RAU Science Talks

Lawrence Krauss is one of the world’s most well-known theoretical physicists as well as being a bestselling author, and an acclaimed lecturer. He is currently President of The Origins Project Foundation, which celebrates science and culture by connecting scientists, artists, writers and celebrities with the public through special events, online discussions and unique travel opportunities. The Foundation produces the Origins Podcast, a video podcast he hosts involving dialogues with the most interesting people in the world discussing issues that address the global challenges of the 21st century.

His own research interests have focused on the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology, including the origin and evolution of the Universe and the fundamental structure of matter, and efforts to understand and detect so-called dark matter that appears to dominate the mass of all galaxies. Among his numerous important scientific contributions was the proposal, in 1995, that most of the energy of the Universe resided in empty space, which was confirmed by two groups of observers in 1998, who were later awarded the Nobel Prize for that discovery.

Before taking his current position, Krauss served as Director of Arizona State University’s Origins Project, a national center for research and outreach on origins issues, and as Foundation Professor at ASU from 2008-2018, and also as Chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists from 2008-2018. During his career Prof. Krauss has held endowed professorships and distinguished research appointments at institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Boston University, University of Zurich, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), Case Western Reserve University, Australian National University, Arizona State University, and New College of Humanities.

Beyond his scientific work, Krauss has been one of the world’s most active and successful science popularizers and a vocal advocate for science and reason vs pseudoscience and superstition, as well as sound public policy. He has written over 500 publications and 11 popular books, including the international best-sellers, The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing. His most recent book, The Physics of Climate Change was released in February 2021. He has written regularly for magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the New Yorker, and appears regularly on radio, television and most recently in several feature films. Among his numerous awards are included the three major awards from all 3 US physics societies and the 2012 Public Service Award from the National Science Board for his contributions to the public understanding of science.