Cal Newport

Calvin C. Newport was born in 1982. He is an American non-fiction author and associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College in 2004 and received a Ph.D. in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 under Nancy Lynch. He was a post-doctoral associate in the MIT computer science department from 2009-2011. His grandfather, John Newport, was a baptist minister and theologian.

In 2011, Newport joined Georgetown University as an assistant professor of computer science, and was granted tenure in 2017. His work focuses on distributed algorithms in challenging networking scenarios, and incorporates the study of communications systems in nature. Newport is currently Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Georgetown University and the author of eight books.

Newport coined the term "deep work," in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016) which refers to studying for focused chunks of time without distractions such as email and social media. He challenges the belief that participation in social media is important for career capital, suggesting instead that career capital is a function of creativity, impact and control, or autonomy. In 2021, he began referring to the role email and chat play in what he calls "the hyperactive hive mind". In 2017, he began advocating for "digital minimalism.

His Books are:

How to Win at College (2005)

How to Become a Straight-A Student (2006)

How to Be a High-School Superstar (2010)

So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion In The Quest For Work You Love (2012)

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016)

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World (2019)

The Time-Block Planner (2020)

A World Without Email (2021)