Themes
Our research is guided by three of the ‘big questions’ which informed Sir John Templeton’s vision and continue to baffle scientists today: What is the nature of reality? What is the nature of time? And what is the nature of life? The key insight which drives the project is how these profound questions are not independent, but are instead different aspects of the same question: How does the arrow of time manifest in different systems and at different scales?
How the themes are connected
The interconnectedness between the five themes and how they feed into each other. In addition, theme 5 (philosophy) oversees the physics themes, while themes 1,2,3 and 4 all address the common foundational issues of decoherence and irreversibility.
Quantum biology research at Surrey
The University of Surrey is at the forefront of research in the emerging field of quantum biology. In 2014, academics Professor Johnjoe McFadden (Professor of Molecular Genetics) and Professor Jim Al-Khalili (Professor of Physics) published Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology, a popular science book which proposed that life inhabits the boundary between the quantum and classical realms, and harnesses both to sustain the living state.
Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre
The world’s first centre dedicated to training interdisciplinary scientists in the field of quantum biology. The Centre trains students working across a range of disciplines – from microbiology to physiology, synthetic biology, chemistry, mathematics and quantum physics – with the goal of assessing the role of quantum mechanics in shaping life.