Theories of Time Travel

One hundred years on from Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, are we closer to achieving time travel? UConn's Ron Mallett says theoretically, yes.

Ron Mallett, professor of physics, and an expert on time travel. (Peter Morenus/UConn File Photo)

Ron Mallett, professor of physics, and an expert on time travel. (Peter Morenus/UConn File Photo)

Ron Mallett, professor of physics, and an expert on time travel. (Peter Morenus/UConn File Photo)
Ron Mallett, professor of physics, and an expert on time travel. (Peter Morenus/UConn File Photo)

One hundred years on from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, are we getting closer to achieving time travel? According to UConn professor Ron Mallett, the answer is theoretically yes.

Mallett, professor emeritus of physics, has been studying time travel throughout his professional career, and he discussed his studies in an Academic Minute on public radio. Listen here.

Mallett joined the UConn faculty in 1975, after a stint working for United Technologies. He has published numerous papers on black holes and cosmology in professional journals.

His breakthrough research on time travel has also been featured extensively in the media around the world, including print media such as New Scientist, the Village Voice, the Boston Globe, Rolling Stone magazine, and The Wall Street Journal, and broadcast media such as NPR’s This American Life, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Science Channel, ABC’s Good Morning America, and NBC’s Today Show.

Mallett’s memoir Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality (Basic Books, 2009) has been translated into Korean, Chinese, and Japanese; and award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee has written a script for a feature film based on the memoir.

This talk was first aired on WAMC, the PBS station in Albany, N.Y., as an Academic Minute, and was also hosted by Inside Higher Education. The Academic Minute features researchers from colleges and universities around the world. Thanks to WAMC for the station’s permission to post this spot.