Professor Claudia de Rham
Claudia de Rham is a Professor of Theoretical Physics in the Department of Physics working at the interface between quantum field theory, particle physics, gravity and cosmology. More details on her research can be found on her Imperial Profile page.
See below for some of claudia's engagement activities.
claudia's engagement activities
TV, Discovery Channel & Podcasts
- Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Discovery Channel, USA
- How the Universe Works, Discovery Channel, USA
- Podcasts (see below for youtube recordings when available)
- Mindscape
- Next Big Idea Club: A Theoretical Physicist on the Mysteries of Gravity
- Ideas Podcast
- Scientific Sense
- Into the impossible
- Talks at Google
-
The Woman Who Broke Gravity Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal
- Physics World podcast on the beauty of gravity
- Physics World podcast on Abdus Salam: celebrating a unifying force in global physics
- Ideas Roadshow on gender in Physics
Radio
- BBC 4 Live Start the Week: Alien life and gravity
- BBC 5 Live Naked Scientist: Hawking's recent work: The Information Paradox
- BBC Outlook for BBC World Service (part 1: Hiroshima survivors, part 2: Claudia de Rham from around the World)
- BBC London Live with Jumoké Fashola: Eating with Tod, Dizraeli and Gravity
- Jumoké speaks with food influencer 'Eating with Tod' about the Fume Festival, the poet Dizraeli on his latest release 'Joy Machine' and theoretical physicist Claudia De Rham reveals the secrets of gravity.
- Canadian CBC Quirks & Quarks
- WICN Massachusetts radio Live with Mark Lynch
- Australian ABC radio Live
- New Zeland radio Live
Major Newspapers & Magazines
- The Observer Gravity connects everything, from a person to a planet by Charlotte Lytton
- The Guardian “Has physicist's gravity theory solved 'impossible' dark energy riddle?” by Hannah Devlin
- Los Angeles Times: How real is the science in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’? We asked an expert by Emily Zemler
- Nautilus: Making Light of Gravity
- New Scientist:
- 2024 The physicist searching for quantum gravity in gravitational rainbows by Joshua Howgego
- 2023 Why is Gravity still a puzzle: 20 non-fiction books to look forward in 2024 by Simon Ings
- 2022 Big Thinkers Series Lecture
- 2020 Cover Story: What does gravity weigh?
- 2020 Interview for article on What is Reality? By Jason Arunn Murugesu, Joshua Howgego and Gilead Amit
- 2017 Interview for article on Dark energy is mutating, with grave consequences for the cosmos by Gilead Amit
- Physics World:
- 2016 Might gravity have mass? by Matthew Francis
- 2020 Tips for a rewarding career in physics by James Dacey with Andrew Tolley
- 2024 A life in Gravity by Matin Durrani
- 2024 How gravity falls down on falling down
by Kate Gardner
- 2024 Abdus Salam: honouring the first Muslim Nobel-prize-winning scientist by Matin Durrani Claudia de Rham and Ian Walmsley pay tribute to the contributions of the Nobel-prize winning particle theorist Abdus Salam
- Nature:
- 2013 Fat gravity particle gives clues to dark energy by Zeeya Merali
- 2019 Research Highlights: Gravitational Waves: Dark energy in doubt by Stefanie Reichert
- 2024 Cosmologist Claudia de Rham on falling for gravity by Davide Castelvecchi
- Quanta Magazine:
- The Physicist Who Slayed Gravity’s Ghosts by Thomas Lewton
- Why Gravity Is Not Like the Other Forces by Samuel Velasco
- A Correction to Einstein Hints At Evidence for String Theory by Dorine Leenders
Digital news & Blogs
- Royal Institution Why is Gravity called Gravity?
- THE Times Higher Education Aliens aside, does ‘3 Body Problem’ portray academia accurately? by Rosa Ellis
- New York Academy of Science A Life in Defiance of Gravity - NYAS by Nick Fetty
- First Principles: On defining and defying Gravity
- Q&A – How do we find gravity’s true Nature by Jacklin Kwan
- CERN Interview with Claudia de Rham, by Spyros Argyropoulos
- How the Light Gets in, Hay-on-Wye Festival 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
Engagement in other Languages
Brazil - Teoria “edita” ideias de Einstein para explicar a Energia Escura, Portugal - Zap, Finland - Tekniikan Maailma, Italy - Focustech, Lithuania Delfi, Norway abcnyheter, Romania Descopera, Sweden PopularAstronomi
- French (Switzerland/France)
- 100 year of General Relativity, Wright Colloquium series, Geneva Public talks Qu'est-ce que le graviton ?
- Swiss National Television « L'astrophysicienne lausannoise Claudia de Rham effectue des recherches sur l'univers et la gravitation à Londres” report by Laurent Burkhalter
- Swiss National Radio, “Rencontre avec Claudia de Rham, une specialiste du cosmos”
- Swiss National Radio “La gravitation au coeur du 18e colloque Wright à Genève"
- Science & Vie Featured article: Gravitation et si Elle avait une Masse? by Simon Devos
- L'Hebdo, (Swiss Magazine), La scientifique suisse qui relativise Einstein by Gian Pozzy
- Le Monde, La relativité générale à l'épreuve des tests, by Philippe Pajot
- Radio Lac “Claudia de Rham, physicienne: La matière sombre, c'est tout ce qu'on ne connait pas dans l'univers”
- German:
- Die Zeit, Sie denkt weiter als Einstein by Hanna Wick
- Süddeutsche Zeitung, Hat die Schwerkraft ein Gewicht? by Theresa Palm
- Tagesspiege Rätselhafte Gravitation : Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit der Schwerkraft
claudia's videos
![The Dark Energy Delusion](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
The Dark Energy Delusion
CBC Ideas & Perimeter Institute Public Lecture
In The Dark Energy Delusion, theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham explores the mysteries of gravity and the universe's accelerated expansion. She discusses Einstein's theory of general relativity and questions conventional views by addressing the problem of dark energy and proposing an alternative perspective on gravity’s reach. De Rham takes the audience through the cosmos, questioning whether gravity truly has an infinite reach and highlighting recent advancements in theoretical physics. She emphasizes the importance of upcoming experiments that could reshape our understanding of the universe.
![The Woman Who Broke Gravity](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
The Woman Who Broke Gravity
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal
Claudia de Rham is a prominent theoretical physicist and a professor at Imperial College London, renowned for her pioneering research in modifying gravity theories. With a strong background in cosmology and gravitational physics, Claudia has significantly advanced our understanding of the universe’s fundamental forces.
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b9...
![Gravity Is the Law That Makes Everything Happen](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Gravity Is the Law That Makes Everything Happen
Quanta Magazine interview
The theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham explains why gravity is so fundamental to our understanding of everything in the universe. Read the full interview here. Video by Philipp Ammon & Jennifer Hsu for Quanta Magazine.
![Beyond Einstein: Gravitational Rainbows](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Beyond Einstein: Gravitational Rainbows
World Science Festival with Brian Greene and Claudia de Rham
BEYOND EINSTEIN explores the wondrous implications of gravity pushed to the extreme.
Gravitational Rainbows: Much as a gentle mist can split light waves into beautiful rainbows, dark energy may split gravitational waves into deeply revealing gravitational rainbows. Leading researcher Claudia de Rham joins Brian Greene to explore this compelling possibility. This program is part of the Big Ideas series, supported by the John Templeton Foundation. Participants: Claudia de Rham Moderator: Brian Greene
![Solving the secrets of gravity](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Solving the secrets of gravity
Royal Institution lecture by Prof. Claudia de Rham
A world-renowned physicist seeks gravity’s true nature, and finds wisdom in embracing its force in her life.
![New Scientist interview - The search for quantum gravity](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
The search for quantum gravity
New Scientist interview
Claudia de Rham has spent much of her life dedicated to exploring the limits and true nature of gravity. As she describes in her new book, The Beauty of Falling, de Rham trained to be a pilot and then an astronaut. To demonstrate gravity’s effects, New Scientist took her indoor skydiving at iFLY London, explaining how gravity acts on every cell of your body in the same way. Yet, gravity still isn’t fully understood. It doesn’t fit into the mould of the other fundamental forces, and quantum theory can’t yet explain it. For her part, de Rham has sought to make progress by thinking deeply about gravitons, the hypothetical carrier of the force of gravity. Each of the fundamental forces is carried by an equivalent "boson" particle – some have zero mass, others have a very small mass. De Rham wanted to know: what is the graviton's mass?
Learn more ➤ https://www.newscientist.com/article/...
![On the Nature of the Graviton](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Nature of the Graviton - TEDxCLESalon
Public Talk at TEDxCLESalon in celebration of the 100 years of General Relativity
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community
![Talks at Google](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Talks at Google
Claudia de Rham at Google with Zara Brownless
Claudia de Rham discusses about a life in pursuit of gravity with google moderator and behavioral scientist Zara Brownless.
![Cosmology's Latest Puzzle](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Cosmology's Latest Puzzle
The Hubble Tension featuring Nobel Prize winner Adam Riess, Daniel Mortlock and Claudia de Rham
Measurements of a key parameter in cosmology do not agree. Is this the sign of exciting new physics, do we need to rethink some aspects of cosmology or is it just a measurement error? In this film, Nobel Prize winning physicist Adam Reiss, and George Efstathiou (who was the scientist chose to give the cosmology results for ESA's Planck Probe) are joined by astrophysicist Daniel Mortlock and theoretical cosmologist Claudia de Rham to discuss this latest puzzle for cosmology.
![IAI - 3 body problem](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
IAI - 3 body problem
Theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham responds to Netflix's '3 Body Problem' during IAI festival
The Institute of Arts and Ideas, Hay-in-Wye festival
![Abdus Salam and the Fundamental Forces of Nature](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Abdus Salam and the Fundamental Forces of Nature
Professor Brian Cox leads celebration of Abdus Salam’s legacy to physics
A special lecture hosted by Imperial Theoretical Physics and Imperial Institutional Events and chaired by Claudia de Rham to celebrate the naming of the Abdus Salam Library at Imperial. We welcome Professor Atish Dabholkar, the current Director of ICTP in Trieste, Italy, and Professor Brian Cox CBE, renowned science communicator as our key speakers.
![The Dark Side of the Universe](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
The Dark Side of the Universe
Colloque Wright - Public talk in Geneva in celebration of Gravity (in French)
Conférence de Claudia de Rham, professeure au Imperial College de Londres et à la Faculté de sciences naturelles, Département de physique. La détection récente d’ondes gravitationnelles représente une nouvelle ère pour la science et une fenêtre ouverte sur notre Univers. Mais que savons-nous au juste sur le comportement de notre Univers et de la structure de l’espace aux échelles cosmologiques? Lors de cette conférence, il s’agira de voyager jusqu’aux extrémités de l’Univers observable et d’essayer d’éclairer les comportements de la gravitation. Il sera aussi question du rapport de la gravitation avec l’énergie sombre. Plusieurs observations ont trahi l’existence de cette dernière; elles montrent que l’Univers croît plus rapidement qu’il ne le devrait. Quelque chose de puissant s’oppose à la gravitation, quelque chose que les physiciens ont nommé l’énergie sombre. Comprendre la véritable nature de cette dernière, et son rapport avec la gravitation, devrait permettre de dessiner un scénario plus précis sur l’avenir de notre Univers lequel prendra peut-être la forme d’un grand déchirement.
![Questioning Newton and Einstein](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Origin Scholars - Questioning Newton and Einstein
Origin Scholars Public Lectures given by Claudia de Rham
![On the expansion of the Universe](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Into The Impossible Podcast
Brian Keating's Into The Impossible Podcast with Claudia de Rham
The acceleration of the expansion of the universe is one of the fundamental questions in cosmology. Scientists believe that dark energy is driving and accelerating the expansion; however, there is a discrepancy between the predicted amount of dark energy in the universe and our theoretical calculations based on the properties of fundamental particles. To get to the bottom of this, today's guest, Professor Claudia de Rham, proposed a new theory of "massive gravity" that could solve this “impossible” riddle. Join us as we explore the true nature of gravity and the beauty of falling!
![IAI Mystery in the making](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
IAI Mystery in the making
Harry Cliff, Claudia de Rham and Avshalom Elitzur
Debate at the Hay-in-Wye Festival Institute of Arts and Ideas.
We have the impression that science unravels the mysteries of the universe. But with every mystery solved, a new mystery emerges. The Big Bang gave us an explanation for the expanding universe but left the mystery of how it came about. Quantum mechanics accounted for the strange behaviour of subatomic particles, but led to the puzzle of its conflict with relativity. Dark energy made sense of an accelerating universe but led to the mystery of why we have no evidence for it. Is there a danger that we are making a fundamental mistake in imagining science can eradicate mystery, and do we need to think of science differently as a consequence?
Do we need to abandon the idea that science has the potential to provide a complete explanation? Should we not expect science to eradicate mystery and instead simply require that its theories work well enough for our current aims and purposes? Or is the ability to overcome mystery essential to the effective operation of science and a core idea responsible for its success?
![IAI - Science and mysteries](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
IAI - Science and mysteries
Theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham on how science represents reality
The Institute of Arts and Ideas, Hay-in-Wye festival
![Mindscape podcast](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Mindscape podcast
Claudia de Rham on the preposterous Universe podcast with Sean Carroll
Blog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/...
Einstein's theory of general relativity has been our best understanding of gravity for over a century, withstanding a variety of experimental challenges of ever-increasing precision. But we have to be open to the possibility that general relativity -- even at the classical level, aside from any questions of quantum gravity -- isn't the right theory of gravity. Such speculation is motivated by cosmology, where we have a good model of the universe but one with a number of loose ends. Claudia de Rham has been a leader in exploring how gravity could be modified in cosmologically interesting ways, and we discuss the current state of the art as well as future prospects.
![Current and future women luminaries](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Current and future women luminaries
How do we communicate with the Universe?
Hosted by Professor Alice P. Gast, this conversation will be with Professor Claudia de Rham, Professor of Theoretical Physics and Heba Jemal, 2nd Year Physics student. Throughout our history, we have gathered information from the Universe that surrounds us through the light it emits. We have seen the Universe through our own eyes and instruments. The direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 has marked the beginning of a new era for science where we are now able to hear the Universe and communicate with it through a new channel. But how much do we actually know about gravity and how gravitational waves propagate? In this event we will discuss how gravitational waves can be used as a privileged channel of communication with the secret dark components of our Universe.
![Blavatnik Awards UK](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Blavatnik Awards UK
Meet the 2020 Blavatnik Awards UK Physical Sciences & Engineering Honorees
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK recognized three outstanding physicists in 2020. Physical Sciences & Engineering Laureate Prof. Claudia de Rham, is a theoretical physicist from Imperial College London. She has constructed a viable theory for massive gravity that could hold the answers to many important questions in physics. 2020 Finalists in Physical Sciences & Engineering include Amaury Triaud, PhD an astrophysicist at the University of Birmingham and Prof. Ian Chapman from the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Dr. Triaud searches for exoplanets—planets orbiting stars other than the Sun—and has made major contributions to the discovery of a planetary system known as TRAPPIST-1. Prof. Chapman is a plasma physicist and an international leader in developing renewable energy from nuclear fusion, the same mechanism that powers the Sun and other stars. He also leads the UK’s new national fusion energy project, as CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
![Scientific Sense podcast](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Scientific Sense podcast
Gill Eapen hosts Claudia de Rham on the mysteries of gravity
Scientific Sense ® by Gill Eapen: Prof. Claudia de Rham is professor is a Theoretical physicist at Imperial College London. She develops and tests cosmological theories dealing with a wide variety of concepts, from the early universe and dark energy to the behavior of gravity. She has been particularly involved in developing a new theory of massive gravity concerning gravitons, which are hypothetical particles responsible for transmitting gravitational forces. This work has profound implications for the area of research now dubbed ‘beyond Einstein gravity’, which includes exploring new types of particles in the universe and connecting the theories of gravity with current and next-generation astrophysics experiments. Please subscribe to this channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ScientificS...
![Testing General Relativity](/assets/website/images/placeholder/video-placeholder.jpg)
Origin Scholars - Testing General Relativity
Origin Scholars Public Lectures given by Claudia de Rham on Testing General Relativity