Abstract:

Many of the major developments in fundamental physics of the last century
originated from identifying and overcoming some apparent contradictions
between existing ideas. Nowadays we are facing a similar crisis, as general
relativity appears to be incompatible with the fundamental laws of quantum
mechanics.
Superstring Theory or more generally M-Theory is our most promising
candidate to be the theory that unifies general relativity and quantum
mechanics.
In recent times we have made dramatic progress in our understanding of
string theory.
In this talk I will describe some of these developments and their connection
to
some well known aspects of mathematics.
I will explain, where we stand in our search for the unified theory of
particle physics and gravity.