Do you realize that theories we have to describe the nature of the Universe are completely incompatible? – asks provocatively Prof. Ph.D. Andrzej Dragan, and uncompromisingly challenges our basic understanding of the world, based on general relativity and quantum mechanics, two pillars that are the crowning achievements of modern physics that describe nature exquisitely, but separately. When we try to combine them into one coherent whole, we get nonsense.
Prof. Ph.D. Andrzej Dragan, an eccentric Polish theoretical physicist, and audiovisual artist, is one of the most rebellious, charismatic, and probably the most listened-to science popularizers in Poland. Contributed to conferences or seminars in Amsterdam, Brisbane, Durban, Glasgow, London, Madrid, Minsk, Munich, Nottingham, Oxford, Singapore, St. Andrews, Warsaw, Waterloo and Tokyo. Member and former scientific secretary of the Head Committee of the Physics Olympiad, previously worked at Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham.
Einstein was wrong! – says Dragan – Our reality is stranger than it seems and it’s completely different than we think, and physics is an attempt to understand this matrix. Being in this reality without thinking about it is quite humiliating.
Currently, Dragan is a professor at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw (FUW), and a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
At the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the University of Warsaw he is leading a research group on Relativistic Quantum Information. In his research, he looks for connections between the theory of relativity and the new description of the world brought by quantum physics.
According to the principles of quantum mechanics, the reality we are made of is made up of particles – but none of them has a specific location, because they are in many places at once, and they do not behave predictably. It turns out to be a myth to believe that if I perform the same experiment twice, the result will be the same.
Prof. Dragan, a winner of many national and international awards for his scientific achievements, has written over 50 works in the field of quantum optics, relativistic quantum information theory, relativity theory, quantum field theory in curved space-time, and two books: in 2019, an excellent popular science book "Quantechism, or a Cage for people", in which he describes the Universe and life with the point of view of quantum physics and Einstein's theory, and in 2021 the textbook on the theory of relativity "Unusually Special Relativity" published by World Scientific Publishing.
In 2020, together with Professor Artur Ekert, he published the work "The Quantum Principle of Relativity", which may turn out to be the biggest breakthrough in the understanding of quantum theory since Einstein.
However, the rebellious physicist is more than "just a scientist". He is also a talented and well-known artist in the field of photography, who – in a series of expressionist portraits (including David Lynch) subjected to digital processing – created the so-called "Dragan effect".
Famous for his shocking, provocative, and controversial photo sessions, breaking taboos and canons of aesthetics, Dragan was the author of exhibitions in Milan, Paris, London, New York, Amsterdam, and Tokyo. He has published his photos on the covers of dozens of magazines and books in many countries around the world and has also taken photos for advertising campaigns of brands such as Energizer, Playstation, Xbox, Play, and Converse. He is also the winner of the Photographer of the Year 2007 title from the British magazine Digital Camera.
He is also a filmmaker, having made award-winning short artistic films, inspired by physical theories, short films, and advertisements for HBO and Netflix, as well as music videos for artists such as Behemoth, Quebonafide, and Hania Rani.
Get inspired and meet Andrzej Dragan's fascinating personality, beautiful mind, and impressive scientific achievements during the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit, where he will perform as a keynote speaker!
