S. James Gates, Jr.
Computer Data Code Visualization Of An ‘Adynkra’ 2020
In 1995 theoretical physicist Edward Witten proposed a solution called 'M-Theory' to Stephen Hawking's quest for a Quantum Theory of Gravity. The simplest implication of his proposal required the answers to over 4.2 billion yes-or-not questions. Even two decades later, no one had been able to provide these mathematical answers. In 2004 two other physicists, Michael Faux and Jim Gates, introduced mathematical adinkras for the visualization of such equations. In 2020, working along with his PhD students (Yangrui Hu and 'Hazel' Mak), Prof. Gates hit upon a precise method to turn the mathematical questions into ones about a visual object he named an 'Adynkra' and they then turned to computer algorithms to find its exact shape.
Comments:
"Albert Einstein once said, "After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well." The most accurately predicted magnetic property of electrons, called "g-2," relies on visual images created by the physicist Richard Feynman. The "adynkra" portion of this exhibition, where visualizing a 'mathematical crystal' solved a decades old problem with over 4.2 billion elements, continues in this tradition. The adynkra could well be part of a theory of 'quantum gravity' long sought by Stephen Hawking. Art, mathematics, and theoretical physics are a lot closer than most people imagine."
- S. James Gates, Jr., Clark Leadership Chair in Science, Distinguished University Professor and Regents Professor, University of Maryland: