| Citation | Hull is distinguished for his imaginative and influential contributions to quantum gravity, specifically Super-String and Supergravity Theories. His work with Townsend on the dual relationships of different forms of the theory involving supersymmetric solitons led to a revolution in the subject establishing a unified viewpoint now called M-Theory. His work with Douglas incorporating non-commutative geometry is one of many innovations bringing ideas in mathematics into play. His investigations on the ultra-violet divergences of supersymmetric non-linear sigma-models play a central role in discussions of the finiteness and consistency of String Theory. Currently Hull has classified supersymmetric M-Theory backgrounds in eleven dimensions showing that they entail novel geometric structures with holonomy group SL(32,R) and is developing generalisations of field theory and geometry involving infinitely many tensor fields. He also leads and inspires a talented group of young researchers at Imperial College. |