Avi Loeb is a renowned astrophysicist and author, born on February 26, 1962, in Beit Hanan, Israel. He completed his PhD in plasma physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the young age of 24. Before that, he was part of the national Talpiot program from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1986.\n \nLoeb's career has been marked by numerous achievements and accolades. He has been a long-term member of the prestigious Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and has written eight books, including his most recent one, "Extraterrestrial" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021). He has also published around 800 papers on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the future of the universe.
Loeb has served as the Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy for the longest tenure (2011-2020), Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative (2016-2021), and Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation (2007-present) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics.
Loeb has also held prominent positions outside of academia, including being a former member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) at the White House, a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies (2018-2021), and a current member of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the Hebrew University. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative (2016-present) and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.
In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space, and in 2020, he was chosen as one of the 14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade. Loeb's contributions to the field of astrophysics and his passion for exploring the unknown have made him a respected and influential figure in the scientific community.