ABOUT

Strings is a series of international conferences on the topic of string theory and quantum gravity, held annually since 1988. It is a key event for the string theory community. In 2004, it gathered about 400 participants, with several more online. Important topics in string theory have been introduced for the first time during these conferences.

The first conference, Strings 1988, was held from May 24 to 28, 1988 at the University of Maryland, College Park. It was inspired by the International Workshop on Strings, Composite Structures and Cosmology held in the same venue a year before. The conferences were not that promising at first and some scientists suggested to stop the annual meetings, however it gained popularity in the 1990s.

During Strings 1995, Edward Witten discussed the concept of M-theory, sparking the second superstring revolution. In Strings 1996, Tom Banks, Willy Fischler, Stephen Shenker, and Leonard Susskind introduced matrix theory; and during Strings 1998, Jeffrey A. Harvey composed a song to celebrate Juan Maldacena's recent discovery of AdS/CFT correspondence.