Michio Kaku

Professor of Theoretical Physics

Professor Michio Kaku is one of the world’s most prominent theoretical physicists and leading contemporary futurists. He holds the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). In 1974, he co-founded string field theory with Professor Keiji Kikkawa of Osaka University, publishing the first research papers describing string theory in a field-theoretic framework. Born in 1947 in San Jose, California, to Japanese American parents, Kaku built a 2.3 million electron volt particle accelerator in his parents’ garage during high school, catching the attention of physicist Edward Teller, who mentored him and awarded him the Hertz Engineering Scholarship. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1968 as the top physics student in his class, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has published dozens of research papers in the fields of superstring theory, supergravity, supersymmetry, and hadron physics. Kaku has authored several bestselling books that have topped the New York Times bestseller list, including *Physics of the Impossible*, *Physics of the Future*, *The Future of the Mind*, and *The God Equation*. Renowned for his unique ability to simplify the most complex scientific concepts for the general public, he has hosted television programs on the BBC, Discovery Channel, and History Channel. In 2021, he received the Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award for his efforts in bridging science and science fiction. Kaku will participate in LEAP 2026 to present his futuristic vision on technologies that will transform the world, from artificial intelligence to quantum computing—topics that intersect with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to build a knowledge and innovation economy.