Joseph Silk is the Head of Astrophysics and Savilian Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. Previously, he was a tenured professor at the University of California at Berkeley, where he researched theoretical astrophysics. He has received several awards for his contributions to astronomy, and is currently a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, and of the Royal Society, United Kingdom. He is the author of several books, including A Short History of the Universe, Cosmic Enigmas, and The Left Hand of Creation, written with John D. Barrow. He lives in Oxford, England.
