Matt O'Dowd

Member since March 23, 2015

https://www.mattodowd.space/

Matt O’Dowd (born January 5, 1973, Australia) is an Australian astrophysicist and science communicator, best known as the host and writer of PBS Space Time – the largest physics and space show on YouTube, with over 1.9 million subscribers and 200 million total views.

“I love talking about physics, space, and what science can tell us about the future of humanity and our place in this astounding universe.”
– Matt O’Dowd, mattodowd.space

O’Dowd earned his BSc in physics and First Class Honours at the University of Melbourne, before completing his Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics in 2003 jointly through the University of Melbourne and the Space Telescope Science Institute under Johns Hopkins University.

His research focuses on the distant universe – studying quasars, active galactic nuclei, and supermassive black holes to understand how the universe evolved over its history.

“I’m interested in the very distant universe, because this is also the universe of the distant past. The driving question “where do we come from?” inspires me to explore how our universe evolved over its vast history.”
– Matt O’Dowd, mattodowd.space

He holds joint positions as Associate Professor at CUNY Lehman College and Research Associate at the Astrophysics Department of the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium.

Outside of research, O’Dowd is a prolific science communicator – hosting PBS Space Time since 2015 (900+ episodes), making regular appearances on StarTalk Radio, How the Universe Works, and CUNY TV, and delivering a TEDx talk on Fermi’s Paradox.

Listings by Matt O'Dowd

Science

PBS Space Time

Added on March 23, 2026

Subscribers: 3,440,000

Videos: 437

Listings by Matt O'Dowd

PBS Space Time

Sign In

Register

Reset Password