Greene, Brian 1963–

PERSONAL: Born February 9, 1963, in New York, NY; son of Alan (a voice coach and composer) Greene. Education: Harvard University, B.S., 1984; Oxford University, Ph.D., 1987.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Office—Columbia University, Department of Physics, 538 W. 120th St., New York, NY 10027. E-mail—greene@math.columbia.edu; greene@physics.columbia.edu.

CAREER: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, associate professor of physics, 1990–95, professor of physics, 1995–96; Theoretical Advanced Study Institute, director, 1996; Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics (ISCAP), co-director; Columbia University, New York, NY, professor of physics and mathematics, 1996–. Guest on television programs, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Charlie Rose, Nova, and Newshour with Jim Lehrer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Phi Beta Kappa Book Award for science, 1999; Aventis Prize for Science Books, 2000; Public Understanding of Science Award, 2001; New York Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, 2002; Andrew Gemant, American Institute of Physics, 2003.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with S.T. Yau) Mirror Symmetry II, American Mathematical Society (Providence, RI), 1997.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 1999.

Superstrings and Related Matters: Proceedings of the 1999 Spring Workshop on the Abdus Salam ICTP, World Scientific (NJ), 2000.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, Knopf (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributes regularly to scholarly journals.

ADAPTATIONS: The Elegant Universe was adapted for film and produced on Public Broadcasting System's Nova.

SIDELIGHTS: Scientist and educator Brian Greene was born and raised in New York City, the son of a former vaudevillian who worked as a composer and voice coach. Greene became fascinated by numbers and mathematics at a young age, and would play around with math problems in his spare time. By the age of six he was able to multiply thirty-digit numbers, and by sixth grade he had exhausted the mathematics curriculum at his public school. Greene graduated from the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in 1980 and went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics from Harvard University, and his doctorate from Oxford University in England as a Rhodes scholar. He has taught physics at Cornell University, and serves as a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University in New York. In addition to his teaching and research, Greene has appeared on such television programs as Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Charlie Rose, Nova, and Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and he has served as a science advisor for theater and films, briefly appearing in the film Frequency in 2000. He is considered one of the world's foremost experts on string theory, and his books are written in layman's terms, sending them to the top of bestseller lists across the country.

With The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory Greene takes the complicated string theory that many scientists believe might explain everything in the universe and makes it accessible to the non-scientific reader. He starts with the three most vital conflicts that physicists have faced during the twentieth century: the first two of which have been solved by the theories of relativity and general relativity. He then explains how string theory might resolve the third problem: the incompatibility between general relativity and quantum mechanics. He discusses the ideas of multiple dimensions and parallel universes, accounting for black holes and illustrating ideas that many novices might consider science fiction rather than potential scientific fact. Jennifer Birriel, in a review for Astronomy, remarked that "Greene has a rare gift for explaining the most challenging scientific ideas, and everyone can appreciate his refreshingly insightful explanations." Writing for Discover, Jeffrey Winters commented that "if string theory has an unimpressive list of accomplishments thus far—its main claim is that it predicted gravity—it has an enthusiastic and effective advocate in Greene." Winters added that, "even if the universe turns out to be less elegant than Greene envisions, his book is a rewarding read and a fine introduction to what has been a rather arcane field. Einstein would approve." A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that Greene "possesses a remarkable gift for using the everyday to illustrate what may be going on in dimensions beyond our feeble human perception."

Greene's follow-up volume, The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, takes a scientific look at both historical and present-day opinions regarding the nature of space and time. The author starts with a problem proposed by Newton, regarding the behavior of water in a bucket if the bucket is set to spin. The water takes on a different shape within the bucket, clinging to the walls and hollowing toward the middle. Newton questioned whether the result would be identical if the experiment were conducted in a completely empty universe. The challenge revolved around space and time, and how each affects movement and the laws of science. Greene then gives an overview of the developments in modern physics, and how general relativity and quantum mechanics affect space-time. James Trefil, in a Science review remarked: "This is—not to put too fine a point on it—the best exposition and explanation of early 21st-century research into the fundamental nature of the universe as you are likely to find anywhere." James A. Buczynski, in an article for Library Journal, called Greene's book a "thought-provoking account of where we are in our understanding of the universe," while a contributor for Publishers Weekly noted that "Greene not only makes concepts clear but explains why they matter."

Greene's goal for his writing is to make scientific principles and theories accessible to the non-scientific community. Going forward, he anticipates that the public's curiosity will continue as greater breakthroughs are achieved. In an interview for Powells.com, Greene remarked: "I do think that space and time will be the key enigmas for years, if not decades, to come, but once that is cracked I think people may be able to answer questions like How did the universe really begin? Where did it all come from? We still don't know. The ability to address these questions quantitatively, which I believe we'll be able to do in the next few decades, will be another major moment in human thought. We will perhaps have come to an explanation and understanding of how there is anything at all, why there is something rather than nothing—the great philosophical question. To make headway on that would be a major achievement."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Scientist, July-August, 2004, Lee Smolin, "Unraveling Space and Time," p. 371.

America's Intelligence Wire, March 11, 2005, Jonathan Sidhu, "Brown U: Physicist: Inability to See Other Dimensions Evolutionary."

Astronomy, October, 1999, Jennifer Birriel, review of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, p. 102.

Booklist, March 15, 2000, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 1337; February 15, 2004, Bryce Christensen, review of The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, p. 1013; December 1, 2004, Donna Seaman, "Top Ten SciTech Books," p. 632.

Chicago Tribune, October 27, 2003, Steve Johnson, "Nova's Universe Brings Quantum Mechanics to the Living Room."

Discover, June, 1999, Jeffrey Winters, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 95.

Economist, April 17, 2004, "All Strung Out: Popular Physics," p. 83.

Entertainment Weekly, February 27, 2004, Gregory Kirschling, "Master of the Universe," review of The Fabric of the Cosmos, p. 101.

Isis, June, 2004, Laurie M. Brown, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 327.

Kliatt, November, 2004, Sunnie Grant, review of The Fabric of the Cosmos, p. 55.

Library Journal, February 15, 1999, James Olson, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 179; March 15, 2004, James A. Buczynski, review of The Fabric of the Cosmos, p. 103; July, 2004, I. Pour-El, review of The Fabric of the Cosmos, p. 125; September 15, 2004, LaRoi Lawton, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 86.

Newsweek, July 31, 2000, "Physics Envy: Brian Greene Makes the Cool Theory of Strings White Hot," p. 62.

Publishers Weekly, January 11, 1999, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 64; March 27, 2000, Daisy Maryles, "Stringing Readers Along," p. 22; February 9, 2004, review of The Fabric of the Cosmos, p. 74; February 9, 2004, Jeff Zaleski, "Writing Science: Inside the Elegant Universe of Brian Greene," p. 50.

Science, June 23, 1995, Gary Taubes, "How Black Holes Might Get String Theory out of a Bird," p. 1699; June 11, 1999, Sidney Perkowitz, review of The Elegant Universe, p. 1780; April 9, 2004, James Trefil, "Untangling the Universe," p. 212.

Skeptical Inquirer, July-August, 2004, James N. Gardner, "Fundamental Cosmological Understanding Eludes Us," p. 51.

U.S. News and World Report, October 27, 2003, Charles W. Petit, "Elegant Television," p. 73.

ONLINE

Columbia University, Physics Department Web site, http://columbia-physics.net/ (September 22, 2005), "Brian Greene."

Powells.com, http://www.powells.com/ (September 22, 2005), interview with Brian Greene.

Public Broadcasting System Web site, http://www.pbs.org/ (September 22, 2005), "Brian Greene."

Superstring Theory Web site, http://superstringtheory.com/ (September 22, 2005), "Brian Greene."