TheFoundational Questions Institute, styledFQxI (formerlyFQXi), is an organization that provides grants to "catalyze, support, and disseminate research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology."[1] It was founded in 2005 by cosmologistsMax Tegmark andAnthony Aguirre.[2]It is currently run by chief scientific officer David Sloan and chief operating officer Kavita Rajanna.[3]
Best known for itsZenith Grants program, FQxI has awarded 234 grants in ten grant rounds since 2006, totaling $27M.[4] Sample grant round topics include the Nature of Time (2010), Physics of Information (2013), Physics of the Observer (2016), Agency in the Physical World (2018), and Information as Fuel (2019).[5] It also runs frequent essay contests open to the general public with $40,000 in prizes awarded by a jury panel and the best texts published in book format.[6]
FQxI is an independent, philanthropically funded non-profit organization, run by scientists for scientists.[7]
FQxI has been funded by a variety of individual donors and institutes since its inception, most notably theJohn Templeton Foundation,Fetzer Institute,[8]The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation,[9] andTempleton World Charity Foundation.[10]
The $6.2 million seed funding was donated by theJohn Templeton Foundation, whose goal is to reconcile science and religion. Tegmark has stated that the money came with "no strings attached"; TheBoston Globe stated FQxI is run by "two well-respected researchers who say they are not religious. The institute's scientific advisory board is also filled with top scientists."[11] Critics of the John Templeton Foundation such asSean Carroll have also stated they were satisfied that the FQxI is independent.[12][13]
All FQXi members are listed on its website.[14]
Five FQxI Members are awardees of theNobel Prize in Physics:Gerard 't Hooft,Anthony Leggett,Frank Wilczek,Roger Penrose, andAnton Zeilinger.[15]
FQxI's Scientific Advisory Council "shares a wide range of expertise on FQxI’s scientific programs and helps with scientific planning."[16] The council members are:
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