Howard Joel Wolowitz,M.Eng is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Simon Helberg. Among the main male characters in the show, Howard is distinguished for lacking a doctoral degree, for still living with his mother, and for believing himself to be a "ladies' man".
Howard is named after a computer programmer known by the show's co-creator Bill Prady. He is the only starring character who has been to the International Space Station. Additionally, he is one of four characters to appear in every episode of the series, alongside Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, and Raj Koothrappali.
Howard is an Aerospace Engineer at Caltech's Department of Applied Physics who is often seen at the apartment of Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). He is best friends with Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). He was born in 1981 as specified in season one's episode "The Pancake Batter Anomaly". Howard received his degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.