And now a quick pause in conference coverage - for a fond farewell. I am sad to say, after almost 10 years in the role, I have retired as FQXi's Science Programs Consultant.
I had such fun in this multipurpose position, helping coordinate everything from grant reviews to grant writing, conferences to contests, websites and databases, and of course, the fabulous FQXi podcast.
Now, I'll be focussing my work time on writing -- mainly science journalism and possibly some fiction on the side. Around town, you can also find me in the middle of music projects and watching over the health of 20-year-old Puffy the Cat.
Now that I'm on the outside, you'll know I mean it when I say how much of a positive impact I believe FQXi has had on fundamental physics research. Ten years ago, as I finished my degree, very few positions and next-to-no funding existed in any sort of non-string quantum gravity, quantum foundations, philosophical physics, or really anything that sounded too deep or too grand. As a student, to mention something like Bell's Theorem, Many Worlds, or black hole thermodynamics as something you wanted to learn about would get you laughed at or more likely ignored by faculty.
I was fortunate to have a series of mentors and unofficial advisors who were committed to these kinds of topics and, while realistic about the prospects, felt willing to encourage younger researchers. I finished my degree debt-free doing exactly what I wanted to, but I saw friends divert into other fields, or take on second jobs to support their work with their chosen advisor (common, I know, for folks in the humanities, but unheard of in the sciences).
All that is why I was excited to discover FQXi and then get the chance to work with them, to support this kind of research and the people who love to do it. I saw the impact as we funded worthy projects that had no other prospects, and helped raise the profile of questions that other funders might have just ignored.
Nowadays, other organizations see the importance of foundational research. FQXi and its sponsors are no longer the sole funders in this direction. It is now common for physics departments to have groups in foundational physics, foundations of quantum mechanics, foundations of everything! We of course must credit the researchers who persisted and kept these topics alive. I am just happy to have had the chance to help out.
Thank you to all of you who have been a part of my FQXi experience the past decade. I hope you all continue to visit the site, apply for the grants, enter the contests. Special thanks of course to my colleagues Zeeya, Kavita, Anthony and Max -- I wish you and FQXi much success in every branch of the wavefunction.