David Allen
Bestselling Author of Getting Things Done & Team | Founder of David Allen Company | World's Leading Authority on Personal & Organizational Productivity
Saul Perlmutter
2011 Nobel Laureate in Physics | Discoverer of Dark Energy & the Accelerating Universe | Professor, UC Berkeley | Director, Berkeley Institute for Data Science
Saul Perlmutter led the discovery that the universe's expansion is accelerating — overturning a century of assumptions and introducing dark energy as the dominant component of the cosmos. A 2011 Nobel Laureate, UC Berkeley professor, and co-author of Third Millennium Thinking, he translates the mindset of frontier science into practical frameworks for better thinking, decision-making, and leadership that resonate far beyond the laboratory.
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Saul Perlmutter biography
Saul Perlmutter is a 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physics and one of the most consequential cosmologists of his generation — the scientist who led the discovery that the expansion of the universe is not slowing down, as expected, but accelerating. That finding, which upended a century of assumptions about the fate of the cosmos, introduced dark energy as a new and dominant component of the universe and triggered a scientific and philosophical reckoning that continues today. Perlmutter graduated magna cum laude in physics from Harvard in 1981 and earned his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1986, where he has remained ever since — now as holder of the Franklin W. and Karen Weber Dabby Chair in the Department of Physics.
Nobel Prize speaker Saul Perlmutter is best known for leading the international Supernova Cosmology Project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the team whose observations of distant Type Ia supernovae revealed in the late 1990s that the universe’s expansion is speeding up over time. Working in competition with the High-z Supernova Search Team — both groups arriving at the same stunning conclusion independently — Perlmutter’s team produced evidence for a mysterious repulsive force now called dark energy, which appears to account for roughly 68 percent of the total energy content of the universe. The Nobel Committee awarded the 2011 Physics Prize to Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess for what it described as one of the most surprising discoveries in physics in decades.
Beyond the Nobel, Perlmutter has been recognized with the Shaw Prize in Astronomy, the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, and election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He currently serves as a member of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and continues active research on dark energy through the Supernova Cosmology Project, contributing datasets to next-generation observatories including the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Euclid space telescope.
Science as a Tool for Better Thinking — in the Cosmos and in the World
What distinguishes Perlmutter among Nobel laureates is the range of his intellectual ambition. As director of the Berkeley Institute for Data Science and executive director of the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, he has championed data-driven approaches across disciplines. He is co-author of Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense (2024), written with a philosopher and a social psychologist, which applies the epistemic tools of science — calibrated uncertainty, willingness to be wrong, structured reasoning — to everyday decision-making and societal challenges.
As a speaker, Saul Perlmutter brings to the stage a rare capacity to make the universe’s deepest questions feel immediately relevant. He speaks on the discovery of dark energy and what it reveals about scientific thinking under uncertainty, the future of cosmology, the intersection of data science and fundamental research, and — increasingly — how the mindset of experimental physics can help organizations and individuals make better decisions in a complex world. Audiences leave not just with a richer picture of the cosmos, but with a more rigorous framework for how to think.
Saul Perlmutter Speaking Videos
Nobel Laureate in physics Saul Perlmutter – Nobel Lectures in Uppsala 2011
NERSC Nobel Lecture Series: Saul Perlmutter Lecture, June 11th, 2014
Saul Perlmutter Keynote Topics
Perlmutter takes audiences inside the decade-long observational campaign that led his team to one of the most surprising conclusions in the history of science: the universe is not slowing down — it is speeding up. He describes how the Supernova Cosmology Project used distant stellar explosions as cosmic measuring sticks, what it felt like to chase a result that defied every expectation, and what dark energy means for our understanding of space, time, and the ultimate fate of the universe.
Based on his co-authored book, this talk makes the case that the tools scientists use to avoid self-deception — structured uncertainty, calibrated confidence, systematic skepticism — are exactly what individuals, organizations, and societies need to navigate a world flooded with noise and misinformation. Perlmutter shows how the same intellectual habits that produced a Nobel Prize can be learned and applied to leadership, strategy, policy, and everyday decision-making.
A forward-looking exploration of what the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the Euclid space telescope, and other coming instruments will tell us about the nature of dark energy and the large-scale structure of the universe. Perlmutter discusses what questions remain open, why they matter, and how the intersection of big data and fundamental physics is reshaping the practice of cosmology — with implications for data science well beyond astronomy.
A reflective talk on the counterintuitive intellectual virtues that make great scientists — and great decision-makers. Drawing on his own experience pursuing a result that took years longer than planned and arrived as a complete surprise, Perlmutter argues that comfort with uncertainty, willingness to be wrong, and disciplined humility are not weaknesses but the source of science's most powerful results. A compelling session for executive audiences navigating ambiguity and long-horizon challenges.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Saul Perlmutter
Why Saul Perlmutter?
Booking Saul Perlmutter for your event means bringing to your stage a scientist who fundamentally changed how humanity understands the universe — and who has spent decades thinking about how scientific reasoning can improve the way all of us think and decide. As a 2011 Nobel Laureate, PCAST member, director of the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, and co-author of Third Millennium Thinking, Perlmutter offers audiences something rare: the authority of a world-changing discovery combined with a genuinely practical message about critical thinking, uncertainty, and evidence-based decision-making. He is an exceptional fit for events in science, technology, leadership, data strategy, and innovation — wherever the quality of thinking matters as much as the quality of information. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to book Saul Perlmutter for your next conference or corporate event.
What did Saul Perlmutter discover and why does it matter?
Perlmutter led the team that discovered the universe's expansion is accelerating — a finding that contradicted the prevailing expectation that gravity should be slowing it down. By measuring the brightness and distance of Type Ia supernovae across billions of light-years, his Supernova Cosmology Project determined that a mysterious repulsive force, now called dark energy, is driving the cosmos apart at an increasing rate. Dark energy is now understood to constitute roughly 68 percent of the total energy content of the universe, making it the single largest component of everything that exists — and one of the deepest unsolved mysteries in all of physics.
What is Saul Perlmutter's book Third Millennium Thinking about?
Co-authored with philosopher John Campbell and social psychologist Robert MacCoun, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense (2024) draws on the epistemic tools that scientists use to avoid fooling themselves — calibrated uncertainty, structured skepticism, willingness to update beliefs — and makes the case that these same tools can help anyone make better decisions in a world saturated with misinformation and complexity. It is a practical guide to scientific thinking for non-scientists, rooted in Perlmutter's decades of experience at the frontier of experimental cosmology.
What topics does Nobel Prize speaker Saul Perlmutter cover in his keynotes?
Perlmutter speaks on the discovery of dark energy and the accelerating universe, the future of cosmology and next-generation space observatories, data science and its role in fundamental research, critical thinking and evidence-based decision-making, and how scientific reasoning applies to leadership and organizational strategy. His talks are equally compelling for scientific and general audiences — grounded in one of the most dramatic discoveries in modern physics while offering transferable insight on how to think well under uncertainty. Reach out to Aurum Speakers Bureau to explore how Saul Perlmutter can elevate your next event.
How to book Saul Perlmutter as a keynote speaker?
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How much is Saul Perlmutter speaking fee?
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Can I book Saul Perlmutter for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Saul Perlmutter is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Saul Perlmutter for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
