Corey Stevenson Powell (born January 7, 1966) is an American science writer and journalist, particularly known for his writing for ''

Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * ...

'' magazine, of which he became Editor-in-Chief in 2012, and his longstanding collaboration with

Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...

. Powell co-authored three books with Nye, and as of 2019 co-hosted a podcast with Nye as well.

Early life, education

Powell graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

with a degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, with his senior thesis, published in 1988, being on "J. Homer Lane and the Internal Structure of the Sun." Powell became a writer for ''Discover'' and in 2002 published his first book, ''God in the Equation : How Einstein Transformed Religion''. Powell contended therein that traditional forms of religion are giving way to a new cultural fusion of science and mysticism, which Powell called sci/religion. Powell felt that this was brought about to a great degree by Albert Einstein's own embrace of the deistic elements of

Spinozism Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

. Reviews were somewhat mixed, with reviewers finding Powell to have strained too hard to find a religious theme in modern science.

Editor and author

Powell was a member of the editorial board of ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

'', and became the Editor-in-Chief of ''

'' in 2012. He has additionally been a SHERP visiting scholar at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. In 2014, Powell notably disputed the account written by astrophysicist

Steven Soter Steven Soter is an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence for New York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural H ...

in the segment of '' Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'' addressing the story of

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmolo ...

, the dispute described as follows: Powell has co-authored three books with

: *'' Everything All at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap Into Radical Curiosity, and Solve Any Problem'' (July 11, 2017) *'' Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World'' (Nov 10, 2015) *'' Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation'' (Nov 4, 2014) Beginning in 2019, Powell co-hosted Nye's podcast, of which Nye commented that Powell was "very well read about the news of science, and he offers charming commentary".

Personal life

Powell is married with two daughters, and lives in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Corey S. 1966 births Harvard University alumni Disney people Bill Nye American science journalists Writers from Brooklyn Living people Discover (magazine) people