Greene was born in New York City of Jewish background.[6] His father, Alan Greene, was a one-time vaudeville performer and high school dropout who later worked as a voice coach and composer.
Greene joined the physics faculty of Cornell University in 1990, received tenure in 1993, and was appointed to a full professorship in 1995.[12] The following year, he joined the faculty of Columbia University as a full professor.[13] At Columbia, Greene is director of the university’s center for theoretical physics and is leading a research program at the intersection of string theory, mathematical physics, and cosmology.[14]
Research
Greene's area of research is string theory, a candidate for a theory of quantum gravity. He is known for his contribution to the understanding of the different shapes the curled-up dimensions of string theory can take. The most important of these shapes are so-called Calabi–Yau manifolds; when the extra dimensions take on those particular forms, physics in three dimensions exhibits an abstract symmetry known as supersymmetry.[15]
Greene co-discovered a particular class of symmetry relating two different Calabi–Yau manifolds, known as mirror symmetry[16] and is known for his research on the flop-transition,[17][18] a mild form of topology change, and also the conifold transition,[19] a more severe transformation of space, showing that topology in string theory can change smoothly.[20]
Greene’s first book, The Elegant Universe, was adapted into a three-part PBS television special of the same name, hosted and narrated by Greene, which won a 2003 Peabody Award.[31]
Greene’s second book, The Fabric of the Cosmos, was adapted into a four-part PBS television special of the same name, hosted and narrated by Greene, which premiered in 2011[32] and was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards.[33]
Greene was also featured in ABC’sNightline in Primetime: Brave New World series.[34]
Greene wrote the stage work Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession of Einstein, which traces Albert Einstein’s discovery of the General Theory of Relativity, and his subsequent failed attempts to find what he called “the unified theory.” The original score was written by Jeff Beal and visuals and stage production were created by 59 Productions, with executive producer Tracy Day. The work premiered on February 19, 2019 at the Gerald Lynch Theater in New York City,[36] with Greene in the role of narrator, and was filmed by Great Performances for national broadcast on PBS on the centenary of the confirmation of General Relativity, May 29, 2019.[37]
In 2008, together with former ABC News producer Tracy Day, Greene co-founded the World Science Festival[39][40][41][42] as a forum for cultivating “a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.”[43] Since its founding, the World Science Festival has produced more than a thousand live and digital programs on subjects including cosmology, astronomy, quantum mechanics, particle physics, black holes, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, consciousness, quantum biology, genius, creativity, astrobiology, extrasolar planets and psychedelics.[44] These programs have involved hundreds of scientists, technologists, and artists.[45]
Greene was a technical consultant for the film Frequency, in which he also had a cameo role. He was a consultant on the 2006 time-travel movie Déjà Vu. He also had a cameo appearance as an Intel scientist in 2007's The Last Mimzy. Greene was also mentioned in the 2002 Angel episode "Supersymmetry" and in the 2008 Stargate Atlantis episode "Trio".
Greene has lectured outside of the collegiate setting, at both a general and a technical level, in more than twenty-five countries and all seven continents. In 2012, he received the Richtmyer Memorial Award, which is given annually by the American Association of Physics Teachers.[62]
2013 Merck-Serono Book Prize for Literature and Science, for The Hidden Reality
2020 Michael Pupin Medal for Service to the Nation in Science[76]
2025 AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science[77]
Personal life
Greene is married to former ABC producer Tracy Day.[78] They have one son, Alec, and one daughter, Sophia. Greene has been vegetarian since he was nine years old and a vegan since 1997.[79][80][81]
Greene has stated that he regards science as being incompatible with literalist interpretations of religion and that there is much in the New Atheism movement which resonates with him because he personally does not feel the need for religious explanation. However, he is uncertain of its efficacy as a strategy for spreading a scientific worldview.[82] In an interview with The Guardian he stated: "When I'm looking to understand myself as a human, and how I fit in to the long chain of human culture that reaches back thousands of years, religion is a deeply valuable part of that story."[83]
^Yau, Shing-Tung, ed. (1992). Essays on mirror manifolds. International series in mathematical physics. Hong Kong: International Press. ISBN978-962-7670-01-8.
^Greene, Brian (2003). The elegant universe: superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory. New York London: Norton. ISBN978-0-393-33810-2.
^"Profile of Brian Greene". Royce Carlton Incorporated. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
^Greene, Brian (2005). The fabric of the cosmos: space, time, and the texture of reality (First Vintage books ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN978-0-375-72720-7.
^ abFerris, Timothy (February 4, 2011). "Expanding Horizons". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
^Greene, Brian (2011). The hidden reality: parallel universes and the deep laws of the cosmos (1. Vintage Books ed.). New York, NY: Vintage Books. ISBN978-0-307-27812-8.
^Greene, Brian (2020). Until the end of time: mind, matter, and our search for meaning in an evolving universe (First ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf Books. ISBN978-1-5247-3167-0.
^"Brian Greene", The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert, Brian Greene, November 28, 2005, retrieved January 23, 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
