Welcome - Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics

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Welcome to the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics. By connecting researchers from around the world at Caltech, the Burke Institute provides a hub for the exchange of ideas and fosters cross-continent and cross-discipline collaborations. It is our mission to advance humanity's quest to expand our understanding of natural phenomena at all scales—from subatomic, atomic, and molecular scales to the scales of celestial objects and the universe itself. Read more

Awards and Honors

Frontiers of Science Award: Physics

Cheung, Gukov and Kitaev receive the Frontiers of Science Award

Sergei Gukov

Sergei Gukov Receives AI+Math DARPA Grant

Elias Most Named 2026 Sloan Fellows

News and Media Highlights

August 17, 2026

Synchronized Stars Power Cosmic Radio Laser

Mark Wise

Caltech Mourns the Passing of Mark B. Wise (1953–2026)

Jim Fuller

Fuller proposes new model of how stars die

Seminars

September 21, 2026 4:00 pm

Quantum Matter Seminar

East Bridge 114

Witnessing Quantum Entanglement in Solid-State Materials

Yao Wang, Professor, Department of Physics, Emory University,

September 23, 2026 1:30 pm

High Energy Theory Seminar

Online and In-Person Event

Enhanced Correlations in Hawking Radiation from Near-Extremal Collapse

Per Kraus, UCLA,

September 25, 2026 2:00 pm

Special TAPIR Seminar

Online and In-Person Event

Ringdown from Eccentric Binary Black Hole Coalescences in the Extreme Mass Ratio Regime

Devin Becker, Graduate Student, Kavli Institute, MIT,

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