Supersymmetry, supergravity and strings

这项拟议中的研究主要集中在基本粒子物理学领域，重点是弦理论，这将有助于努力理解物理世界在其最基本的组成部分是如何运作的。弦理论被认为为爱因斯坦和许多其他科学家困扰了至少一个世纪的许多问题提供了答案。我们需要了解为什么基本粒子、电子、夸克等具有它们的质量，它们之间的作用力是什么，以及最终为什么它们被分成几个具有相似性质的家族。

The proposed research, primarily in the area of elementary particle physics with emphasis on string theory will help in the effort to understand how the physical world, at its most basic constituents, functions. String theory is believed to provide answers to many of the questions that Einstein and many other scientists have puzzled over for at least a century. We need to understand why the elementary particles, electrons, quarks, etc. have the masses they have, what the forces between them are, and, ultimately, why they are grouped into several families with similar properties.