Andrei Linde is a professor of physics at Stanford University, one of the authors of the inflationary theory and the theory of inflationary multiverse. He invented the theory of chaotic inflation, which is the most general version of inflationary cosmology. Linde also helped to develop the theory of eternal chaotic inflation, and the mechanism of vacuum stabilization in string theory.

Andrew Revkin is one of America’s most honored and experienced journalists and authors focused on environmental and human sustainability. He recently joined the staff of the National Geographic Society as strategic adviser for environmental and science journalism.

Charles Liu is a professor of astrophysics at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island and an associate with the Hayden Planetarium and Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. His research focuses on colliding galaxies, quasars, and the star formation history of the Universe.

Gillian Small was appointed vice chancellor for research of The City University of New York in 2008 after serving with distinction as dean for research since 2003.

Jean Ashton is currently senior director for research and programs at the New-York Historical Society and curator of AIDS in New York: The First Five Years. Ashton holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University, as well as degrees from Michigan, Harvard, and Rutgers.

20ll marked Alison Stewart’s twentieth year as a professional journalist. In 2010-2011 she hosted the PBS news magazine Need to Know. In 2007 Stewart was the founding host of NPR’s breakthrough multiplatform news program, The Bryant Park Project, the first public radio news program to seamlessly incorporate audio, video, and social media.

Aniruddh D. Patel is associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Tufts University. After attending the University of Virginia as a Jefferson Scholar, he received a Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 1996.

Simone Buitendijk is vice-rector magnificus at Leiden University, and as such responsible for education, student affairs and diversity. She is a professor in Women’s and Family Health at the Leiden University Hospital LUMC.

Scott Faris directed the arena spectacular Walking with Dinosaurs, Bette Midler’s The Showgirl Must Go On, at Caesars Palace and EFX at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas; William Shatner’s one-man show, Shatner’s World on Broadway, many concerts at New York’s prestigious Lyrics & Lyricists series at the 92Y, and traveled to six continents to stage productions of the hit musical, Chicago.

Dean A. Haycock is the author Murderous Minds: Exploring the Criminal Psychopathic Brain: Neurological Imaging and the Manifestation of Evil, The Everything Health Guide to Adult Bipolar Disorder, and The Everything Health Guide to Schizophrenia.

Pablo Lavandera appears regularly in many prestigious venues in the United States, South America and Europe, both as a soloist and chamber musician, and in duo with violinist Joanna Kaczorowska with whom he received First Prize at the 2009 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition in the collaborative artists category including the Liszt and Bayreuth (Germany) performance prizes.

Kevin Ochsner directs the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab at Columbia University, which studies the brain bases of emotion, person perception, and self-control. Ochsner received a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard and postdoctoral training at Stanford.

Benjamin Pearcy joined 59 Productions in 2011 with the Broadway production of War Horse and works from 59’s New York studio. Also a projections designer, Pearcy has lit or designed projections for theater, opera, and architectural projects around the world.

Jessica Garrett is a science educator/author and a voice actress who thinks kids are fabulous. She loved writing slimy, kid-friendly “ICK-speriments” with her co-authors Joy Masoff and Ben Ligon, in the truly disgusting, yet totally interesting, Oh Ick! 114 Science Experiments Guaranteed to Gross You Out!

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis studies music from the perspective of cognitive science. She is interested in how people without formal training come to make sense of music and be moved by it.