Each Principle Investigator (PI) will receive $390,000 of the funding. The team of four PIs consists of two theoretical physicists (Lashkari and Liu) and two philosophers of physics (De Haro Ollé and Dawid). Nima Lashari is the project leader. 

The project, which runs from September 2025 until August 2028, is titled "Emergence of Time from Chaos in Operator Algebras". It brings together experts in quantum gravity, operator algebras and the philosophy of physics to tackle fundamental questions about time, spacetime and the laws of nature. 

The researchers will explore how chaotic behavior within operator algebras can give rise to our experience of time and spacetime symmetries, with applications ranging from black hole physics to holographic theories. 

The interdisciplinary project includes three components: 

• Exploring how chaos in operator algebras generates concepts of time, with implications for black hole physics and holographic theories. 
• Investigating the emergence of time as experienced by observers in extreme environments such as black hole singularities and cosmological spacetimes. 
• Examining the philosophical implications of how time might emerge as a real feature without being fundamentally built into the fabric of the universe.

John Templeton Foundation 

The John Templeton Foundation was founded in 1987. It supports interdisciplinary research and catalyzes conversations that inspire awe and wonder. With an annual giving of approximately $140 million, the Foundation ranks among the 25 largest grantmaking foundations in the United States.

Source: Nima Lashkari awarded Templeton Foundation grant to study how time emerges from quantum chaos: Department of Physics and Astronomy: Purdue University