The Lord Rees of Ludlow OM Kt HonFREng FRS

Martin Rees is the UK's Astronomer Royal. He is based at Cambridge University where he is a Fellow (and Former Master) of Trinity College. He is a member of the House of Lords, and a former President of the Royal Society. His research interests include space exploration, black holes, galaxy formation, the multiverse and prospects for extraterrestrial life. He is co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risks at Cambridge University (CSER). In addition to academic publications, research papers he has written many general articles and ten books, most recently 'On the Future: Prospects for Humanity'.

Subject groups

  • Astronomy and physics

    Astronomy

Awards

  • Bakerian Medal and Lecture

    On 'Galaxies and their nuclei'.

  • Balzan Prize

    For high energy astrophysics.

  • Blackett and Jagdish Chandra Bose Memorial Lectures

    On 'Our final century- will civilisation survive?'.

  • Crafoord Prize

    In the field of astronomy for understanding the large-scale structure of the Universe.

  • Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture

    On 'Einstein's legacy as a scientist and icon'.

  • Rutherford Memorial Lecture

    Given in New Zealand.

  • UK-Canada Rutherford Lecture

    On 'The mystery of gamma-ray bursts'.

  • Copley Medal

    For being arguably the most distinguished theoretical astrophysicist of his generation, responsible for numerous and varied conceptual breakthroughs, with influence spreading far beyond the specialist academic community.

The Lord Rees of Ludlow OM Kt HonFREng FRS
Elected 1979