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A. W. Peet

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A. W. Peet (born 1968)[2] is a professor of physics at the University of Toronto. Peet's research interests include string theory as a quantum theory of gravity, quantum field theory and applications of string theory to black holes, gauge theories, cosmology,[2] and the correspondence between anti-de Sitter space and conformal field theories (Maldacena duality).[3]

A. W. Peet
Born1968 (age 55–56)[2]
New Zealand
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Websiteap.io

Early life

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Peet was born in New Zealand in 1968.[2]

Career

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In 1990, Peet received a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Canterbury, and a doctorate in physics from Stanford University in 1994. From 1994 to 1997, they worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University, and as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara from 1997 to 2000. Since 2000, they have been teaching and conducting research as an established professor at the University of Toronto.[2] Peet is also an affiliate of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.[1]

Personal life

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Peet is non-binary,[4] uses they/them pronouns,[5] and is a New Zealand citizen with a passport using an unspecified gender. Peet chose to come out publicly to support queer youth in STEM fields.[4]

Peet debated their fellow University of Toronto colleague, clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson, about gender identities, on Canadian public television on several occasions, garnering significant public attention.[2][6][7][8] After the debate, Peet faced online harassment that negatively impacted their mental health.[9]

Peet is disabled and experiences chronic pain.[9]

My primary disability is chronic neuromuscular pain, affecting my neck, shoulders, back, left arm, and left leg. It originates in accident traumas, primarily a bad skiing accident at the end of the 1990s. Almost twenty years after initial diagnosis in a city full of medical expertise, I know that there is no cure for my pain or treatment available worth the risks, so I have had to learn to adapt to it. This has required significant revision of the scope of my physics career ambitions. [...]

I also have experience with three mental health (MH) conditions. I developed (mild) depression and (mild to moderate) anxiety as part of my chronic pain odyssey. Then in my early forties, I developed (moderate) PTSD, from six violent crimes committed against me in my twenties and thirties by seven different perpetrators, one of them a coworker. Nowadays, none of these MH histories tends to significantly disrupt my work over an extended period. But my combined experiences do make me more sensitive to students managing mental health conditions than the average physicist.

— [10]

Since Peet's disabilities make them unable to comfortably carry bags and heavy objects using their arms and shoulders, they found alternative ways to use and access their belongings in electronic forms.

Since 2003 I have had to profoundly shift my ways of working in order to adapt to long-term chronic pain disability. For example, I cannot comfortably carry a bag in my arms or on my shoulders, so I had to find alternatives. It took me years to find the right gear to reduce my everyday pain without isolating me from students and colleagues or breaking the budget. I am sharing my adaptation solutions here in the hope that they may help someone else find a quicker, cheaper solution to their own acccessibility [sic] conundrum.

I scan all papers and acquire electronic copies of books, so that I can carry my briefcase on a USB stick (currently a 512GB USB3 Patriot Magnum 2). I began doing this routinely years before cloud services like Dropbox became commonplace. I also stripped down the gear I carry every day to a bare minimum, which I can usually fit in my pockets.

— A. W. Peet, on their website[10]

Awards

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Publications

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References

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  1. ^ a b "A. W. Peet". Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Peet, A. W. "About Prof. Peet". ap.io. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  3. ^ "A. W. Peet". University of Toronto. Canadian Association of Physicists. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Physics pages of Prof. A.W. Peet". ap.io. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ Peet, A. W. "How to get my name and pronouns right". A. W. Peet. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  6. ^ "University of Toronto professor A.W. Peet explains why they identify as non-binary". 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  7. ^ Brait, Ellen (5 November 2016). "When beliefs about gender identity and views on freedom of speech clash". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  8. ^ Yun, Tom (3 October 2016). "U of T community responds to Jordan Peterson on gender identities". The Varsity. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b "In the Spotlight: Dr. A.W. Peet". The Varsity. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Physics pages of Prof. A.W. Peet". ap.io. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Fellow". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  12. ^ Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "2002 Annual Report" (PDF). p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  13. ^ Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (16 July 2002). "Innovative researchers in Greater Toronto Area receive Premier's Research Excellence Awards". news.ontario.ca. Queen's Printer for Ontario. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
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