The character arc of Michio Kaku

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 24 January 1947 in San Jose, California. Between then and now sit a Harvard degree summa cum laude in 1968 as first in his physics class, army service from 1968 to 1970, a Berkeley doctorate and a Princeton lectureship in 1972, work on string field theory in 1974, research at the City College of New York from 1975, a radio programme from April 2006, documentaries from 2006, a television series in December 2009 and four bestselling books. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Michio Kaku?

First in his class.

He was born in San Jose, California in 1947. His grandfather came to the United States to work on the cleanup after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his father and mother were both born in California. He attended Harvard College and graduated summa cum laude in 1968, first in his physics class.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War and about to be drafted, he joined the United States Army and remained until 1970. He attended the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a doctorate and holding a lectureship at Princeton University in 1972, and in 1974 he and a colleague published work on string field theory. From 1975 he worked on research at the department of physics at the City College of the City University of New York, was a visitor and member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 1973 and 1990, and between 1970 and 2000 published papers on superstring theory, supergravity, supersymmetry and hadronic physics. He holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.

The second half of the line is the explaining. He began broadcasting a radio programme on ninety commercial stations in April 2006, presented a four part BBC documentary on the nature of time in February 2006, hosted a Discovery Channel series on 28 January 2007 and a three hour BBC documentary on the future of computing and medicine in 2008, and began hosting a twelve episode weekly series for the Science Channel on 1 December 2009. His books Physics of the Impossible in 2008, Physics of the Future in 2011, The Future of the Mind in 2014 and The God Equation in 2021 all became New York Times bestsellers, and he was given a lifetime achievement award in 2021 for his efforts to bridge science and science fiction.

The moments

Michio Kaku's timeline.

The 1960s

Jun 1968

First in his physics class

Milestone, and it changed everything. Top of the physics year at Harvard.

Sep 1968

Drafted, and the army

Setback, and it changed everything. Two years out of physics, at the start of a career.

The 1970s

Jun 1972

A doctorate, and Princeton

Milestone, and it changed everything. Back into physics, with a doctorate and a lectureship.

Jun 1974

String field theory

Milestone, and it changed everything. The work the rest of the physics rests on.

Jun 1975

City College of New York

Milestone, and it changed his direction. One university, for the rest of his working life.

The 1990s

Jun 1990

The Institute for Advanced Study

Milestone. Twice at the institute, seventeen years apart.

The 2000s

1 Jun 2005

Only the physics, or explain it too

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: explain it to everybody, taken, or stay in the journals. Four of his books became New York Times bestsellers, and he received a lifetime achievement award in 2021.

Feb 2006

A documentary about time

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Ninety radio stations, and a series about time.

11 Mar 2008

Physics of the Impossible

Milestone, and it changed everything. A bestseller about what physics says cannot be done, and might be.

1 Dec 2009

A weekly science series

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A book that became a television series.

The 2010s

15 Mar 2011

Physics of the Future

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Two more bestsellers, three years apart.

The 2020s

6 Apr 2021

The God Equation

Milestone, and it changed everything. A fourth bestseller, and a lifetime award in the same year.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is two careers held at once: the papers nobody outside the field reads, and the four bestsellers that let everybody else in.

What he wrote

Books by Michio Kaku

2008
Physics of the Impossible
What physics says cannot be done, and which of those things might turn out to be possible after all. It became a New York Times bestseller and then a television series.
2011
Physics of the Future
The next century, argued from what the laboratories are already working on rather than from imagination.
2014
The Future of the Mind
On consciousness and what neuroscience can and cannot yet say about it, from a physicist rather than a neuroscientist.
2021
The God Equation
The quest for a theory of everything, published in the same year he was given a lifetime achievement award for bridging science and science fiction.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His spent fifty years on the hardest physics and fifty explaining it to everybody else. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

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Michio Kaku: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Michio Kaku's character arc?

First in his physics class at Harvard in 1968, two years in the army during the Vietnam War, a Berkeley doctorate and a Princeton lectureship in 1972, and work on string field theory in 1974. The second half is spent explaining it, in four bestselling books.

What is Michio Kaku known for in physics?

Work on string field theory published in 1974, and papers between 1970 and 2000 on superstring theory, supergravity, supersymmetry and hadronic physics. He holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.

What books has Michio Kaku written?

Four New York Times bestsellers among them: Physics of the Impossible in 2008, Physics of the Future in 2011, The Future of the Mind in 2014 and The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything in 2021.

Was Michio Kaku in the army?

Yes. In 1968, during the Vietnam War and about to be drafted, he joined the United States Army and remained until 1970. It came immediately after he graduated first in his physics class at Harvard.

Where did Michio Kaku study?

Harvard College, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1968 as first in his physics class, and the University of California, Berkeley, where he attended the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory and received his doctorate, holding a lectureship at Princeton in 1972.

Has Michio Kaku been on television?

Often. He presented a four part BBC documentary on time in February 2006, hosted a Discovery Channel series in January 2007, a three hour BBC documentary in 2008, and a twelve episode weekly Science Channel series from 1 December 2009.

Where does this timeline of Michio Kaku's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Michio Kaku isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Michio Kaku, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people, including that his grandfather came to the United States to work on the cleanup after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and that he hosted a Discovery Channel series on 28 January 2007.
Harvard College degree record, 1968, and the Henry Semat Chair at the City College of New York.
New York Times bestseller listings for Physics of the Impossible, Physics of the Future, The Future of the Mind and The God Equation.