Adam Frank

Adam Frank

Astrophysicist

adam frank

Adam Frank is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester and a leading expert on the final stages of evolution for stars like the sun. Frank's computational research group at the University of Rochester has developed advanced supercomputer tools for studying how stars form and how they die. A self-described “evangelist of science," he is the author of four books and the co-founder of 13.8, where he explores the beauty and power of science in culture with physicist Marcelo Gleiser.

Everything Videos Articles
A detailed image of the moon with visible craters and surface textures, set against a dark sky filled with numerous stars.
13.8
The key to detecting life trillions of miles away from Earth
Finding life beyond our Solar System requires understanding its host planet.
Adam Frank
A black and white image of a curled fern leaf is centered on a black background with faint, star-like specks, capturing an ethereal beauty reminiscent of Sara Walker's scientific explorations.
13.8
A bold challenge to the orthodox definition of life
In "Life As No One Knows It," Sara Imari Walker explains why the key distinction between life and other kinds of "things" is how life uses information.
Adam Frank
View of Earth from space showing a partially illuminated hemisphere with detailed ocean and cloud patterns against a backdrop of stars.
13.8
Gaia theory: The once-controversial idea that life shapes Earth’s evolution
In the 1970s, James Lovelock proposed that the biosphere was not just green scruff quivering on Earth's surface. Instead, it managed to take over the geospheres.
Adam Frank
A large astronomical observatory, featuring the futuristic dome structure of an ELT, stands majestically in a desert landscape. A small red vehicle is visible near the base of the observatory.
Hard Science
The Extremely Large Telescope will supercharge our view of the cosmos
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have a light-collecting power 10 times greater than today's best telescope.
Adam Frank
13.8
A new model for defining life across the Universe
Physicists have increasingly begun to view life as information-processing "states of matter" that require special consideration.
Adam Frank
Abstract image of interconnected golden lines and nodes forming complex geometric patterns against a dark background, resembling a neural network or web.
13.8
Complexity science could transform 21st-century research. Here’s how.
The future belongs to complexity.
Adam Frank
An image shows three panels of brainwave patterns on the left, with colorful lines of computer code on the right.
13.8
Even the smartest AI likely won’t be “alive.” Here’s why.
33 years ago, the theoretical biologist Robert Rosen offered an answer to the question "Is life computable?"
Adam Frank
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