General Information:
Born: January 24, 1947
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Japanese
Degrees & Academic Achievements:
- Went to the National Science Fair in high school with a home-made atom smasher built in his parents' garage.
- 1968, Physics B.S. (summa cum laude) from Harvard University
- 1972, Physics Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley
- 1973, lectureship at Princeton University
- 25 years as Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.
- Has been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton & New York University.
String Field Theory Work: In the realm of physics research, Michio Kaku is best known as the co-founder of string field theory, which is a specific branch of the more general string theory which relies heavily on mathematically framing the theory in terms of fields. Kaku's work was instrumental in showing that the field theory is consistent with known fields, such as Einstein's field equations from general relativity.
Radio & Television Appearances: Michio Kaku is the host of two radio programs: Science Fantastic and Explorations in Science with Dr. Michio Kaku. Information about these programs can be found on Dr. Kaku's official website.
In addition to his radio appearances, Michio Kaku frequently makes appearances on a wide variety of popular shows as a science expert, including Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Nightline, and 60 Minutes. He is in many episodes of the Discovery Channel series The Universe and hosted the BBC series (now appearing on the Science Channel in the USA) Time.
Books: Dr. Kaku's written a number of academic papers and textbooks over the years, but is especially noted among the public for his popular books on advanced theoretical physics concepts:
- Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel (coming March 11, 2008)
- Einstein's Cosmos: How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time
- Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century and Beyond
- Parallel Worlds
- Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension
Other Information: Michio Kaku trained as an Army infantryman when drafted into the military, but the Vietnam War ended before he shipped out.
