WPCH 2 B P Z Courier 10cpi #| x x @ 8 ; X @ LETTERHEAD - HP Laserjet II HPLASER2.PRS x @ , t 0# lX @ 2 < V J Z Courier 10cpi 2 x x x , x @ 8 ; X @ BOND - HP Laserjet II HPLASERJ.PRS x @ , t 0# BmX @ 2 6 F ` F #| x 9305599 Berger Professor Berger will carry out a program of computational research on classical and quantum gravitation. Although Einstein's general theory of relativity is an experimentally verified description of observed gravitational phenomena, its classical equations generically develop singularities from regular initial data and are inconsistent with the principles of quantum mechanics. In the context of the early Universe, studies of the quantum mechanics of cosmologies and of the properties of the most general cosmological spacetimes might suggest how to overcome these intrinsic limitations of general relativity. Quantum cosmology serves as a theoretical laboratory within which to test both approaches to quantum gravity and possible quantum gravitational effects in the early Universe. The application of standard quantum Monte Carlo simulation methods to quantum cosmology (and ultimately to quantum gravity) allows realistic universes with many degrees of freedom to be studied. ***
