Settling Down in Physics Department

Many times in the past, my other half said to me to give up my administrative post and go back to Physics Department which I have left unattended for so many years. This time I did it. If not for my medical leave last week, I would have gone back to Physics Department last week. It was only Wednesday this week, that I reentered my old office. To my pleasant surprise, my younger colleagues and students have helped clear my room. Despite this, I may not be able to stay long in the room whose air-conditioning is no longer functioning. So my younger colleagues suggested that I occupy the office for guests of the department, which I did. I understand that this is temporary. Hopefully the airconditioning in my old office will be fixed sometime early next year. I had already been told that there will be a guest from China who works on operator theory and quantum computing this coming Jamuary. So I won't get too comfortable in the current office - just need a place for privacy and to do my own work.

Somebody asked me how is life when not holding any administration post. I must say it is a relief - in the past, I feared so much that people will blame me for what is happening to the institute. Now, have made way for my younger colleagues to fully decide what's best for the institute. Even so, I will be there for the institute if needed (like this morning for the audit). I still have some commitments with the institute through research project and students. Perhaps even larger commitment is for the new initiative with CyberSecurity Malaysia. What is most delightful for me at this stage is that I do not have to attend many meetings like I used to. I intend to use up this time for more research and teaching (hopefully after I'm feeling better).

Another pleasant development during this shift to Physics Department, is that they have found the photo album of pictures taken during my 2001 visit to Imperial College, hosted by Prof. Chris Isham. The visit was made possible by the Akademi Sains Malaysia-Royal Society Exchange Programme. Below are the pics with Prof. Isham himself and his postdoc Ioannis Raptis

I shared an office with Jussi Kalkkinen, a postdoc under K. Stelle.

Here are some other photos of us:

I rented a room in an apartment through the help of Prof. Isham. Here's the landlady

and a lady housemate

Pics of me at the apartment:

Here's the Theoretical Physics Secretary

I also met some Malaysians there studying in Imperial:

The visit was a real experience for me, particularly how far we are left behind in the area of theoretical physics. Jussi is a string theorist who uses gerbes, while Ioannis are using sheaves and topos for quantum gravity. At the time, Chris had already published papers on Topos Framework for Quantum Theory with Jeremy Butterfield. Two years later I invited Jussi Kalkkinen to ITMA to give some lectures in string theory. After I joined INSPEM, I invited Andreas Doering as a fellow. I must say we were not ready in both circumstances to have such researchers. It was my ambitious view then that I wanted some of the advanced and highly sophisticated mathematics to be introduced here. Perhaps we will take a few more generations for us to be ready.