Janna Levin
Theoretical Astrophysicist, Barnard College
Janna Levin is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is also director of sciences at Pioneer Works, a center for arts and sciences in Brooklyn, and has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. Her previous books include How the Universe Got Its Spots and a novel, A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/Bingham Prize. She was recently named a Guggenheim fellow.
![A woman in a blue dress posing for a photo.](https://develop.bigthink.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Janna-Levin-Profile-01.jpg?w=512&h=512&crop=1)
A physicist discusses the boundaries of reality and experimentation.
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6 min
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Quantum wormholes are mathematically possible — but might also be physically impossible. Physicist Janna Levin explains Hawking’s famous information paradox.
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12 min
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Gravity defies quantum mechanics. What does that mean for a theory of everything?
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6 min
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Ever wonder what would happen if we got sucked into a black hole? Turns out we could live in it for a while — if it was big enough.
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9 min
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What does a theoretical physicist do all day? Janna Levin shares some insight on perception vs. reality, and provides a glimpse of how she spends her time (hint: doing math).
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6 min
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If you can’t break through a wall, you climb over it. Janna Levin, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College, points to three genius scientists who embraced limitations.
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5 min
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Albert Einstein was the first to discuss the fabric of space, and according to his theorems, the curvature of it. We have been discussing the possibility of gravitational waves ever since.
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7 min
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