Professor Carlos Frenk CBE FRS

Carlos Frenk is helping to answer some of the most basic — yet profound — questions about our Universe and its origins. These relate to what it is made of, how matter and energy were organised in the early stages of the Big Bang, and how structure subsequently evolved into the pattern of galaxies that we see today.

Using incredibly powerful supercomputers, he builds and runs simulations of the cosmos. The results can then be compared with observations of the real Universe to test theories about its formation, structure and evolution. His techniques are now commonly used within the field of cosmology to explain how the stars and galaxies arose.

Up to 85 per cent of the mass of the Universe is thought to consist of dark matter — mysterious matter that barely interacts with electromagnetic radiation such as light. Carlos and collaborators also pioneered the theory of cold dark matter, a now widely accepted model for the formation of larger cosmic objects through the aggregation and merging of smaller, collapsed, objects.

Subject groups

  • Astronomy and Physics

    Computational physics, Cosmology, Astrophysics, Astronomy

  • Other

    Public understanding of science

Awards

  • Rumford Medal

    For revealing via elaborate computer simulations, how small fluctuations in the early universe develop into today’s galaxies.

Committees Participated Role
Council November 2023 - November 2026 Member
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships Selection Committee January 2020 - December 2025 Deputy Chair
Public Engagement Committee January 2019 - December 2025 Chair
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships Selection Committee January 2017 - December 2019 Member
Commonwealth Science Conference Grants Committee July 2016 - June 2017 Member
UK Research and the European Union Working Group December 2015 - December 2017 Member
Grants Committee July 2015 - December 2017 Member
Public Engagement Committee January 2013 - December 2015 Member
Council December 2012 - November 2015 Member
Education Committee January 2008 - December 2013 Member
Sectional Committee 2: Astronomy and physics December 2007 - November 2008 Member
Sectional Committee 5: Earth & environmental sciences December 2005 - November 2007 Member
Research Appointment Panel A(i) January 2005 - December 2007 Member