''Quanta Magazine'' is an editorially independent

online publication Electronic publishing (also referred to as e-publishing, digital publishing, or online publishing) includes the digital publication of e-books, Online magazine, digital magazines, and the development of digital library, digital libraries and cat ...

of the

Simons Foundation The Simons Foundation is an American private foundation established in 1994 by Marilyn and James Harris Simons, Jim Simons with offices in New York City. As one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States with assets of over $5 ...

covering developments in

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 ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

History

''Quanta Magazine'' was initially launched as ''Simons Science News'' in October 2012, but it was renamed to its current title in July 2013. It was founded by the former ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' journalist Thomas Lin, who was the magazine's

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

until 2024. The deputy editor is Michael Moyer, formerly of ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'', and the art director is Samuel Velasco. In 2024, Samir Patel became the magazine's second editor in chief.

Content

The articles in the magazine are freely available to read online. ''

'', ''Wired'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', as well as international science publications like '' Spektrum der Wissenschaft'', have reprinted articles from the magazine. Articles from the magazine have been translated into German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian and Japanese. In November 2018,

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

published two collections of articles from ''Quanta Magazine'', ''Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire'' and ''The Prime Number Conspiracy''. The magazine's YouTube channel has more than one million subscribers and publishes award-winning animated explainer videos and short documentaries. The magazine also has three podcasts, two of which are hosted by

Steven Strogatz Steven Henry Strogatz (; born August 13, 1959) is an American mathematician and author, and the Susan and Barton Winokur Distinguished Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics at Cornell University. He is known for his wor ...

Janna Levin Janna J. Levin (born 1967) is an American theoretical cosmologist and a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in astronomy and physics with a concentration in philosophy at Barnard College in 1988 an ...

joined as cohost of ''The Joy of Why'' for the third season in 2024.

Reception

Undark Magazine ''Undark Magazine'' is a nonprofit online publication exploring science as a "frequently wondrous, sometimes contentious, and occasionally troubling byproduct of human culture." The name Undark is a deliberate reference to a radium-based luminous ...

'' described ''Quanta Magazine'' as "highly regarded for its masterful coverage of complex topics in science and math." The science news aggregator ''RealClearScience'' ranked ''Quanta Magazine'' first on its list of "The Top 10 Websites for Science in 2018." In 2020, the magazine received a National Magazine Award for General Excellence from the

American Society of Magazine Editors The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is an industry trade group for magazine journalists and editors of magazines published in the United States. ASME includes the editorial leaders of most major consumer magazine in print and digital ...

for its "willingness to tackle some of the toughest and most difficult topics in science and math in a language that is accessible to the lay reader without condescension or

oversimplification The fallacy of the single cause, also known as complex cause, causal oversimplification, causal reductionism, root cause fallacy, and reduction fallacy, is an informal fallacy of questionable cause that occurs when it is assumed that there is a si ...

." In May 2022, the magazine's staff, notably

Natalie Wolchover Natalie Ann Wolchover (born October 16, 1986) is a science journalist. She is a senior writer and editor for ''Quanta Magazine'', and has been involved with ''Quanta''s development since its inception in 2013. In 2022 she won a Pulitzer Prize fo ...

, were awarded the

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...

for an article Wolchover wrote about the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

and an accompanying short documentary by Emily Buder.

References

External links

* *{{YouTube channel, handle=QuantaScienceChannel American science websites Magazines established in 2012 Online magazines published in the United States Popular science magazines Science and technology magazines published in the United States Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners 2012 establishments in the United States Popular mathematics