2014 Interviews

World Science U

Greene, Brian; Dreifus, Claudia; Matiz, A. Mauricio

Brian Greene discusses his latest project, World Science U, with writer Claudia Dreifus. Brian Greene is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, and is widely recognized for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory, including the co-discoveries of mirror symmetry and topology change. His first book for general audiences, The Elegant Universe, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has sold more than a million copies worldwide. His more recent books, The Fabric of the Cosmos and The Hidden Reality, were both New York Times bestsellers, and inspired the Washington Post to call him "the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today." Greene's latest project, World Science U, brings science education online with innovative digital courses available to anyone with an interest in science. Greene makes frequent media appearances on programs such as Charlie Rose, The Colbert Report and David Letterman. He has hosted two NOVA specials, based on The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos, which were nominated for four Emmy Awards and won a George Foster Peabody Award. Professor Greene is co-director of Columbia's Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics, and with producer Tracy Day, he is co-founder of the World Science Festival. Claudia Dreifus, a journalist and adjunct professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, is well known for her interviews in the New York Times with leading figures in world politics and science. Maurice Matiz, CCNMTL's acting executive director, moderates the discussion on World Science U, online learning, and the changing role of the university professor.