A New Approach to Canonical Quantum Gravity: This award recommendation is made under the U.S.-Industrialized Countries Program for the Exchange of Scientists and Engineers, 1987/1988 Competition. The program is designed to enable U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct long-term research at research institutions in the industrialized countries of Western Europe as well as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Exchange awards provide opportunities for the conduct of joint research and the utilization of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions in foreign countries. Awards are selected on the basis of scientific criteria relevant to his/her field of science, the prospective potential of the applicants for professional growth, as well as criteria relevant to the furthering of international cooperation in science and engineering. The program is particularly directed to scientists and engineers who are embarking on their research careers. The research project concerns attempts to quantize gravity starting from Einstein's theory of general relativity. Many fundamental problems remain unsolved. The canonical approach of Dr. Chris Isham is a unique attempt to address precisely those issues which are critical to our understanding of the theory. A recent reformulation of Einstein's theory by Dr. Abhay Ashtekar has enabled Dr. Lee Smolin and the proposer to arrive at a canonical theory of gravity which has remarkable properties. The proposer and Dr. Isham will address these issues. This project is under the direction of Dr. Paul Renteln, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0484, U.S.A., and Professor C.J. Isham, The Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, England. This award recommendation provides funds to cover, as appropriate, international travel, local travel abroad, stipend, dependents allowance, if applicable, language training, if required, and a flat administrative allowance of $250 for the U.S. home institution.
