INAUGURAL ARTICLE by a Recently Elected Academy Member:Recent developments in superstring theory

There have been many remarkable developments in our understanding of superstring theory in the past few years, a period that has been described as “the second superstring revolution.” In particular, what once appeared to be five distinct theories are now recognized to be different manifestations of a single (unique) underlying theory. Some of the evidence for this, based on dualities and the appearance of an eleventh dimension, is presented. Also, a specific proposal for the underlying theory, called “Matrix Theory,” is described. The presentation is intended primarily for the benefit of nonexperts.