Charles Seife

Notable work and positions

Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University - professor of journalism and director
Science magazine - former writer
New Scientist - former U.S. correspondent

Biography

Charles Seife is a professor of journalism and director of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. He holds a mathematics degree from Princeton University, a master's in mathematics from Yale University, and a master's in journalism from Columbia University. Before joining NYU, Seife was a writer for Science magazine, specializing in physics and mathematics, and served as a U.S. correspondent for New Scientist. He is the author of seven books on science and mathematics for general readers, including Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, winner of the 2000 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction; Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception; Virtual Unreality; and Hawking Hawking: The Selling of a Scientific Celebrity, a 2021 biography of physicist Stephen Hawking. His freelance journalism has appeared in The Economist, Scientific American, ProPublica, The Washington Post, The New York Times and other publications, and his research focuses on science and mathematics journalism.

Career highlights

• Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea Viking, 2000 · Winner of the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction.
• Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking Viking, 2008 · Winner of the 2009 Davis Prize from the History of Science Society.
• Hawking Hawking: The Selling of a Scientific Celebrity Basic Books, 2021 · Biography examining the making of Stephen Hawking's public image.