Dr. Arlie Petters

Because of the research of Dr. Arlie Petters, we know that gravity “sculpts light” in space. He is a pioneer in the field of gravitational lensing: when gravity in space acts as a lens. He is the Benjamin Powell Professor and Professor of Mathematics, Physics, Business Administration at Duke University. Petters promotes applications of scientific and mathematical tools in entrepreneurship and business. He is active in social outreach, aiming to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in mathematics and the physical sciences. He was a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the first winner of the Blackwell-Tapia Prize in the mathematical sciences, and was named by the Queen of England to Membership in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in mathematics, with a specialization in mathematical physics.