School of Arts and Sciences 2005 Dean's Forum
Brian Greene
physicist, string theorist, author of The Elegant Universe
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality
Brian Greene discussed how the fabric of time can tear and why the universe can evolve in far more dramatic ways than Einstein had envisioned. Greene is a physicist who has been working on superstring theory for more than a decade. He is widely recognized for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in the field and also for his lucid presentations of cutting-edge research to scientists and fellow physicists as well as to general audiences.
The Washington Post calls Greene “the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today.” His bestseller, The Elegant Universe, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Aventis Prize for Science Books, has been translated into 30 languages. In the fall of 2003, Greene hosted a three-part NOVA special “The Elegant Universe,” which received a 2004 Peabody Award for broadcast excellence. The NOVA Web site received nearly two million hits during the three-day airing of the show.
His latest work, The Fabric of the Cosmos, was selected by The New York Times as one of the notable books of 2004. He also worked with Robert LePage to develop his “Strings and Strings” collaboration with the Emerson Quartet for a series of performances at Lincoln Center.
Praise for The Elegant Universe
“A thoughtful and important book.... The Elegant Universe presents the ideas and aspirations – and some of the characters – of string theory with clarity and charm. It is both a personal story and the tale of a great intellectual movement.” – Scientific American
“An ambitious, patient, and frequently personal attempt to bring both the beauty and substance of string theory down to Earth for the general public.” – Los Angeles Times
“Greene does an admirable job of translating a wholly mathematical endeavor into visual terms. Throughout his work, he writes with poetic eloquence and style.” – Washington Post
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