Netta Engelhardt

Biedenharn Career Development Associate Professor of Physics
Research focuses on understanding the predictions and fundamental structure of quantum gravity via holography and the black hole information paradox.
Research Areas
Quantum Gravity and Field Theory
(617) 253-7072
Office: 6-403
Affiliated Center(s): MIT Center for Theoretical Physics, Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University
Assistant: Scott Morley

Research Interests

Professor Engelhardt works on quantum gravity, primarily within the framework of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamics of black holes in quantum gravity, leveraging insights from the interplay between gravity and quantum information via holography. Her current primary interests revolve around the black hole information paradox, the thermodynamic behavior of black holes, and the cosmic censorship hypothesis (which conjectures that singularities are always hidden behind event horizons). 

Biographical Sketch

Netta Engelhardt grew up in Jerusalem, Israel and Boston, MA. She received her BSc in physics and mathematics from Brandeis University and her PhD in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University and a member of the Princeton Gravity Initiative prior to joining the physics faculty at MIT in July 2019.

In the news
In the news

Comin, Engelhardt, and Harris receive 2021 US Department of Energy early career awards

Faculty from the departments of Physics and of Nuclear Science and Engineering faculty were selected for the Early Career Research Program.

Awards & Honors

  • 2023 // Gribov Medal (EPS-HEPP) for her groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of quantum information in gravity and black hole physics.
  • 2022 // Sloan Research Fellowship
  • 2021 // DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program Award
  • 2021 // New Horizons in Physics Prize for Early-Career Achievements in Physics and Math (Breakthrough Prizes) "for calculating the quantum information content of a black hole and its radiation."
  • 2019 // Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists in Physical Sciences and Engineering "for Seminal contributions to the theoretical understanding of classical and quantum gravitational physics. This interdisciplinary field, which connects the general theory of relativity with modern quantum information theory, creates an important geometric link between the quantum world and the properties of black holes."

Key Publications

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