Sunil Mukhi is an Indian theoretical physicist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, Maharashtra. Mukhi has led a distinguished career in theoretical particle physics. He received his PhD from Stony Brook University before joining the prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, where he worked for 27 years. In 2012, he joined IISER Pune as chair of the physics department, where he is now an honorary emeritus professor and the Raja Ramanna Chair. Throughout the years, Mukhi has held sabbatical positions at CERN in Geneva, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, and Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, and the World Academy of Sciences. In 1999, he received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of India’s highest science awards, for his contributions to theoretical physics. In this InterDialogue, we begin by speaking about Mukhi’s advisory work on academic ethics, the structural incentives for academic misconduct, his concerns about AI use in academia and the difficulties of curtailing it, and India’s international scientific standing. We then speak about Mukhi’s research and contributions to theoretical physics, especially in the field of string theory. Mukhi also discusses his personal background, his career trajectory, and his reasons for returning to India after studying in the United States. We conclude by addressing the importance of science outreach, inclusivity in science, responsible behavior in scientific and public discourse, and the importance of extracurricular interests to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 2:27 – Importance of academic ethics 5:59 – Consequences of academic misconduct 8:24 – Structural incentives for academic misconduct 11:23 – Legal challenges in academic ethics 13:14 – AI and academic ethics 16:46 – Addressing AI use...

Investment in science is a pillar for any dynamic, equitable modern society, and promoting scientific literacy across all levels of society can help foster innovation, dialogue, and consensus that crosses disciplinary and cultural boundaries. Science also helps to uncover answers to foundational questions that have captivated, confounded, and divided our species for millennia. But what is “science,” and what kind of “evidence” ensures that an approach is scientific? If we take “science” to broadly mean, in its purest sense, a “dynamic search for the truth,” or more explicitly, “the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence,” as the Science Council aptly defines it, then science extends beyond the established, highly specialized disciplines of reductionist natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, geoscience, and space science) that have been so successful in fostering our understanding of our planet and the cosmos. Under this definition, science also includes the rigorous data-driven (qualitative and quantitative) social sciences, the inherently non-reductionist “holistic” sciences such as ecological and Earth system sciences, and the budding interdisciplinary field of complex systems science, as well as robust traditional knowledge systems based on multi-generational experiences, observations, and reasoning. As with science, “evidence” can mean a lot of things as well, including primary research, pre-existing data, past and planned experiments, and the referencing of peer-reviewed publications and primary sources. It can also include local and traditional knowledge, thought experiments, theoretical proofs, contemplation, verifiable personal experience, and empirical observation. Broadening and weaving together these forms of scientific evidence holds the potential to address complex, interconnected global challenges and explain deep mysteries that could help unify our polarized societies around foundational understandings. Foundational Questions Foundational questions can transcend the divides of generations and cultures: Cosmology, physics, and evolutionary biology have shed...

Jorge Pullin is an Argentine-American theoretical and experimental physicist. He is a professor at Louisiana State University and a member of the LIGO team. In this Interdialogue I spoke to Pullin about his pioneering role in the development of Loop Quantum Gravity and about foundational questions related to the nature of time and space. We also spoke about his more recent focus on Gravitational Wave and Multi-Messenger Astronomy, of which he wrote a book called “Sounds of the Cosmos.” We explored background independence and the discrete nature of space and time in LQG, and the emergence of spacetime from spin foam. We also spoke about the Montevideo interpretation of quantum mechanics that he developed with his longtime collaborator Rodolofo Gambini, the black hole information paradox, and much more.  The conversation then shifts towards the exciting gravitational wave observations made by LIGO of neutron star and black hole collisions, and how this has opened up a new era of multi-messenger astronomy, where electromagnetic, neutrino, cosmic ray and gravitational wave observatories can all work together to study objects and events in the Cosmos. We finish by speaking about how this new era of astronomy and experimental astrophysics will help to solve fundamental questions in cosmology, such as the Hubble Tension. Chapters 00:00 :00 Introduction 00:05:25 – The nature of time, the measurement problem, fundamental decoherence and the Montevideo interpretation of quantum mechanics 00:13:03 – The black hole information paradox, spherical symmetry, singularities, Planck stars and other research on Loop Quantum Gravity 00:22:05 – Loop Quantum Gravity vs. String Theory 00:28:20 – Discrete vs. continuous nature of spacetime, and the intersection between foundational LQG and Complex Systems Science 00:30:49 – Details of Loop Quantum Gravity: intersecting loops, spin networks, spin foam, and the emergence and nature of spacetime 00:38:59 – Loop Quantum Cosmology,...