A. Vilenkin

Alex Vilenkin is best known for his theories of eternal cosmic inflation, creation of the universe from nothing, and for his groundbreaking work on cosmic strings. He has also studied the implications of the possible existence of multiple universes.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Vilenkin immigrated to the United States in 1976 with an undergraduate degree in physics and an employment history in his home country that consisted of succession of menial jobs, including a stint as a night watchman in a zoo. Within a year of his arrival in US he had earned a Ph.D., and the following year he joined the faculty at Tufts University, where he remains today as a professor of physics and director of the Tufts Institute of Cosmology. He also holds the L. and J. Bernstein Chair in Evolutionary Science.