Shamit Kachru

Shamit Kachru, a professor of physics, is the Wells Family Director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. He served as the Stanford Physics Department Chair from 2018 to 2021.

Kachru's research has focused on string theory and quantum field theory. The interplay of these subjects, as well as their application to particle physics, cosmology, and condensed matter physics, has been of enduring interest. One theme of his work has been the study of string compactification. He did foundational work on dualities between different compactifications, as well as on compactifications in the presence of magnetic flux. This work has had applications to models of dark energy and cosmic inflation in string theory. It has also contributed to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of “moonshine” in mathematics and to our knowledge of the geometry of Calabi-Yau manifolds.

Another theme of Kachru's research has been quantum field theory and its applications. His early work included new methods to solve supersymmetric quantum field theories using the geometry of string theory. More recently, he has constructed tractable models of non-Fermi liquid phases of matter, as well as holographic descriptions of field theories capturing quantum critical phenomena.

Kachru received his A.B. from Harvard and his Ph.D. from Princeton.