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Fellows Directory

Carlos Frenk

Carlos Frenk

Professor Carlos Frenk CBE FRS

Fellow


Elected: 2004

Contact:

Twitter@carlosfrenk

wwwhttp://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~csf

Biography

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.

Interest and expertise

Subject groups

  • Astronomy and physics
    • Computational physics, Cosmology, Astrophysics, Astronomy
  • Other
    • Public understanding of science

Keywords

Physical cosmology, Astrophysics, Computational astrophysics, Astroparticle physics, Galactic astronomy, Galaxy formation, Galactic dynamics

Awards

  • Rumford Medal

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

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