Last October, FQXi announced its new program on Physics of the Observer, including a request for proposals on research and outreach projects. We asked applicants to consider questions like, what does it mean to be an observer? What sort of systems can act as observers? And, how does the concept of an observer play into the nature of physics?
We are now happy to reveal the results of our proposal review. From an initial list of over 250 short proposals, our review experts have read, analyzed, and discussed applications, and finally recommended 23 proposals for funding. You can consult the full list here.
As always, the total amount we had available in this round -- $2,000,000 -- is tiny within the world of physics funding (and compared to the total amount requested), and we were not able to support many other excellent, worthy submitted proposals. This made for a painful process for the reviewers, though this pain was at least assuaged by how interesting the proposals were to read!
Each of the projects recommended by our review team has something novel, interesting, and important to offer on the topic of Physics of Observers. Just to mention a few examples:
Lidia del Rio and Renato Renner, Many Worlds, Many Times will connect the nature of observers with the nature of time, within the framework of the "many-worlds" interpretation of quantum theory. The aim is to study how to relate the experience of different observers across the "worlds," and possibly define a notion of common time.
Christopher Fuchs and Christopher Timpson, Does Participatory Realism Make Sense? seek to "dissect" interpretations of quantum mechanics that place the observer as a primary, fundamental element. The PIs have strongly opposed opinions on the material they will dissect, so the project is structured as a collaborative dialogue between the two viewpoints. Let the duel of the Chris's commence!
Markus Mueller, Emergent Objective Reality, asks, "What if the notion of 'observation' is truly fundamental, and physics is an emergent phenomenon?" This ambitious project will look at this question and others related to the nature of observers using techniques from information theory and theoretical computer science, applied across diverse topics in physics.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and Sarah Tuttle, Epistemological Schemata of Astro|Physics, will examine issues of diversity in physics, with a focus on assumptions and biases hiding in common notions of the "detached" or "unbiased" scientific observer. The project will create a discussion of critical issues that connect physics with society at large, while relating to fundamental questions in science.
We again congratulate our new grantees, and express our gratitude to everyone who applied, especially those who were invited to submit full proposals -- which took a great deal of time and resources to prepare. We also thank our donors, and especially the John Templeton Foundation, for making this and other FQXi programs possible.
To everyone, please stay tuned to the FQXi blog, our articles, and the most excellent podcast, for updates on the projects as the Observer program continues.
On behalf of FQXi,
Brendan & Anthony