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.

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. 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.