Brian R. Greene is one of the world's leading string theorists. A child
prodigy in mathematics, he could multiply 30-digit numbers at the age
of five. In 6th grade, Greene was so far ahead of his school in math
that he had to find a tutor at Columbia University. He entered Harvard
in 1980 to major in physics, and with his bachelor's degree, Greene
went to Oxford University, in England, as a Rhodes scholar. His book
"The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest
for the Ultimate Theory" (1999) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
in nonfiction. He also occasionally enjoys acting, helping
John Lithgow with
scientific dialogue for the series
3e planète après le soleil (1996), and he had a cameo role in
the film
Fréquence interdite (2000).