Janna Levin
Janna J. Levin {born 1967) is a theoretical cosmologist. She holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, granted in 1993, and a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy and Physics from Barnard College, granted in 1988. 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.[1] Other work includes black holes and Chaos theory. Since January 2004, she has been an assistant professor in astronomy and physics at Barnard College.
Biography
Levin is the author of the popular science book How the Universe Got Its Spots. In 2006, she published A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, a novel of ideas recounting the lives and deaths of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing.[2] In an interview with Sylvie Myerson in the Brooklyn Rail, Levin said of her book: "There was a lot that made me want to write it as a novel, one being this whole idea that sometimes truth cannot come out as a theorem even in mathematics, let alone in a retelling of two people’s lives. Sometimes you have to step outside of the perfect linear logic of biographical facts."[2] The book won several awards, including the prestigious PEN/Bingham Fellowship Prize for Writers and the MEA Mary Shelley Award for Outstanding Fictional Work. It was also a runner-up for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award.
Levin has written a series of essays to accompany exhibitions at several galleries in England, including the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art and the Hayward Gallery.[3] Levin was featured on Talk of the Nation on July 12, 2002.[4] She appeared as a guest on Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central show The Colbert Report on August 24, 2006.[5] She also appeared as the featured guest on the Speaking of Faith radio show on February 22, 2009, where she discussed her book "A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines" with the show's host Krista Tippett.[6] Levin presented "The sound the universe makes: Janna Levin on TED.com" on March 1, 2011.[7] She was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2012.[8]
Personal life
Levin is the parent of two children, a son born in 2004 and a daughter born in 2007. Levin did not officially graduate from high school, as she was in a serious car accident and hospitalized for a time.[8]
References
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Janna Levin |
- ^ Levin, Janna. "In space, do all roads lead to home?". +Plus Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ a b Myerson, Sylvie (September 2007). "Janna Levin in conversation with Sylvie Myerson". Brooklyn Rail.
- ^ "The Office of Janna Levin: Art". Janna Levin. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- ^ "The Office of Janna Levin: Video + Audio". Janna Levin. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- ^ "Janna Levin - The Colbert Report". Comedy Central. Viacom. 2006-08-24. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- ^ "Mathematics, Purpose, and Truth | On Being". Speaking of Faith. 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- ^ "TED Blog | The sound the universe makes: Janna Levin on TED.com". Blog.ted.com. 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- ^ a b "The Office of Janna Levin: Bio + Photos". Janna Levin. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
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