Amanda Gefter (born 16 August 1980) is an American science writer, noteworthy for her 2014 book Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn. [1] [2] [3] The book won Physics World's 2015 book of the year award. [4]
Amanda Gefter has a master's degree in the Philosophy and History of Science from the London School of Economics. For the academic year 2012–2013 she was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
Her articles, specializing in cosmology and fundamental physics, have been published in The New York Times, Nautilus, New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature, Sky and Telescope, and several other journals. She is a former co-director of the collaborative group NeuWrite Boston and a current co-host, with science journalist Dan Falk, of BookLab, a podcast about popular science books. [5]
The pattern of Amanda Gefter's life has been influenced by an inherited circadian rhythm disorder called delayed sleep phase syndrome. [6] She married Justin Smith in July 2017. Their relationship was dramatized in the Modern Love episode "The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy." [7]
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Best known for developing the theory of relativity, he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius". Einsteinium, one of the synthetic elements in the periodic table, was named in his honor.
Lee Smolin is an American theoretical physicist, a faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo and a member of the graduate faculty of the philosophy department at the University of Toronto. Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics criticized string theory as a viable scientific theory. He has made contributions to quantum gravity theory, in particular the approach known as loop quantum gravity. He advocates that the two primary approaches to quantum gravity, loop quantum gravity and string theory, can be reconciled as different aspects of the same underlying theory. He also advocates an alternative view on space and time he calls temporal naturalism. His research interests also include cosmology, elementary particle theory, the foundations of quantum mechanics, and theoretical biology.
Kip Stephen Thorne is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. A longtime friend and colleague of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, he was the Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) until 2009 and speaks of the astrophysical implications of general theory of relativity. He continues to do scientific research and scientific consulting, most notably for the Christopher Nolan film Interstellar. Thorne was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Rainer Weiss and Barry C. Barish "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".
Michio Kaku is an American theoretical physicist, futurist, and popularizer of science. He is a professor of theoretical physics in the City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center. Kaku is the author of several books about physics and related topics and has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film. He is also a regular contributor to his own blog, as well as other popular media outlets. For his efforts to bridge science and science fiction, he is a 2021 Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Awardee.
Slate is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 2004, it was purchased by The Washington Post Company, and since 2008 has been managed by The Slate Group, an online publishing entity created by Graham Holdings. Slate is based in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C.
Lawrence Maxwell Krauss is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who previously taught at Arizona State University, Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project in 2008 to investigate fundamental questions about the universe and served as the project's director.
Physics World is the membership magazine of the Institute of Physics, one of the largest physical societies in the world. It is an international monthly magazine covering all areas of physics, pure and applied, and is aimed at physicists in research, industry, physics outreach, and education worldwide.
George Johnson is an American journalist and science writer.
Dennis Overbye is a science writer specializing in physics and cosmology and is the cosmic affairs correspondent for The New York Times.
Melissa Kirsch is an American author who writes predominantly about media, politics, and women's issues. Her most recent book, The Girl’s Guide, provides advice to women on topics ranging from financial issues to dating. Currently, Kirsch lives in New York City, blogs for the Huffington Post, and writes the "My Secret Library" column for the KGB Bar Lit.
Dan Falk is a Canadian science journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has written for The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Walrus, Cottage Life, SkyNews, Astronomy and New Scientist, and has contributed to the CBC radio programs Ideas, Quirks and Quarks, Tapestry and Spark.
Jennifer Ouellette is a science writer based in Los Angeles, California.
Jeremy Bernstein is an American theoretical physicist and popular science writer.
Elizabeth Day is an English novelist, journalist and broadcaster. She was a feature writer for The Observer from 2007 to 2016, and wrote for You magazine. Day has written six books, and is also the host of the podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.
Nautilus Quarterly is a New York-based online and print science magazine. It publishes one issue on a selected topic each month on its website, releasing one chapter each Thursday. Issue topics have included human uniqueness, time, uncertainty, genius, mergers & acquisitions, and feedback. Nautilus also publishes a print edition six times a year, and a daily blog called Facts So Romantic.
Corey Stevenson Powell is an American science writer and journalist, particularly known for his writing for Discover magazine, of which he became Editor-in-Chief in 2012, and his longstanding collaboration with Bill Nye. Powell co-authored three books with Nye, and as of 2019 co-hosted a podcast with Nye as well.
Natalie Ann Wolchover is a science journalist. She is a senior writer and editor for Quanta Magazine, and has been involved with Quanta's development since its inception in 2013. In 2022 she won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.
Christie Aschwanden is an American journalist and the former lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight. Her 2019 book GOOD TO GO: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn From the Strange Science of Recovery, was a New York Times bestseller. She was awarded an American Association for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2016 and serves on the board of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
Chiara Marletto is a theoretical physicist at Wolfson College, Oxford. She is a pioneer in the field of constructor theory, a generalization of the quantum theory of information.
Amy Maxmen is an American science journalist who writes about evolution, medicine, science policy and scientists. She was awarded the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting for her coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other awards for her reporting on Ebola and malaria.