Distinguished among scientists working at the cutting edge of physics, Sylvester James Gates, Jr., also has helped introduce scientific concepts to the public through the PBS television programs “Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America,” “A Science Odyssey,” “The Elegant Universe” and “Einstein’s Big Idea” and in “Superstring Theory: The DNA of Reality,” a popular DVD lecture collection.

Gates has served on the faculties of MIT, Howard University, California Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland, where he is director for the Center for String and Particle Theory. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Physical Society, which named him the first recipient of the Bouchet Award; and the National Society of Black Physicists, for which he is a past president. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 published research papers, co-authored one book and contributed numerous articles in others. In 2008, he participated in a number of events at the World Science Festival in New York City, including the “Beyond Einstein” panel.

His awards include the MIT Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, the Klopsteg Award of the American Association of Physics Teachers and an award, previously given to Carl Sagan, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.