Charles Rabideau
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I embarked on my physics education with the hoping to one day do research to help better understand the universe around us. This graduate degree is the next step in that ambition and I have been able to dive right in to the research!
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
It has a world class string theory group with varied research opportunities along with a number of other groups studying closely related fields surrounded by forest in a vibrant and beautiful city.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
Living at Green College, a graduate residence with a strong interdisciplinary academic community, has been a great experience for meeting new people and being exposed to ideas I would not have otherwise come across.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
Work hard, keep your goals in mind and watch out for deadlines (be they for teaching assistantships, scholarships or conferences – plan ahead and keep an eye out for new opportunities). Also, living in Vancouver is a great opportunity: don't forget to leave campus sometimes!
Learn more about Charles's research
The Standard Model (the quantum theory of all the particles and interaction around us, except gravity) and General Relativity (our best theory describing gravity so far) are two of our most fundamental theories about nature and both are exceptionally mathematically rich, yet at first glance they seem incompatible. In fact, this mathematical richness is part of the problem; we lack the appropriate tools to understand how they could combine. My research concentrates on studying a simpler model, which involves a quantum theory of gravity on a line by exploiting the fact that this theory is equivalent to a matrix model that we have the mathematical tools to understand. By gaining insight into this particular problem we hope to better understand the general structure of theories including both quantum mechanics and gravity.