Name: Jakob Moritz
Title, including department and school you work in: Assistant Professor, Physics Department
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Educational/professional background: I earned my PhD at DESY & University of Hamburg, Germany in 2019, was a postdoc at Cornell University from 2019-2023, and then a postdoc at CERN in Switzerland from 2023-2024.
What is your field of research, and how did you get into it? I work on string theory, which unites gravity and quantum mechanics. With my research I seek to understand how precisely the particle physics and cosmological history of our universe can arise from string theory. I first got into this field because my first course in theoretical physics in undergrad was taught by a very inspiring string theorist. The fact about string theory that finally convinced me is that it has no continuously adjustable parameters. So, in a sense, it can give answers to questions like “Why is the electron mass what it is?’’, though perhaps not in the way you would have liked it to…
What attracted you to UW-Madison? My work lives at the intersection between various adjacent branches of theoretical physics — such as formal theory, particle physics, and cosmology — and so of course I want to do my research at a place like UW-Madison where amazing people work on all these subjects! I really look forward to constructively interfere with my future colleagues, and to work with the highly talented students that I know Madison attracts.
What was your first visit to campus like? My first visit to campus was for my job interview actually. So I had an extremely packed 2-day schedule during which I got to meet some of the faculty members. To be honest, I was pretty nervous because of course I really wanted them to hire me, but in the end I really enjoyed the conversations we had. I liked the general vibes in the department — with lots of young faculty members — and just felt like this will be a great place to work.
What’s the most important lesson you wish to convey to students? This might be obvious, but try to find a field of study in which doing the homework doesn’t feel like a chore. Then, do the homework!
Does your work relate in any way to the Wisconsin Idea? If so, please describe how. Providing affordable world-class education, a crucial component of the Wisconsin Idea, is extremely important to me personally and as a professor at UW-Madison this will be one of my most important daily tasks!
What’s something interesting about your area of expertise you can share that will make us sound smarter at parties? Did you know that the simple idea that particles are actually made out of tiny vibrating strings leads to Einstein’s theory of General Relativity? Or if you want to make the party goers slightly uncomfortable you can tell them that space itself might be unstable against forming expanding bubbles containing absolutely nothing (not even space)!
Hobbies/other interests: I love to play guitar, go sailing, and my partner recently got me into bird watching.