MICHIO KAKU
PHYSICIST, FUTURIST AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR, TO DISCUSS HIS NEW BOOK, PHYSICS OF THE FUTURE
NYS Writers Institute, February 21, 2012
8:00 p.m. Reading | Ballroom, CampusCenter, Uptown Campus
CALENDAR LISTING:
Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, influential futurist, bestselling author and media personality, will discuss his most recent book, Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 (2011), on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. in the Ballroom, Campus Center, on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. The event is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and UAlbany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and is free and open to the public.
PROFILE
Michio Kaku, cutting-edge theoretical physicist, cofounder of “string field theory,” bestselling science writer and influential futurist, is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 (2011).
Scientific American called the new book, “Epic in its scope and heroic in its inspiration.” The San Francisco Chronicle reviewer called it, “Mind-bending....fascinating,” and said, “Kaku has a gift for explaining incredibly complex concepts… in language the lay reader can grasp.” USA Today said, “[Kaku] has the rare ability to take complicated scientific theories and turn them into readable tales about what our lives will be like in the future.... fun... fascinating. And just a little bit spooky.”
Of particular interest to Capital Region audiences, Kaku devotes a large portion of the book to anticipated developments in nanotechnology. Discussions of that field include programmable matter, nanoscale space ships, molecular replicators, medical nanosensors, carbon nanotubes and quantum computing.
Other recent bestsellers by Kaku include Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel (2008), Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos (2004), and Einstein’s Cosmos: How Albert Einstein’s Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time (2004).
Physics of the Impossible earned broad attention for its serious investigation of not-yet-invented technologies popularized in sci-fi movies and literature.In a starred review, Publishers Weekly said, “Science and science fiction buffs can easily follow Kaku’s explanations as he shows that in the wonderful worlds of science, impossible things are happening every day.” Scientific American said of Einstein’s Cosmos, an entertaining explanation for the lay reader of Einstein’s most important ideas, “Thanks to Kaku’s insight and his flair for explaining dense scientific concepts, this brief book weaves Einstein’s life and work into a seamless, hard-to-put-down narrative.”
Michio Kaku serves as Professor of Theoretical Physics at City College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. A sought-after commentator on many scientific issues—from computing, to space exploration, to the impact of human activity on the weather— Kaku appears frequently on CNN, ABC and the BCC. Recently, he served as host of the Science Channel’s weekly series, Physics of the Impossible (2009-10)based on his bestselling book, and as host of the 2010 BBC-TV documentary, Visions of the Future. He also serves as host of the weekly, one-hour radio program Explorations, produced by WBAI in New York.
For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.
