| Robbert Dijkgraaf | |
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Robbert Dijkgraaf at Harvard University
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| Born | January 24, 1960 Ridderkerk, Netherlands |
| Residence | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Fields | Mathematical physics |
| Institutions | University of Amsterdam |
| Alma mater | Utrecht University |
| Doctoral advisor | Gerard 't Hooft |
| Known for | String theory |
| Notable awards | Spinoza Prize (2003) |
Robertus Henricus "Robbert" Dijkgraaf (born January 24, 1960) is a Dutch mathematical physicist and string theorist.
Robertus Henricus Dijkgraaf was born on 24 January 1960 in Ridderkerk, Netherlands. He currently lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dijkgraaf is married to the author Pia de Jong and has three children.
Dijkgraaf started his education in physics at Utrecht University in 1978. After completing his Bachelor's degree equivalent in 1982 he briefly turned away from physics to pursue painting at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. He later continued his education at Utrecht University, where he studied under Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft. He obtained his doctorate in 1989 (cum laude).
Subsequently, Dijkgraaf held positions at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study. In 1992, he was appointed professor at the University of Amsterdam, where he held the chair of mathematical physics.
His research focuses on string theory and the interface of mathematics and physics in general. He is most well-known for his work on topological string theory and matrix models, and has given name to the Dijkgraaf-Witten invariants and the Witten-Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde formula.
In 2003, Dijkgraaf was awarded the Spinoza Prize. In doing so he became the first recipient of the award whose advisor also was a recipient ('t Hooft received the first spinozapremie in 1995).
In the Netherlands, Dijkgraaf is also a promotor of hard sciences. He frequently appears on Dutch national television and has a (monthly) column in the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He also used part of his Spinoza Prize grant to set up a website targeted at children to promote science: Proefjes.nl.
Dijkgraaf is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities. Since May 1, 2008 he is president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science.. He is also elected as one of the two co-chairs of the InterAcademy Council for the period 2009-2013.
He was a keynote speaker at the Science & Technology Summit in The Hague on November 18, 2010.
Starting July 1, 2012 Dijkgraaf will be the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, USA. From that date he will lay down his position as president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.