Avi Loeb
Harvard astrophysicist, author and Galileo Project director sharing research and essays about the first stars, black holes and the search for extraterrestrial life.
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Avi’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
John Murray
John Murray
Harvard University Press
TEDOverview
- Full name
- Abraham (Avi) Loeb
- Grew up
- Beit Hannan, Israel
- Education
- PhD in physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1986
- Work
- Astrophysicist, author and science communicator
- Known for
- Extraterrestrial, Interstellar and the Galileo Project
Mini bio
How it started.
Avi grew up on a farm in Beit Hannan, Israel, collecting eggs and taking a tractor into the hills to read philosophy. Military service led him into the Talpiot program and a physics PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1986. A fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton brought a switch from plasma physics to astrophysics.
From the first stars to Harvard.
He joined Harvard’s astronomy faculty in 1993 and earned tenure three years later. His research has ranged across the first stars and galaxies, black holes and the future of the Universe. He chaired Harvard’s astronomy department from 2011 to 2020 and was founding director of its Black Hole Initiative from 2016 to 2021.
A wider audience.
His work on the interstellar visitor ʻOumuamua brought him into a much wider public conversation. In 2018, he and Shmuel Bialy explored whether sunlight pushing on a thin object could explain its acceleration. His 2021 bestseller Extraterrestrial developed the possibility of an artificial origin. That interpretation remains disputed by other astronomers.
What fans can follow.
Avi co-founded the Galileo Project with Frank Laukien in 2021 to search for possible extraterrestrial technological artifacts. Alongside research, he publishes essays on Medium and shares talks and interviews on YouTube. His books include Interstellar and the astrobiology textbook Life in the Cosmos, written with Manasvi Lingam.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
- 2023Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the StarsAuthor
- 2021Life in the Cosmos: From Biosignatures to TechnosignaturesCo-author with Manasvi Lingam
- 2021Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond EarthAuthor
Talks and research
- 2024My search for proof aliens existTED2024 speaker
- 2021The Galileo ProjectCo-founder with Frank Laukien; director
- 2018Could Solar Radiation Pressure Explain 'Oumuamua's Peculiar Acceleration?Co-author with Shmuel Bialy
Awards
Quotes
And I regard science as a dialogue with nature.Avi Loeb, Big Brains podcast, University of Chicago
Explaining how growing up on a farm and reading philosophy shaped his approach to science.
Trivia
- As a child, he drove a tractor into the hills to read philosophy books by writers including Sartre, Camus and Nietzsche.
- He completed his physics PhD at age 24.
- Before becoming an astrophysicist, he worked in plasma physics.
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Read his essays, watch his talks and follow the search.
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