Janna J. Levin (born 1967) is an American theoretical cosmologist and a professor of physics and astronomy at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

with a concentration in philosophy 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 List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

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 Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

. Other work includes

black holes A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

and

chaos theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of Scientific method, scientific study and branch of mathematics. It focuses on underlying patterns and Deterministic system, deterministic Scientific law, laws of dynamical systems that are highly sens ...

. 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, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

-speaking Jewish parents in Texas. Her grandparents were immigrants from eastern Europe, who eventually gave up keeping

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

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

bat mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they a ...

ed). Levin attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

for her bachelor's degree and

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

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 wave Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that Wave propagation, travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravity, gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside i ...

s in the shape of

spacetime In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualiz ...

. In addition she is the director of sciences at

Pioneer Works Pioneer Works is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit cultural arts center in the Red Hook, Brooklyn, Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City that was founded by artist Dustin Yellin in 2012. Pioneer Works includes a large exhibition spac ...

. 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 2006 book by Janna Levin that contrasts fictionalized accounts of the lives and ideas of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing (who never met). The book won several awards, including the PEN/Bingham Fellowship ...

'', 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 profoundly ...

and

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

. 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 is the Department of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin School of Art grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later ...

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 Royal ...

. 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 ...

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

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

show ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, 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 ...

'' 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?" This podcast shoul ...

'' 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 public intellectual. Since 2003, she has served as creator and host of the Peabody Award winning program '' On Being''. In 2014, Tippett was awarded the ...

. Levin presented "The sound the universe makes" on TED.com 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, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

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. Prior to LIG ...

and the 2015 discovery of

gravitational waves Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1893 and then later by H ...

. In a review of the book published in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', 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

Jonathan Nolan and Janna Levin at the Sundance Film Festival 2024-9375

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 Connell ...

, 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 Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 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 American 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