2021 Carl Sagan Medal winner for excellence in public communication
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
Adam Frank
Professor of astrophysics, science commentator, and popular author
Career in higher education
Adam Frank received his PhD in physics (1992) from the University of Washington and held postdoctoral and visiting scientist positions at Leiden University and the University of Minnesota.
Adam joined the University of Rochester in 1996. Serving as the Helen F. & Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Adam studies star formation and evolution, as well as develops tools for simulating the cosmos. Through his research, Adam has written numerous academic papers and books, as well as shared his knowledge in a variety of media appearances.
Learn more about Adam Frank’s academic career on his faculty departmental profile page.
Media appearances
Adam Frank is a frequent on-air commentator for live interviews and segments on outlets such as CNN and NPR. Adam also regularly contributes to written publications, including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Scientific American.
Adam also served as science advisor for Marvel’s Doctor Strange, and has appeared on numerous science documentaries such as Netflix’s Alien Worlds.
Members of the media can request an interview with Adam Frank
Selection of recent media appearances
Congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena
CNN, July 27, 2023
Congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena
MSNBC, July 26, 2023
Congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena
NewsNation, July 24, 2023
NASA’s DART mission to crash into asteroid
CNN, September 27, 2022
Artemis I second launch attempt
CNN, September 3, 2022
Moon mission, Jupiter images, and sounds of a black hole
CNN, August 24, 2022
Is Earth Smart?
The Atlantic, Feb. 19, 2022
Guest Essay: I’m a Physicist Who Searches for Aliens. UFOs Don’t Impress Me.
New York Times, June 30, 2021
The Impossible Cool of Cowboy Bebop
Big Think, May 26, 2021
‘A Marvelous Life’ Holds Stan Lee High as the Man Who Made Superheroes Matter
NPR, Nov. 6, 2019
Op-Ed: Reframing Climate Change as a Story of Human Evolutionary Success
Washington Post, Oct. 15, 2019
Was There a Civilization on Earth Before Humans?
The Atlantic, April 13, 2018
Books and papers
Adam has authored five popular books arguing for the beauty of science and against science denial. In his upcoming book, The Little Book of Aliens (Harper Collins, 2023), he details what we know and what we need to know in our search for extraterrestrials. Author Kim Stanley Robinson describes the book as “clear as a map, as clear as Drake’s equation.” The book will be available in October.
Selection of academic papers
Triggering a Climate Change Dominated “Anthropocene”: Is It Common among Exocivilizations?
Contact Inequality: First Contact Will Likely Be with an Older Civilization
The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-Civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States
The Silurian Hypothesis: Would it be Possible to Detect an Industrial Civilization in the Geological Record?
Bipolar Planetary Nebulae from Outflow Collimation by Common Envelope Evolution
Effects of Radiation Pressure on the Evaporative Wind of HD 209458b
Accretion in Common Envelope Evolution
Requests for interviews
Adam Frank is no stranger to the media—he is frequently interviewed for national print, television, and radio pieces, along with appearing as a live guest on network news shows and segments.
If you’d like to talk to Adam for a quick comment or something more in-depth, please contact Peter Iglinski, University of Rochester Communications Officer and Media Relations Specialist.
Email: peter.iglinski@rochester.edu
Phone: (585) 764-7002