Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Sean M. Carroll will address approximately 900 graduates during the 2025 Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Master’s Graduation Ceremony.
The 2025 KSAS Master’s Graduation Ceremony will take place on Monday, May 19 at 7 p.m. on Homewood Field at the JHU Homewood Campus in Baltimore, Md.
As the Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins, Sean Carroll has used his background in astronomy, astrophysics, and philosophy to explore how the world works at its deepest levels. He has devoted most of his career researching cosmology, field theory, and gravitation, looking at topics such as dark matter and dark energy, modified gravity, topological defects, extra dimensions, and violations of fundamental symmetries. Recently, Carroll has shifted his focus to more foundational questions, both in quantum mechanics (origin of probability, emergence of space and time) and statistical mechanics (entropy and the arrow of time, emergence and causation, dynamics of complexity), bringing a deeper philosophical dimension to his work.
“We are privileged to have Sean Carroll share his unique perspective and insights with our graduates,” said Veronica Donahue, associate dean for graduate and professional programs in the Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “Dr. Carroll’s extensive scientific research in physics and philosophy and his prolific work in public discourse has centered around getting people to think more deeply about the natural world. We are confident that his message will resonate with our graduates.”
Carroll is the author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe, Something Deeply Hidden, The Big Picture, The Particle at the End of the Universe, From Eternity to Here, and Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity. He has been awarded numerous prizes and fellowships by foundations, societies, and institutes around the world. Carroll has appeared on TV shows such as The Colbert Report, PBS’s NOVA, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, and frequently serves as a science consultant for film and television. He is the host of the weekly Mindscape podcast. Of note, his 2011 Ted Talk Distant Time and the Hint of a Multiverse has garnered more than one million views.
Carroll holds a BS in astronomy and astrophysics from Villanova University and a PhD in astronomy from Harvard. He is a member of the American Physical Society, American Philosophical Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Philosophy of Science Association, Authors Guild, and Foundational Questions Institute and also a part of the Fractal Faculty at the Sante Fe Institute.