Martin John Rees
Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He was the fifteenth Astronomer Royal from 1995 to 2025, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 2004 to 2012, and President of the Royal Society from 2005 to 2010. He has made significant contributions to the origin of cosmic microwave background radiation, galaxy clustering and formation, and his studies of quasar distribution challenged the steady-state theory. Rees is also known for his work on existential risks facing humanity due to technological advancements, particularly in bioengineering and artificial intelligence. He has authored numerous books for the general public on astronomy, cosmology, and future challenges.
Awards
['Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement', 'Bruno Rossi Prize', 'Gruber Prize in Cosmology', 'Albert Einstein World Award of Science', 'Henry Norris Russell Lectureship', "Lifeboat Foundation's Guardian Award", "Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize", 'Crafoord Prize', 'Templeton Prize', 'Order of Merit', 'Caird Medal', 'Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering', 'Institute of Physics Isaac Newton Medal', 'Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society Dalton Medal', 'Dirac Medal ICTP', 'Honorary Doctorate, Harvard University', 'Lilienfeld Prize', 'Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics and Cosmology', 'Copley Medal', 'Wolf Prize in Physics', 'Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society', 'Balzan Prize', 'Heineman Prize for Astrophysics', 'Bower Award for Science of the Franklin Institute', 'Cosmology Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation', 'Einstein Award of the World Cultural Council', 'UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal', 'Oskar Klein Medal', 'Benjamin Franklin Medal', 'Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific']
Notable Works
['Cosmic Coincidences', 'New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology', "Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe", 'Before the Beginning—Our Universe and Others', 'Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe', 'Our Cosmic Habitat', 'Our Final Hour', 'On the Future: Prospects for Humanity', 'From Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons', 'If Science is to Save Us', 'The End of Astronauts']
