Katie Mack

Katherine “Katie” Mack is a theoretical astrophysicist and science communicator. She earned her doctorate at Princeton in 2009, then held research posts at the University of Cambridge and the University of Melbourne before joining North Carolina State University. Since 2022, she has been the Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Her research spans theoretical cosmology, astroparticle physics and galaxy formation, with particular attention to dark matter and the early universe. Her public writing brings the methods and uncertainties of that work to a broad audience. She explains difficult physics conversationally, using wit and cultural references without smoothing away the limits of current knowledge.

Her first book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), was published in 2020. It examines five possible cosmic finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay and the Bounce. Each scenario becomes a route into larger ideas about expansion, entropy, quantum physics and humanity’s place in cosmic time. The book was named a New York Times Notable Book and appeared on several publications’ best-of-2020 lists.

The End of Everything is the natural starting point. It is Mack’s main book-length introduction to cosmology and closely connects her scientific research with her gift for clear, lively explanation.