Mario Livio, PhD, Senior Astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Dr. Livio's research in astrophysics includes supernovae (type 1a), acceleration of the universe, dark energy, and black holes. He appeared on Science for the Public's Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations program on September 25, 2013 to discuss his research in astrophysics, his new book Brilliant Blunders, as well as his other popular science books, and his great appreciation for art.

See Mario Livio's 02/18/25 presentation about his newest book Is Earth Exceptional? (co-authored with Jack Szostak) on SftPublic's Contemporary Science program

Mario Livio appeared on Contemporary Science Issues & Innovations again on 07/25/23 to discuss the question Are We Alone in the Universe? based on his Scientific American article How Far Should We Take Our Cosmic Humility?

Dr. Livio appeared on Contemporary Science Issues & Innovations again in 2021 to discuss his newest --and very timely book Galileo and the Science Deniers

Mario Livio was raised in Israel and received his PhD in theoretical physics from Tel-Aviv University. He was a professor of physics in the physics department of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology from 1981 until 1991 before joining the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland (the Hubble Space Telescope).

Dr. Livio is the author of hundreds of scientific papers and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. An outstanding communicator of science, he is in great demand as a lecturer and has appeared at the Smithsonian Institution, the Hayden Planetarium in New York, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Glasgow Planetarium, among other institutions. He has appeared on TEDxMidAtlantic and numerous television programs, including 60 Minutes.

His bestselling book The Golden Ratio won the Peano Prize in 2003 and the International Pythagoras Prize in 2004, as the best popular book on mathematics. His book Is God A Mathematician? inspired the NOVA program “The Great Math Mystery,” which was nominated for an EMMY in 2016. His book Brilliant Blunders was selected by The Washington Post as one of the Notable Books of 2013. His book Galileo and the Science Deniers (2020) was one of the finalists for the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science.

Dr. Livio appears frequently in the media, including “The Daily Show,” “60 Minutes,” and multiple NOVA programs, as well as numerous radio programs such as “Science Friday,” “All Things Considered,” “On Being,” and “Studio 360."