caption doctoral_advisor thesis_year birth_place thesis_title awards image_size nationality fields workplaces birth_date thesis_url image article_title name alma_mater
john c. baez -lrb- august 2009 -rrb- irving segal 1986 san francisco , california , united states conformally invariant quantum fields levi l. conant prize -lrb- 2013 -rrb- 200px american mathematics , physics university of california , riverside 12 june 1961 http://library.mit.edu/item/000305075 baez2 small.jpg john c. baez
 john c. baez princeton -lrb- ph.d -rrb- yale university -lrb- postgraduate -rrb- university -lrb- undergraduate -rrb- massachusetts institute of technology
john c. baez

john carlos baez -lrb- ; born june 12 , 1961 -rrb- is an american mathematical physicist and a professor of mathematics at the university of california , riverside -lrb- ucr -rrb- in riverside , california .
he is known for his work on spin foams in loop quantum gravity .
for some time , his research had focused on applications of higher categories to physics and other things .
baez is also known to science fans as the author of `` this week 's finds in mathematical physics '' , an irregular column on the internet featuring mathematical exposition and criticism .
he started `` this week 's finds '' in 1993 for the usenet community , and it now has a worldwide following in its new form , the blog `` azimuth '' .
`` this week 's finds '' anticipated the concept of a personal weblog .
additionally , baez is known on the world wide web as the author of the crackpot index .
