The Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics (KITP), located on the Santa Barbara campus of the University of California (UCSB), serves the diverse goals of theoretical physics via a unique mode of operation and structure. The combination of visiting research programs with a small permanent faculty and postdoctoral fellows enables interactions among visiting scientists to occur with lasting impact. As a largely peer-managed institute, with essential input in the planning and implementation of its research programs from the community, the KITP responds to new scientific opportunities, encourages transformational research, and promotes diversity by ensuring broad representation. The goal is to promote progress by bringing together accomplished researchers for sufficient time to form new collaborations and to carry out substantive research that will transform the direction of research for the future.
(KITP) is a facility in which collaborative and transformational research, the exploration and promotion of new areas of research, the training of the next generation of theorists, international collaboration, outreach to the public, and the preservation of the unity of theoretical physics are pursued at the highest level of excellence. Through its research programs, the Institute promotes the interchange of ideas across traditional boundaries and exposes theorists to new challenges and opportunities. The KITP benefits numerous researchers and its activities follow the needs and interests of theoretical physics in its entirety. Program participants and KITP postdoctoral fellows are enabled to change direction and develop expertise in new fields. With ~10 long-term (8-12 weeks) programs per year, the KITP hosts over 800 unique scientists for long-term stays, resulting in over 20,000 visitor-days per year. In addition, about 10 one-week Conferences are held each year, nearly all associated with the Programs. These conferences accomodate up to 100 scientists and lead to an additional 500 visitors per year to the KITP. We make all of our program and conference talks available to the world through KITP Online, which now hosts over 11,000 talks and receives nearly 100,000,000 hits each year. With over 50 distinct programs in the last five years, the KITP's impact extends across all of theoretical physics, leading to new insights into material properties, the underlying fundamentals of gravity and particle physics, astrophysics and theoretical biology. Our ability to run programs in parallel has also led to new synergies within theoretical physics, such as the realization that techniques developed in high energy physics can have new applications to our understanding of fundamental materials properties. We have also worked to engage the biology community in our programs, leading to synergies between theorists and experimentalists. The research of the KITP Permanent Members and postdoctoral researchers also extends across this broad range of theoretical efforts. We develop the scientific community through our KITP Scholar program, as well as providing extended participation opportunities for graduate fellows and affiliates. We specifically reach out to the public through Public Lectures, and our postdoctoral researchers give lectures in the local high schools. Once a year, we host a one-day science conference for over 100 High School Teachers from across the nation. They hear talks from leading scientists and have time to interact with one another and share their educational experiences.
