Adam Frank
Adam Frank was a contributor to the NPR blog 13.7: Cosmos & Culture. A professor at the University of Rochester, Frank is a theoretical/computational astrophysicist and currently heads a research group developing supercomputer code to study the formation and death of stars. Frank's research has also explored the evolution of newly born planets and the structure of clouds in the interstellar medium. Recently, he has begun work in the fields of astrobiology and network theory/data science. Frank also holds a joint appointment at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, a Department of Energy fusion lab.
Frank is the author of two books: The Constant Fire, Beyond the Science vs. Religion Debate (University of California Press, 2010), which was one of SEED magazine's "Best Picks of The Year," and About Time, Cosmology and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang (Free Press, 2011). He has contributed to The New York Times and magazines such as Discover, Scientific American and Tricycle.
Frank's work has also appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009. In 1999 he was awarded an American Astronomical Society prize for his science writing.
-
A new novel doesn't take the easy way out but, instead, asks questions about the mutations of human institutions under the pressure of global warming, says commentator Adam Frank.
-
The night sky carries the weight of many meanings for humanity. Astrophysicist Adam Frank directs us to a short video addressing the sum of the stars in the sky.
-
The world lost a young genius because people were uncomfortable with whom he was inclined to love, says commentator Adam Frank. The future of computing may have been very different if he'd been alive.
-
Network science is shining a spotlight on everything from your status in high school — it's not as simple as how many people you know — to the spread of diseases, says commentator Adam Frank.
-
The power of science and pervasiveness of technology puts scientists in a position of unique responsibility that can make political activism very slippery, says commentator Adam Frank.
-
Life as we know it is being threatened by everything from climate change to resource depletion. Commentator Adam Frank looks back at 1177 B.C. — and what we might learn from peoples past.
-
Just in time for the official start of summer, NPR's Adam Frank heads outside to better understand the summer solstice. The secret, he says, is in the sunsets.
-
Does science have limits? Commentator Adam Frank reviews Marcelo Gleiser's eye-opening new book exploring this very question. It appears that we are forever headed into the dark.
-
Our fear of sentient machines is overblown, says commentator Adam Frank. They won't have time to bother with us.
-
Summer is the best season for star gazing and, in that spirit, commentator Adam Frank offers up a video of the Milky Way passing over the desert.