Janna J. Levin (born 1967) is an American theoretical cosmologist and a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of physics and astronomy at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

with a concentration in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at Barnard College in 1988 and a PhD in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1993. Much of her work deals with looking for evidence to support the proposal that our universe might be finite in size due to its having a nontrivial

topology In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...

. Other work includes

black holes A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...

and

chaos theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to have co ...

. She joined the faculty at Barnard College in January 2004 and is currently the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

Biography

Levin was born to

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-speaking Jewish parents in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Her grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe, who eventually gave up keeping

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

. She describes her household as mostly not religious (Levin was not brought to synagogue and was not bat mitzvahed). Levin attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for her bachelor's degree and

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

for her Ph.D, graduating in 1993. In 2002 she held a research fellowship at Cambridge University (England). Janna Levin is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University with a grant from the Tow Foundation. She researches

, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and

gravitational waves Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity generated by the accelerated masses of an orbital binary system that Wave propagation, propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliv ...

in the shape of

spacetime In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize relativistic effects, such as why differen ...

. In addition she is the director of sciences at

Pioneer Works Pioneer Works is a non-profit cultural center in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Red Hook, New York City. The center builds community through the arts and sciences to create an open and inspired world. It encourages radical thinking across disciplines by provi ...

. Levin is the author of the popular science book ''How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space''. In 2006, she published ''

A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines ''A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines'' is a book by Janna Levin which contrasts fictionalized accounts of the lives and ideas of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing (who never met). First published in 2006, the book won several awards, including the pre ...

'', a novel of ideas recounting the lives and deaths of

Kurt Gödel Kurt Friedrich Gödel ( , ; April 28, 1906 – January 14, 1978) was a logician, mathematician, and philosopher. Considered along with Aristotle and Gottlob Frege to be one of the most significant logicians in history, Gödel had an imme ...

and

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...

. Levin has written a series of essays to accompany exhibitions at several galleries in England, including the

Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

and the

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Roy ...

. Levin was featured on ''

Talk of the Nation ''Talk of the Nation'' (''TOTN'') is an American talk radio program based in Washington D.C., produced by National Public Radio (NPR) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on current events and controversial issu ...

'' on July 12, 2002. She appeared as a guest on Stephen Colbert's

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

show ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'' on August 24, 2006. She also appeared as the featured guest on the ''

Speaking of Faith ''On Being'' is a podcast and a former public radio program. Hosted by Krista Tippett, it examines what it calls the "animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?" Radio program and ...

'' radio show on February 22, 2009, where she discussed her book ''A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines'' with the show's host

Krista Tippett Krista Tippett ( née Weedman; born November 9, 1960) is an American journalist, author, and entrepreneur. She created and hosts the public radio program and podcast ''On Being''. In 2014, Tippett was awarded the National Humanities Medal by U.S. ...

. Levin presented "The sound the universe makes" on

TED.com TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

on March 1, 2011. She was named a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 2012. Her book ''Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space'' was published in March, 2016. The book is about the history of the

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large ...

and the 2015 discovery of

. In a review of the book published in the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', British astrophysicist

John Gribbin John R. Gribbin (born 19 March 1946) is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the orig ...

wrote, "This is a splendid book that I recommend to anyone with an interest in how science works and in the power of human imagination and ability." In January 2018 she hosted Nova's award-winning episode "Black Hole Apocalypse."

Personal life

Levin did not officially graduate from high school, as she was in a serious car accident and hospitalized for a time. Levin is the parent of two children, a son born in 2004 and a daughter born in 2007. Her partner, Warren, is a musician."Cosmic girl's chaos theory" by Anjana Ahuja, The Times (London) part 2, February 11, 2002, page 10

Bibliography

* ''How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space'',

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

, 2002 * ''

'', Anchor, 2009 * ''Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space'',

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 2016 * ''Black Hole Survival Guide'',

, 2020

References

External links

* *
About her personal life
and marriage with Warren Malone, including pictures. (The Moth Radio website). *
"The Sound The Universe Makes"
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Janna 1967 births Living people Academics of the University of Cambridge American educators 21st-century American physicists Barnard College faculty Barnard College alumni American cosmologists Theoretical physicists 21st-century American women writers Jewish American scientists American women academics Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Columbia University alumni 21st-century American Jews Fellows of the American Physical Society