Andrei D.
Linde

Born in Moscow, Andrei Linde studied at Moscow State University and gained his PhD from the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow in 1975. After a brief stay at CERN in Geneva, he moved to Stanford University in 1990 and he remains a professor there today.

During the 1970s, Linde worked on models of the early universe, which contributed to Guth’s proposal of inflation in 1980. Linde later suggested modifications to Guth’s theory to overcome some of its shortcomings, creating what was called “new inflation.” Linde soon abandoned that too, and put forward a new, more general theory – chaotic inflation – which encompasses most of the inflation scenarios being studied today. Linde has continued to push the boundaries of inflation theory, proposing ever more exotic and peculiar versions. At one stage, he suggested that our universe could exist on the inside of a single magnetic monopole made huge by inflation.

Linde has received the Lomonosov Award from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, the Oskar Klein Medal, the Dirac Medal, and the Gruber Prize in Cosmology. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.