Harry Kesten

Research centers on probability theory, and in particular in random walk and some probabilistic models related to statistical physics. He gave the first rigorous proof that the critical probability for two-dimensional bond percolation equals 1/2. He also proved that if the critical exponents for two-dimensional percolation exist, then they must satisfy several of the scaling relations proposed by physicists. His recent interest is in properties of the asymptotic shape and the fluctuations of the passage times in first-passage percolation.