Robert Myers (physicist)

Robert C. Myers is a Canadian theoretical physicist who specializes in black holes, string theory and quantum entanglement. He served as the director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics between 2019 and 2024.^[1]

He did his undergraduate studies at University of Waterloo, gained his PhD at Princeton University, and was a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Santa Barbara.^[1][2]

Following his post-doctoral research studies, from 1989 to 2001, Myers was a professor of physics at McGill University. ^[3]

In 2019, Myers was appointed director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.^[1][4] where he holds the BMO Financial Group Isaac Newton Chair in Theoretical Physics.^[5] He served as Perimeter Institute's faculty chair from 2011 to 2018. He is also an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo.^[6]

Myers' research concerns quantum fields and strings, and quantum gravity. His work focuses on foundational questions in quantum theory and gravity. His contributions span a broad range, from foundational quantum field theory to gravitational physics, black holes, and cosmology.

The Myers-Perry metric describes the higher-dimensional generalization of the Kerr metric.

Myers has also won the Canadian Association of Physicists' (CAP) Herzberg Medal in 1999 ^[7] and the 2005 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics^[8] "for his outstanding contributions to theoretical physics, ranging from aspects in gravitational physics to foundational aspects of string theory."^[9]

In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.^[10] He also won the CAP-TRIUMF Vogt Medal in 2012,^[11] and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.^[12] He was awarded University of Waterloo Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018.

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