Alan Lightman
American physicist, writer, and novelist (born 1948) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Alan Paige Lightman (born November 28, 1948) is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur.[1][2] He has served on the faculties of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is currently a professor of the practice of the humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (April 2018) |
Alan Lightman | |
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Born | (1948-11-28) November 28, 1948 (age 75) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
Education | Princeton University (BA) California Institute of Technology (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics Creative writing |
Institutions | Professor of the Practice of the Humanities, MIT Founder and Chairman of Harpswell |
Thesis | I. Time-dependent accretion disks around compact objects. II. Theoretical frameworks for analyzing and testing gravitation theories (1974) |
Doctoral advisor | Kip S. Thorne |
Lightman was one of the first persons at MIT to hold a joint faculty position in both the sciences and the humanities.[3] His thinking and writing explore the intersection of the sciences and humanities, especially the multilogues among science, philosophy, religion, and spirituality.[4][5]
Lightman is the author of the international bestseller Einstein's Dreams.[3][6] and his novel The Diagnosis was a finalist for the National Book Award.[7] He is also the founder of Harpswell, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance a new generation of women leaders in Southeast Asia.[8]
Lightman hosts the public-television series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science.[9]
He has received six honorary doctoral degrees.