I study theoretical high-energy physics.

About Me

Academics and Interests

I graduated summa cum laude in three years from Stony Brook university. My degree was in physics & mathematics. I'll be going to Cambridge in the Fall to start my master's in theoretical physics.

My main interest in physics is quantum field theory. My current obsession in life is to try and understand what it is. This work has led me to the general realm of non-perturbative QFT and the bootstrap, as well as an interest in formal mathematical approaches to QFT. I also hold nascent interests in scattering amplitudes and cosmology. For the latter, the questions of dark matter and dark energy are the most interesting to me. Finally, I am extremely AI-forward and believe that AI is going to 100x progress in theoretical physics within the next 3-5 years—I intend to be at the forefront of this revolution.

I also enjoy pure mathematics, and I think understanding quantum field theory will require new and more advanced mathematical techniques for its implementation. There are three specific areas of mathematics that are especially interesting to me: the Geometric Langlands program, basically anything Peter Scholze is doing (e.g. local Langlands, condensed mathematics, Habiro cohomology, etc.), and low-dimensional topology. Geometric Langlands is mainly an academic interest—it has had some interesting connections to parts of physics, but I am not sure of its continuing applicability to the subject. Scholze is the modern Grothendieck, and I find his work inherently fascinating, so I intend to follow it at (at least) a physicist's level; I think there are physical implications of his work that haven't been discovered yet, and I'd be intensely interested to see what they are. Low-dimensional topology has manifold applications to physics (ba-dum-tss), and is again, inherently interesting to me.

My final big interest is AI safety. I am new to the field, but I find it fascinating, and I think it's the most important work anyone on the planet can do right now. The two approaches I find most interesting and promising are scalable oversight and AI control. Interpretability is also very useful in my eyes, although I personally find it a bit dull. After I finish my summer research project, I'm going to read up on scalable oversight. I intend to produce research in it before I start at Cambridge this year.

Research interests

“100x”? [citation needed] —Ref. 2

What I'm Doing Now

Current Affairs

A short list of what I'm currently doing and thinking about.

please define “stay tuned.” —Ref. 2

Does This Guy Have a Life?

Hobbies

Outside of academics, I enjoy:

• Lifting weights
• Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• Reading
• Listening to podcasts
• Watching debates
• Writing
• Talking with my girlfriend

Is §3 strictly necessary? —Ref. 2

CV

Curriculum Vitae

Download my resume as a PDF for applications and emails. Or for funsies. (PDF).

Contact

Get in touch

Academic email (expiring in ∼2027): william.lancer@stonybrook.edu

Personal email: will.m.lancer@gmail.com

No further objections. —Ref. 1