Dr. Gerald B. Cleaver

Positions & Education

• Graduate Program Director, Physics, Baylor University, 2013-2022
• Professor, Physics, Baylor University, 2013-
• Associate Professor, Physics, Baylor University, 2006-2013
• Head, EUCOS--CASPER, Baylor University, 2002-
• Assistant Professor, Physics, Baylor University, 2001-2006
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Physics, Texas A&M University, 2000-2001
• Postdoc, Physics, Texas A&M University, 1998-2000
• Postdoc, Physics, University of Pennsylvania, 1996-1998
• Postdoc, Physics, The Ohio State University, 1993-1996
• Ph.D., String Theory & Early Universe Cosmology, California Institute of Technology, 1993
• M.S., Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1988
• B.S., Mathematics, Valparaiso University, 1985
• B.S., Physics, Valparaiso University, 1985

Experience

Cleaver is Professor of Physics and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Physics at Baylor University. He is a member of the High Energy Physics group and head of the Early Universe Cosmology and String Theory (EUCOS) division of Baylor's Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics, and Engineering Research. Cleaver earned his Ph.D. at Caltech in 1993, where he studied under John H. Schwarz, one of the founders of string theory. Cleaver has written approximately 120  peer-reviewed journal papers and conference proceedings, which have received over 1300 total citations. He is author of four book chapters and an encyclopedia entry, and co-author of one text book. Cleaver is on the Board of Advisors of two corporations: Rampart Communications, Inc., and Space Initiatives, Inc.

Research Interests

Cleaver's primary research interests are string/M Theory, wormholes and warped spacetimes, quantum gravity, and early universe cosmology. EUCOS is currently investigating curvature invariants of wormholes and other warped spacetimes, especially with regard to theoretical traversability. EUCOS also performs long-term systematic studies of the global properties of the string landscape in the free-fermionic heterotic region and more general issues of a string/M multiverse. (On the side, Cleaver frequently writes about philosophical implications of multiverse proposals.) With Prof. Anzhong Wang's GCAP Research Group, Cleaver and his students investigate aspects of trans-Planckian physics of the very early universe from the approach of Loop Quantum Cosmology. Cleaver and EUCOS Affiliate Research Professor Jeffrey Lee investigate thermodynamical aspects of special relativity and astrophysical contributions to cryptography.

EUCOS Members

• Head: Gerald Cleaver
• Affiliate Research Faculty: Ahmad Borzoy, Matthew Gorban, Jeffrey Lee, David McNutt  (Royal Norwegian Naval Academy), Delaram Mirfendereski (UT-Rio Grand Valley)
• Graduate Students: Christian Brown, Patrick Brown, William Julius (spring 2025 graduation), Abinash Kar (spring 2025 graduation), Rudhresh Manoharan, Ramesh Radhakrishnan

M.S. and Ph.D. Graduates:

• Cooper Watson, Ph.D. 2024, Dissertation: Spacetime Invariants and Invariant Spacetimes
• Matthew Gorban, Ph.D. 2024, Dissertation: Asymmetric Dynamical Casimir Effect
• Jeffrey Lee, Ph.D. 2021, Dissertation: Extremal Conditions in Early Universe Cosmology
• Brandon Mattingly, Ph.D. 2020, Dissertation: Curvature Invariants for Wormholes and Sarped Spacetimes
• Leslie Vestal, M.S. 2017, Dissertation: Encrypting the Universe
• Yanbin Deng, Ph.D. 2015, Dissertation: Reflections on General Relativity from Perspectives of Black Hole Physics and Horava-Lifshitz Gravity
• Doug Moore, Ph.D. 2014, Dissertation: The Weakly Coupled Free Fermionic Heterotic String Gauge Landscape
• Jared Greenwald, Ph.D. 2013, Dissertation: Automated Systematic Generation and Exploration of Flat Direction Phenomenology in Free Fermionic Heterotic String Theory
• Tim Renner, Ph.D. 2011, Dissertation: Initial Systematic Investigations of the Weakly Coupled Free Fermionic Heterotic String Landscape Statistics
• Kristin Pechan, M.S. 2010, Thesis: Investigation of Low Higgs Models in Weakly Coupled Free Fermionic Heterotic String Theory
• Matt Robinson, Ph.D. 2009, Dissertation: Towards a Systematic Investigation of Weakly Coupled Free Fermionic Heterotic String Gauge Group Statistics
• Richard Obousy, Ph.D. 2008, Dissertation: Investigations into Compactified Dimensions: Casimir Energies and Phenomenological Aspects
• Ben Dundee, M.S. 2006, Dissertation: Grand Unified Theories in Higher Dimensions: From the Heterotic String to Randall-Sundrum
• John Perkins, Ph.D. 2005, Thesis: Aspects of String Phenomenology at the Self-Dual Radius

Undergraduate Students (Past):

• MD Ali, Andrew Baas, Caleb Elmor, Joseph Ezuma, Drake Gates, Robert Gill, Joyce Gough, Brandon Mattingly, Scott Ruhnah, Kameron Scott, Cooper Watson

Courses Taught:

PHY 1420/1430 (General Physics I/II); PHY 3372/3373 (Intro Quantum Mechanics I/II); PHY 4373 (Intro Nuclear and Particle Physics); PHY 5370/5371 (Quantum Mechanics I;/II); PHY 5381 (Special Topics: String Cosmology); PHY 5V95 (Graduate Research in Superstrings); PHY 5V99 (Thesis in Superstrings); PHY 6373/6374/6375 (Quantum Field Theory I/II/III); PHY 6V99 (Dissertation in Superstrings); HON 3200 (Honors Colloquium); BIC 4389 (Senior Capstone)

Professional Activities:

Cleaver is Editor of the journal Heliyon Physics and Field Theory Section Editor-in-Chief for the journal Universe. He is a referee for Physical Review Letters, European Physical Journal, Modern Physics Letters A, General Relativity & Gravity, Acta Astronautica, Physics Essays, ISRN Mathematical Physics, and Scientific Journals International. Cleaver is a consultant for the College Board/Educational Testing Center. He is a frequent judge at local, regional, and state Science and Engineering Fairs. Cleaver is a member of American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the Mathematical Association of America. He is a Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation. Cleaver has been a physics textbook reviewer for McGraw-Hill and Thomas Learning, was a consultant/contributor to McGraw-Hill's Grade Summit Project, was a reviewer for Pearson Education Texas K-12 science textbooks, and was on the Texas State Review Panel for Supplementary high school science material..

Awards:

Cleaver is a member of Mensa, the Triple-9 Society, the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry, and the Prometheus Society. He is also a member of several honor societies including Sigma Pi Sigma Physics H.S., Sigma Xi Science H.S., Sigma Rho Phi Science and Theology H.S., Mortar Board, and Alpha Lambda Delta. He was a recipient of a Mensa graduate fellowship, and was a Valparaiso University Presidential Scholarship and a National Merit Scholar.

Books and Book Chapters:

Multiverse: God's Indeterminacy In Action, in God's Providence and Randomness in Nature: Scientific and Theological Perspectives, R. Russell and J. Moritz, editors, ed.,  (West Conshohocken: Templeton Press, 2017).

Symmetry and the Standard Model, M. Robinson (First author), K. Bland, G. Cleaver, J. Dittmann, and M. Serna, (Springer, New York, 2011).

In Search of the (Minimal Supersymmetric) Standard Model String, Chapter 2 of String Theory Research Progress, F. Balogh, ed., (Nova Science Publishers, New York, 2008).

University or Multiversity? in The Baptist and Christian Tradition at Baylor, (Baylor University Press, Waco, 2003)

Hobbies and Interests:

Radio-Controlled Model Aviation, Tae Kwon Do (Blue Belt), Sailing, SCUBA (NAUI Open Water Certified), Snow Skiing

Some Recent Publications

The Real Number n-Degree Pythagorean Theorem, arXiv:2301.02600 [math.GM]; under review Heliyon Mathematics, by J. Lee and G. Cleaver, 

Water Management Considerations for a Self-Sustaining Moonbase, arXiv: 2405.14100; review Heliyon Environment, by J. Lee, J. Yelderman, and G. Cleaver.

An Analysis of the Digit Pair Entropy of Large Numbers, under review Heliyon Mathematics, by W. Julius, M. Gorban, J. Lee, L. Littlejohn, and G. Cleaver.

An Intrinsic Coordinate Reference Frame Procedure I: Tensorial Canonical Weyl Scalars, arXiv:2404.11468; Under review Phys. Rev. D, by C. Watson, P. Brown, W. Julius, D. Salisbury, and G. Cleaver.

Universal properties of the evolution of the Universe in modified loop quantum gravity, Universe 2024, 10(10), 397; arXiv:2406.06745 [gr-qc], by J. Saeed, R. Pan, C. Brown, G. Cleaver, A. Wang.

Killing Invariants: An approach to the sub-classification of geometries with symmetry, General Relativity and Gravitation 56 (2024) 92; arXiv:2312.11433 [gr-qc], by C. Brown, M. Gorban, W. Julius, R. Radhakrishnan, G. Cleaver, and D. McNutt.

A Review of Wormhole Stabilization in f(R) Gravity Theories, Symmetry 16 (2024) 1007 (Invited article for Special Issue “Symmetry in Gravity and Cosmology”); arXiv:2405.05476, by R. Radhakrisnan, P. Brown, J. Matulevich, E. Davis, D. Mirfendereski, and G. Cleaver

First and Second-Order Forces in the Asymmetric Dynamical Casimir Effect for a Single δ − δ′Mirror, Physics (2024) 6, 760-779, Special Issue “75 Years of the Casimir Effect: Advances and Prospects", by M. Gorban, W. Julius, P. Brown, J. Matulevich, R. Radhakrishna, and G. Cleaver.

On the Lorentz Boosted Parallel Plate Casimir Cavity, Physical Review D109 (2024) 065007; arXiv:2312.00898 [quant-ph], by M. Gorban, W. Julius, and G. Cleaver.

Interference Phenomena in the Asymmetric Dynamical Casimir Effect for a single δ − δ′Mirror, Physical Review D108 (2023) 9, 096037; arXiv:2310.00474 [quant-ph], by M. Gorban, W. Julius, R. Radhakrishnan, and G. Cleaver.

Uniform Asymptotic Approximation Method with Poschl-Teller Potential, Universe 9 (2023) 11, 471; arXiv: 2309.03327 [gr-qc], by R. Pan, J. Marchetta, J. Saeed, G. Cleaver, B. Li, A. Wang, and T. Zhu.

Asymmetric Dynamical Casimir Effect, Physics (2023) 5 (2) 398, by M. Gorban, W. Julius, and G. Cleaver.

An Invariant Classification of Levi-Civita Spacetimes, Symmetry 13 (2021) 1469; arXiv:2107.10360 [gr-qc], by C. Watson, W. Julius, M. Gorban, E. Davis, and G. Cleaver.

Geometric Surfaces: An invariant characterization of spherically symmetric black holes horizons and wormhole throats, Physical Review D103 (2021) 124024; arXiv:2104.08935 [gr-qc], by D. McNutt, W. Julius, M. Gorban, B. Mattingly, and G. Cleaver.

Curvature Invariants for the Alcubierre and Natario Warp Drive, Universe 7 (2021) 2; arXiv:2011.03464 [gr-qc], by B. Mattingly, A. Kar, M. Gorban, W. Julius, C. Watson, M.D. Ali, A. Baas, C. Elmore, J. Lee, B. Shakerin, E. Davis, and G. Cleaver.

Curvature Invariants for the Accelerating Natario Warp Drive, Particles 3 (2020) 1, 624-659; arXiv:2008.03366 [gr-qc], by B. Mattingly, A. Kar, M. Gorban, W. Julius, C. Watson, M.D. Ali, A. Baas, C. Elmore, J. Lee, B. Shakerin, E. Davis, and G. Cleaver.

Curvature Invariants for Lorentzian Traversable Wormholes, Universe 6 (2020) 1; arXiv:1806.10985 [gr-qc], by B. Mattingly, A. Kar, W. Julius, M. Gorban, C. Watson, M.D. Ali, A. Baas, C. Elmore, B. Shakerin, E. Davis, and G. Cleaver.

Investigations of the Quantum Vacuum as an Energy Sink for Subcritical and Supercritical Vaporization Lasers, Heliyon 6 (2020) 1; arXiv:1804.07157 [gr-qc], by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Pre-inflationary perturbations from deformed algebra approach in loop quantum cosmology, Physical Review D99 (2019) 10, 103536; arXiv:1812.11191 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, K. Kirsten, G. Cleaver, Q. Sheng and Q. Wu.

Primordial non-Gaussianity and power asymmetry with quantum gravitational effects in loop quantum cosmology, Physical Review D97 (2018) 4, 043501; arXiv:1705.07544 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, K. Kirsten, G. Cleaver, Q. Sheng and Q. Wu.

Pre-inflationary universe in loop quantum cosmology, Physical Review D96 (2017) 083520, arXiv:1705.07544 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng and Q. Wu.

Lorentz Gauge Theory of Gravity in Electron Positron Colliders, Classical and Quantum Gravity 34 (2017) 22, 225013; arXiv:1705.07522 [gr-qc], by A. Borzou, G. Cleaver, and B. Mirza.

Hawking Radiation from Regular Black Holes as a Possible Probe for Black Hole Interior Structer, International Journal of Theoretical Physics 56 (2017) 741; arXiv:1602.06035 [gr-qc], by Y. Deng and G. Cleaver.

White Holes as the Asymptotic Limit of Evaporating Primordial Black Holes, International Journal of Modern Physics A31 (2016), 30, 1650162; arXiv:1602.05505 [physics.gen-ph], by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Universal features of quantum bounce in loop quantum gravity, Physics Letters B773 (2017) 196-202, arXiv:1607.06329 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng and Q. Wu.

High-Order Primordial Perturbations with Quantum Gravitational Effects, Physical Review D93 (2016) 12, 123525; arXiv:1604.05739 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng and Q. Wu.

Exclusion of the Magnus Effect as a Mechanism for Shotgun Pellet Dispersion, SCIREA Journal of Physics 2 (2017) 9, by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Matter-Antimatter Propulsion via QFT Effects from Parallel Electric and Magnetic Fields, Proceedings of the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, Feb 2016, Chattanooga, Tennessee, by G. Cleaver.

Inflationary spectra with inverse-volume corrections in loop quantum cosmology and their observational constraints from Planck 2015, Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 03 (2016) 046; arXiv:1510.03855 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng. 

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Power Spectrum as a Random Bit Generator for Symmetric and Asymmetric-Key Cryptography, Heliyon 3 (2017) e00422; arXiv:1508.04817 [cs.CR], by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Scalar and tensor perturbations in loop quantum gravity: high-order corrections, Journal of Cosmology and Astrophysics 15 (2015) 10, 052; arXiv:1508.03239 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng.

Black Suns: Ocular Invisibility of Relativistic Luminous Astrophysical Bodies, Journal of High Energy Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology 2 (2016) 4; arXiv:1508.04817 [phys.gen-ph], by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Ultra-Relativistic Density Inflation of Astrophysical Bodies in Apparent Black Holes, Journal of Applied Physical Science International  9 (2017) 51-53; by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

The Inability of the White-Juday Warp Field Interferometer to Spectrally Resolve Spacetime Distortions, International Journal of Modern Physics: Advances in Theory and Application 2 (2017) 35; arXiv:1407.7772 [gr-qc], by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Relativistic Drag and Emission Pressure in an Isotropic Photonic Gas, Modern Physics Letters A31 (2016) 1650118; arXiv:1508.00534 [gr-qc], by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Detecting Quantum Gravitational Effects of Loop Quantum Cosmology in the Early Universe? Astrophysics Journal 807 (2015) 1, L17; arXiv:1503.06761, by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng.

Ultra Relativistic Thermodynamics and Aberrations of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, Mod. Phys. Lett. A30 (2015) 09, 1550045, by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Effects of External Radiation on an Alcubierre Warp Bubble, Physics Essays 29 (2016) 201, by J. Lee and G. Cleaver.

Effects of Higher-Order Operators in Non-Relativistic Lifshitz Holography, Physical Review D91 (2015) 6, 064018; arXiv:1407.1194 [gr-qc], by X. Wang, J. Yang, M. Tian, A. Wang, Y. Deng, and G. Cleaver.

Power Spectra and Spectral Indices of k-Inflation: Higher Order Corrections, Physical Review D90 (2014) 103517; arXiv:1407.8011 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng.

Gravitational Quantum Effects on Power Spectra and Spectral Indices with Higher-Order Corrections, Physical Review D90 (2014) 063503; arXiv:1405.5301 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng.

Inflationary Cosmology with Nonlinear Dispersion Relations, Physical Review D89 (2014) 043507; arXiv:1308.5708 [gr-qc], by T Z.hu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng.

Constructing Analytical Solutions of Linear Perturbations of Inflation with Modified Dispersion Relations, Int, J. of Mod. Phys. A29 (2014) 23, 1450142, arXiv:1308.1104 [gr-qc], by T. Zhu, A. Wang, G. Cleaver, K. Kirsten, and Q. Sheng.

Gauge Models in D-Dimensions, Mod. Phys. Lett. A28 (20113) 1350055, arXiv:1302.5353 [hep-th], by D. Moore, J. Greenwald, and G. Cleaver.

Initial Systematic Investigation of the Landscape of Low Layer NAHE-Variation Extensions, ISRN High Energy Physics (2013) 595070; arXiv:1111.1263 [hep-th], by J. Greenwald, D. Moore, T. Renner, and G. Cleaver.