Lisa Randall (Harvard University)

Lisa Randall belongs to a young generation of researchers who are introducing revolutionary ideas in Theoretical Particle Physics, with surprising new proposals on the structure of space-time, its consequences for the behaviour of elementary particles at very high energies, and their implications for the next generation of accelerator experiments, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1999, Lisa Randall (together with Raman Sundrum) proposed the existence of one additional extra dimension, with a warped structure. namely curved in an inhomogeneous manner, so that the gravitational force in four dimensions has a varying strength depending on the position of the observer in the extra dimension. This idea, later realized in the context of string theory, provides an explanation for the large difference of energy scales of gravitational interactions and the three other fundamental interactions (electromagnetic, weak and strong), and has spectacular implications for Particle Physics in coming years.

Lisa Randall has also written the book "Warped passages: Unraveling the mysteries of the Universe's hidden dimensions", a popular science best-seller explaining the most recent ideas on the possible existence of extra dimensions and their impact on particle physics. Her enthusiasm to transmit these ideas guarantee a very interesting and successful colloquium.

Links with additional information about Lisa Randall

• Lisa Randall in Wikipedia