Advocate
Dr. Alan Lightman
Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at M.I.T.
Alan Lightman is an American writer, physicist, and social entrepreneur. Lightman has served on the faculties of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was the first person at MIT to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities. In his scientific research, he has made fundamental contributions to the astrophysics of black holes and cosmic radiative processes. He is currently professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT. He is the author of numerous books, both nonfiction and fiction, including Einstein’s Dreams, an international bestseller, and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the National Book Award in fiction. His book Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine is now being made into a PBS series. His essays and articles have appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper’s, Nautilus, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Salon, and many other publications. Lightman is also the founder and chairman of Harpswell, a nonprofit devoted to empowering young women leaders in Southeast Asia.
