Interview with Arthur Jaffe, the Landon Clay Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Science at Harvard University. Jaffe discusses his childhood in New York, where his father was a physician. He shares memories of life during World War II and his affinity for building model airplanes and radios. Jaffe recalls the factors that led him to pursue his undergraduate degree at Princeton, where he began as a chemistry major but switched to physics. He recounts how he learned about the work of Arthur Wightman, leading him to continue at Princeton for his graduate studies. Jaffe describes his work on bosonic field theories and his time at a summer program in Montenegro. He discusses his move to Stanford and his work in the theory group at SLAC under Sidney Drell. Jaffe recalls the beginnings of his collaboration with James Glimm, as well as his move to Harvard. He explains his role in forming the Clay Mathematics Institute at Harvard and discusses his involvement in the International Association of Mathematical Physics and the American Mathematical Society. Jaffe shares his take on topics such as superstring theory, supersymmetry, and the four-dimensional problem, and reflects more broadly on changes he has seen in the field of mathematics over the years.
