre.[2] It is currently run by chief scientific officer David Sloan and chief operating officer Kavita Rajanna.[3]

Best known for its Zenith Grants program, FQxI has awarded 234 grants in ten grant rounds since 2006, totaling $27M.[4] Sample grant round topics include the Nature of Time (2010), Physics of Information (2013), Physics of the Observer (2016), Agency in the Physical World (2018), and Information as Fuel (2019)[5]. It also runs frequent essay contests open to the general public with $40,000 in prizes awarded by a jury panel and the best texts published in book format.[6]

FQxI is an independent, philanthropically funded non-profit organization, run by scientists for scientists.

FQxI has been funded by a variety of individual donors and institutes since its inception, most notably the John Templeton Foundation, Fetzer Institute[7], The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation[8], and Templeton World Charity Foundation[9].

The $6.2 million seed funding was donated by the John Templeton Foundation, whose goal is to reconcile science and religion. Tegmark has stated that the money came with "no strings attached"; The Boston Globe stated FQxI is run by "two well-respected researchers who say they are not religious. The institute's scientific advisory board is also filled with top scientists."[10] Critics of the John Templeton Foundation such as Sean Carroll have also stated they were satisfied that the FQxI is independent.[11][12]

Notable members

All FQXi members are listed on its website.[13]

Five FQxI Members are awardees of the Nobel Prize in Physics: Gerard 't Hooft, Anthony Leggett, Frank Wilczek, Roger Penrose, and Anton Zeilinger.[14]

FQxI's Scientific Advisory Council "shares a wide range of expertise on FQxI’s scientific programs and helps with scientific planning."[15] The council members are:

References

  1. ^ About the Foundational Questions Institute
  2. ^ Schwarzchild, Bertram (December 2005). "News notes: Foundational Questions Institute". Physics Today. 58 (12): 31. Bibcode:2005PhT....58T..31F. doi:10.1063/1.2169440.
  3. ^ "Our Team". FQxI. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  4. ^ https://fqxi.org/programs/zenith-grants/
  5. ^ https://fqxi.org/programs/zenith-grants/
  6. ^ "Essay Contest page". fqxi.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. ^ https://qspace.fqxi.org/news/137595/fqxis-new-large-grant-rfp?hero_title_option=0
  8. ^ https://fqxi.org/programs/competitions/
  9. ^ https://qspace.fqxi.org/news/149928/information-as-fuel-a-new-fqxi-research-program?hero_title_option=0
  10. ^ "Initiative will join physics, theology". Boston Globe. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  11. ^ Epstein, David (1 August 2006). "Separation of Church and Science". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Foundational Questioners Announced". Sean Carroll (blog). 31 July 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  13. ^ https://fqxi.org/about-us/membership/
  14. ^ "Membership". FQxI. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  15. ^ https://fqxi.org/about-us/our-team/
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