Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky is a prolific academic, renowned teacher, best-selling author, and an expert in happiness.

Professor Lyubomirsky's research interests revolve around the science of human happiness. The key questions driving her research are what makes people happy and if happiness is a good thing.

She is Distinguished Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside where she conducts research and teaches courses in social psychology and well-being science.

Specific research topics include the architecture of happiness, the science of gratitude and kindness, cultural differences in the pursuit of happiness, and adaptation to positive experiences.

Professor Lyubomirsky is an author of nearly 150 scientific papers that have been cited over 40,000 times. She has been awarded a variety of grants, including from the John Templeton Foundation, Character Lab, and NIH.

She has been honored with Fellow status from three different scientific societies, the Diener Award for Outstanding Midcareer Contributions in Personality Psychology, the Christopher J. Peterson Gold Medal, the UC Riverside Distinguished Research Lecturer Award, a Templeton Positive Psychology Prize.

Originally from Russia, Professor Lyubomirsky’s books, written for a generalist audience, have been translated into 34 languages.