- Schuller derived Einstein's gravity from Maxwell's electromagnetism alone
- Matter dynamics determine gravitational dynamics through predictivity constraints
- Port-Hamiltonian methods may formalize quantum measurement mathematically
Frederic Schuller did not set out to derive gravity. He was staring at Maxwell's equations.
The theoretical physicist at the University of Twente had a deceptively simple question. If you start with electromagnetism on an arbitrary geometric background and demand that the theory be predictive, what constraints does physics itself impose?
Key figure
56
Published papers spanning gravity, quantum theory, and geometric physics
Maxwell's Equations Already Contain Einstein
The answer, Schuller found, was remarkably restrictive. Demand a well-posed Cauchy problem for Maxwell's theory, and only a Lorentzian signature survives. Then ask what dynamics the background geometry must obey to evolve consistently with the matter fields, and out comes the Einstein-Hilbert action, complete with cosmological constant.
Not postulated. Not assumed. Derived.
Schuller calls this "constructive gravity." The philosophy is stark: matter first, gravity second. You prescribe how matter behaves, then solve what he calls "construction equations" to discover the unique gravitational dynamics compatible with that matter.
What is a Cauchy problem?
A Cauchy problem asks whether physical equations can predict the future from initial data on a surface. If a theory lacks a well-posed Cauchy problem, it cannot make definite predictions. Schuller argues it cannot count as physics.
The result holds beyond electromagnetism. His collaborators tested it with non-abelian gauge theories and other Standard Model fields. Each time, Einstein's theory emerged as the only consistent gravitational dynamics.
Formal generalizations typically fail. You need to generalize conceptually, not formally.
Frederic Schuller, University of Twente
Probability Ports for Quantum Mechanics
Schuller's current research takes an unexpected detour through engineering. At a 2020 conference in Paris, he encountered the port-Hamiltonian formalism, a framework engineers use to track energy flowing through open systems, from robot joints to national power grids.
Could the same approach illuminate quantum mechanics?
Not directly, it turned out. Energy does not flow continuously between quantum subsystems the way it does in classical ones. Most quantum states do not even possess a definite energy with respect to a given Hamiltonian.
But probability does flow. And that insight opened a different door.
Working with collaborators Kaja Krhac and Stefano Stramigioli, Schuller is building a formalism that captures the "talk" around quantum measurement in actual mathematics. The goal is not to change quantum mechanics, but to extend its formalism so that phrases like "conduct a measurement" carry precise mathematical meaning.
Their 2025 paper on hybrid Schrodinger-Liouville dynamics represents the first published step.
The Blackboard as Theater
Schuller may be best known not for his research but for his teaching. His lecture series from Erlangen, "Gravity and Light" and "Geometric Anatomy of Theoretical Physics," have accumulated millions of views on YouTube, none uploaded by Schuller himself.
He won Germany's top university teaching prize, the Ars Legendi, in 2016. His method is uncompromising: begin from propositional logic, build through set theory to differential geometry, and never offer a motivating example before the definition.
His two assumptions about students are characteristically blunt. First, they know nothing. Second, they are infinitely intelligent. Both assumptions, he concedes, are slightly wrong.
What makes Schuller's lectures distinctive is the live derivation. He prepares for four hours each morning, writes detailed notes, then lectures from headlines alone. If he cannot derive something freely in front of students, he reasons, he has no right to ask them to reproduce it on an exam.
One former student stopped Schuller on a street in Erlangen years after taking his classical mechanics course. "Because of you, I stopped physics," the student said.
It was, Schuller recalls, meant as a compliment.
Sources
- Primary Source: Frederic Schuller: The Physicist Who Derived Gravity From Electromagnetism (Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal)
- Additional Context:
- Constructive Gravity: Foundations and Applications (arXiv, 2020)
- Frederic Schuller research profile (University of Twente)
Fact Check: Claim-by-Claim Verification Verified
The article accurately represents Frederic Schuller's "constructive gravity" work deriving Einstein-Hilbert action from Maxwell's equations and matter fields via well-posedness requirements, along with his quantum measurement research and teaching achievements.
Commentary
- "56 published papers" likely references his h-index from Google Scholar profiles, though exact count varies by database; core claims unaffected.
- Quote on generalizations aligns with themes in his interviews, though not verbatim from peer-reviewed sources.[1]
- Anecdotes about teaching style (e.g., student story) from podcast but consistent with his documented philosophy.
Sources used for verification
Academic/Peer-reviewed:
- Constructive Gravity: Foundations and Applications - arXiv
- Hybrid Schrödinger-Liouville and projective dynamics - arXiv
- Frederic P. Schuller Profile - utwente.nl
- Frederic P. Schuller Google Scholar - scholar.google.com
Other reliable sources:
- UT Professor Frederic Schuller elected to the Academy - utwente.nl
- Constructive Gravity Lectures - uni-heidelberg.de
- Ars Legendi Faculty Prize - gdch.de
Fact-checked by Perplexity Sonar Pro on 2026-03-10
