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Martin Rees

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Rees of Ludlow
OMFRSHonFREngFMedSciFRASHonFInstP
Official portrait, 2019
60thPresident of the Royal Society
In office
2005–2010
Preceded byThe Lord May of Oxford
Succeeded byPaul Nurse
78thPresident of the Royal Astronomical Society
In office
1992–1994
Preceded byKen Pounds
Succeeded byCarole Jordan
39thMaster of Trinity College, Cambridge
In office
2004–2012
Preceded byAmartya Sen
Succeeded bySir Gregory Winter
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 September 2005
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born(1942-06-23)23 June 1942(age 82)
York,England
Political partyNone (crossbencher)
Spouse(s)
DameCaroline Humphrey,Lady Rees
​
​
(m.1986)​
[1]
Websitewww.ast.cam.ac.uk/~mjr/
EducationShrewsbury School[1]
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge(BA,PhD)
Known forRees–Sciama effect
21-cm cosmology
Coiningparticle chauvinism
AwardsDannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics(1984)
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society(1987)
Balzan Prize(1989)
Bower Award(1998)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology(2001)
Albert Einstein World Award of Science(2003)
Michael Faraday Prize(2004)
Crafoord Prize(2005)
Order of Merit(2007)
Templeton Prize(2011)
Isaac Newton Medal(2012)
Dalton Medal(2012)
HonFREng[2](2007)
Nierenberg Prize(2015)
Fritz Zwicky Prize(2020)
Copley Medal(2023)
Wolf Prize in Physics(2024)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
Astrophysics
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
University of Sussex
ThesisPhysical processes in radio sources and inter-galactic medium(1967)
Doctoral advisorDennis Sciama[3]
Doctoral students
Martin Rees' voice
Recorded June 2010from the BBC Radio 4 programme theReith Lectures

Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow,(born 23 June 1942) is a Britishcosmologistandastrophysicist.[10]He is the fifteenthAstronomer Royal,appointed in 1995,[11][12]and wasMasterofTrinity College, Cambridge,from 2004 to 2012 andPresident of the Royal Societybetween 2005 and 2010.[13][14][15][16][17][18]He has received various physics awards including theWolf Prize in Physicsin 2024 for for fundamental contributions to high-energy astrophysics, galaxies and structure formation, and cosmology.

Education and early life

[edit]

Rees was born on 23 June 1942 inYork,England.[1][19]After a peripatetic life during the war his parents, both teachers, settled with Rees, an only child, in a rural part ofShropshirenear the border with Wales. There, his parents foundedBedstone College,a boarding school based on progressive educational concepts.[20]He was educated at Bedstone College, then from the age of 13 atShrewsbury School.He studied for themathematical triposatTrinity College, Cambridge,[1]graduating withfirst class honours.He then undertook post-graduate research at Cambridge and completed a PhD supervised byDennis Sciamain 1967.[3][21][22]Rees' post-graduate work in astrophysics in the mid-1960s coincided with an explosion of new discoveries, with breakthroughs ranging from confirmation of theBig Bang,the discovery ofneutron starsandblack holes,and a host of other revelations.[20]

Career and research

[edit]

After holdingpostdoctoral researchpositions in the United Kingdom and the United States, he was a professor atSussex University,during 1972–1973. He later moved toCambridge,where he was thePlumian Professorat theUniversity of Cambridgeuntil 1991, and the director of theInstitute of Astronomy.

He was professor of astronomy atGresham College,London, in 1975 and became aFellow of the Royal Societyin 1979. From 1992 to 2003, he was Royal Society Research Professor, and from 2003 Professor ofCosmologyandAstrophysics.He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, during 2004–2012. He is an Honorary Fellow ofDarwin College,[23]King's College,[24]Clare Hall,[25]Robinson CollegeandJesus College, Cambridge.[26]

Rees is the author of more than 500 research papers,[13]and he has made contributions to the origin ofcosmic microwave background radiation,as well as togalaxyclustering and formation. His studies of the distribution ofquasarsled to final disproof ofsteady state theory.[citation needed]

He was one of the first to propose that enormousblack holespower quasars,[27]and thatsuperluminalastronomical observations can be explained as anoptical illusioncaused by an object moving partly in the direction of the observer.[28]

Since the 1990s, Rees has worked ongamma-ray bursts,especially in collaboration withPéter Mészáros,[29]and on how the "cosmic dark ages" ended when the first stars formed. Since the 1970s he has been interested inanthropicreasoning, and the possibility that our visible universe is part of a vaster "multiverse".[30][31]

Rees is an author of books onastronomyand science intended for the lay public and gives many public lectures and broadcasts. In 2010 he was invited to deliver theReith Lecturesfor theBBC,[32]now published asFrom Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons.Rees thinks thesearch for extraterrestrial intelligenceis worthwhile and has chaired the advisory board for the "Breakthrough Listen"project, a programme ofSETIinvestigations funded by the Russian/US investorYuri Milner.[33]

In addition to expansion of his scientific interests, Rees has written and spoken extensively about the problems and challenges of the 21st century, and interfaces between science, ethics, and politics.[34][35][36][37]He is a member of the Board of theInstitute for Advanced Study,in Princeton and theOxford Martin School.He co-founded theCentre for the Study of Existential Risk[38]and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for theFuture of Life Institute.[39]He has formerly been a Trustee of theBritish Museum,theScience Museum,the Gates Cambridge Trust and theInstitute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

In 2007, he delivered theGifford Lectureson21st Century Science: Cosmic Perspective and Terrestrial Challengesat theUniversity of St Andrews.[40]

In August 2014, Rees was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardianexpressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September'sreferendum on that issue.[41]

In 2015, he was co-author of the report that launched theGlobal Apollo Programme,which calls for developed nations to commit to spending 0.02% of their GDP for 10 years, to fund coordinated research to makecarbon-freebaseload electricityless costly thanelectricity from coalby the year 2025.[42]

His doctoral students have includedRoger Blandford,[3][4]Craig Hogan,[5][6]Nick Kaiser[43]Priyamvada Natarajan,[7]andJames E. Pringle.

To mark the 300th anniversary of theBoard of Longitudein 2014, he instigated a programme of new challenge prizes of £5-10m under the name'Longitude Prize 2014',which are administered by Nesta and for which he chairs the advisory board. The themes of the first two prizes are the reduction of inappropriate antibiotic use, and enhancing the safety and independence of dementia sufferers.The Longitude Prize on Dementiawas recently announced in 2022.

In his general writings and in the House of Lords his focus has been on the uses and abuses of advanced technology and on issues such asassisted dying,preservation of dark skies, and reforms to broaden the post-16 and undergraduate curricula in the UK.[44]He is also a current member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.[45]

Selected bibliography

[edit]
  • Cosmic Coincidences: Dark Matter, Mankind, and Anthropic Cosmology(co-authorJohn Gribbin), 1989, Bantam;ISBN0-553-34740-3
  • New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology,1995;ISBN0-521-64544-1
  • Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe,1995;ISBN0-7167-6029-0,2nd edition 2009,ISBN0-521-71793-0
  • Before the Beginning – Our Universe and Others,1997;ISBN0-7382-0033-6
  • Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe,1999;ISBN0-297-84297-8
  • Our Cosmic Habitat,2001;ISBN0-691-11477-3
  • Our Final Hour:A Scientist's Warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future In This Century—On Earth and Beyond(UK title:Our Final Century: Will the Human Race Survive the Twenty-first Century?), 2003;ISBN0-465-06862-6
  • What We Still Don't KnowISBN978-0-7139-9821-4yet to be published.
  • From Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons,2011;ISBN978-1-84668-503-3
  • On the Future:Prospects for Humanity,October 2018, Princeton University Press;ISBN978-0-691-18044-1
  • Rees, Martin (September 2020)."Our place in the universe".Scientific American.323(3): 56–62.doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0920-58.PMID39014689.(Online version is titled "How astronomers revolutionized our view of the cosmos".)
  • The End of Astronauts(co-author Donald Goldsmith), 2022, Harvard University PressISBN9780674257726
  • If Science is to Save us,2022, Polity PressISBN9781509554201
  • Rees, M.,"Cosmology and High Energy Astrophysics: A 50 year Perspective on Personality, Progress, and Prospects",Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 60:1–30, 2022.

Honours and awards

[edit]

He has been president of theRoyal Astronomical Society(1992–94) and theBritish Science Association(1995–96), and was a Member of Council of theRoyal Institution of Great Britainuntil 2010. Rees has received honorary degrees from a number of universities including Hull, Sussex, Uppsala, Toronto, Durham, Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Melbourne and Sydney. He belongs to several foreign academies, including theUS National Academy of Sciences,theRussian Academy of Sciences,thePontifical Academy of Sciences,theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences,[46]theScience Academy of Turkey[47]and theJapan Academy.He became president of theRoyal Societyon 1 December 2005[48][49]and continued until the end of the Society's 350th Anniversary Celebrations in 2010. In 2011, he was awarded theTempleton Prize.[50]In 2005, Rees was elevated to alife peerage,sitting as acrossbencherin theHouse of Lordsas Baron Rees of Ludlow, ofLudlowin the County of Shropshire.[51][52]In 2005, he was awarded the Crafoord Prize.[53]Other awards and honours include:

TheAsteroid4587 Reesand the Sir Martin Rees Academic Scholarship atShrewsbury International Schoolare named in his honour.

In June 2022, to celebrate his 80th birthday, Rees was the subject of the BBC programmeThe Sky at Night,in conversation with ProfessorChris Lintott.[69]

Personal life

[edit]

Rees married the anthropologistCaroline Humphreyin 1986.[1]He is an atheist but has criticizedmilitant atheistsfor being too hostile to religion.[70][71][72]Rees is a lifelong supporter of theLabour Party,but has no party affiliation when sitting in the House of Lords.[73][74]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdeAnon (2017)"REES OF LUDLOW".Who's Who(onlineOxford University Pressed.). Oxford: A & C Black.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.32152(subscription required)
  2. ^abc"List of Fellows".raeng.org.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 8 June 2016.Retrieved29 October2014.
  3. ^abcdMartin Reesat theMathematics Genealogy Project
  4. ^abBlandford, Roger David (1973).Electrodynamics and astrophysical applications of strong waves.lib.cam.ac.uk(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.OCLC500386171.EThOSuk.bl.ethos.450028.
  5. ^abHogan, Craig James (1980).Pre galactic history(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.EThOSuk.bl.ethos.258089.
  6. ^abHogan, Craig James."Curriculum vitae"(PDF).Retrieved19 February2018.
  7. ^ab"CURRICULUM VITAE: Priyamvada Natarajan".Yale CampusPress.Yale University.Retrieved27 August2020.
  8. ^"Martin Rees – the Mathematics Genealogy Project".
  9. ^"Curriculum Vitae – Nicholas Kaiser"(PDF).ifa.hawaii.edu.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 17 February 2005.Retrieved13 September2019.
  10. ^Rees, Martin J. (18 August 2022)."Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics: A 50-Year Perspective on Personalities, Progress, and Prospects".Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics.60(1): 1–30.Bibcode:2022ARA&A..60....1R.doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-111021-084639.ISSN0066-4146.S2CID248066390.Retrieved19 August2022.
  11. ^"Portraits of Astronomers Royal".rmg.co.uk.Royal Museums Greenwich. Archived fromthe originalon 4 January 2015.Retrieved18 February2015.
  12. ^"Astronomer Royal".The British Monarchy.Royal Household.Archived fromthe originalon 8 March 2016.Retrieved23 June2017.
  13. ^abMartin Reespublications indexed by theScopusbibliographic database.(subscription required)
  14. ^Martin J. ReesatLibrary of Congress,with 23 library catalogue records
  15. ^"2005 talk: Is this our final century?".ted.accessed 31 August 2014
  16. ^"Interviews with Charlie Rose, 2003 and 2008".charlierose.Archived fromthe originalon 28 January 2010.accessed 31 August 2014
  17. ^Anon (2010)."New Statesman Interviews Martin Rees".newstatesman.New Statesman.accessed 31 August 2014
  18. ^Talk by Martin Rees, March 2017onYouTube
  19. ^GRO Register of Births: SEP 1942 9c 1465 YORK – Martin J. Rees, mmn=Bett
  20. ^ab"Templeton Prize Winners – Discover Laureates From 1973 to Today".Templeton Prize.
  21. ^Rees, Martin (1967).Physical Processes in Radio Sources and the Intergalactic Medium.copac.jisc.ac.uk(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. Archived fromthe originalon 13 June 2018.Retrieved30 October2017.
  22. ^"Inventory: Martin Rees".Financial Times.2014.Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2022.Retrieved31 August2014.(subscription required)
  23. ^"Master & fellows".Darwin College Cambridge.Retrieved19 February2018.
  24. ^"Honorary Fellows".kings.cam.ac.uk.Retrieved15 March2018.
  25. ^"Honorary Fellow | Clare Hall".clarehall.cam.ac.uk.Retrieved15 March2018.
  26. ^"Honorary and St Radegund Fellows".Jesus College Cambridge.Retrieved19 February2018.
  27. ^Rees, M.J. (1984). "Black Hole Models for Active Galactic Nuclei".Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics.22:471–506.Bibcode:1984ARA&A..22..471R.doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.22.090184.002351.
  28. ^Rees, M.J. (1966). "Appearance of Relativistically Expanding Radio Sources".Nature.211(5048): 468–70.Bibcode:1966Natur.211..468R.doi:10.1038/211468a0.S2CID41065207.
  29. ^Meszaros, P.; Rees, M. J. (1992). "Tidal heating and mass loss in neutron star binaries – Implications for gamma-ray burst models".Astrophysical Journal.397(10): 570.Bibcode:1992ApJ...397..570M.doi:10.1086/171813.
  30. ^Carr, B. J.; Rees, M. J. (1979). "The anthropic principle and the structure of the physical world".Nature.278(5705): 605–612.Bibcode:1979Natur.278..605C.doi:10.1038/278605a0.S2CID4363262.
  31. ^Martin J. Rees (1997).Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others.Perseus Books.ISBN978-0-7382-0033-0.
  32. ^"BBC Radio 4 – The Reith Lectures, Martin Rees – Scientific Horizons, The Scientific Citizen".BBC.Retrieved16 March2023.
  33. ^Interview with Paul BroksArchived23 February 2012 at theWayback Machine,Prospectmagazine.co.uk; accessed 31 August 2014.
  34. ^"Martin Rees Biography and Interview".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  35. ^Rees, Martin (9 June 2006)."Dark materials".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved16 March2023.
  36. ^Podcast of Lecture "The World in 2050",given at theJames Martin 21st Century School,21school.ox.ac.uk, February 2009.
  37. ^Rees, Martin (23 May 2015)."Astronomer Royal Martin Rees: How soon will robots take over the world?".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved23 June2019.
  38. ^Lewsey, Fred (25 November 2012)."Humanity's last invention and our uncertain future".Research News.University of Cambridge.Retrieved28 January2013.
  39. ^Who We Are,Future of Life Institute, 2014, archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2014,retrieved7 May2014
  40. ^"The St Andrews Gifford Lectures".st-andrews.ac.uk.University of St Andrews.
  41. ^"Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories".The Guardian.London. 7 August 2014.Retrieved26 August2014.
  42. ^Carrington, Damian."Global Apollo programme seeks to make clean energy cheaper than coal".The Guardian.No. 2 June 2015.Guardian News Media.Retrieved2 June2015.
  43. ^"Nick Kaiser | Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics".higgs.ph.ed.ac.uk.7 August 2014.Retrieved15 March2018.
  44. ^https://members.parliament.uk/member/3751/contributions[bare URL]
  45. ^https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/193/science-and-technology-committee-lords/membership/[bare URL]
  46. ^"M.J. Rees".Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived fromthe originalon 14 February 2016.Retrieved14 February2016.
  47. ^"Foreign Honorary Members".Bilim Akademisi.Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2015.Retrieved31 August2014.
  48. ^"Rees tipped to head science body".BBC News.29 March 2005.Retrieved16 March2023.
  49. ^Martin Rees nominated for presidency of the Royal SocietyArchived1 October 2007 at theWayback Machine,royalsoc.ac.uk, 29 March 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.
  50. ^Sample, Ian; correspondent, science (6 April 2011)."Martin Rees wins controversial £1m Templeton prize".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved16 March2023.{{cite news}}:|last2=has generic name (help)
  51. ^"State: Crown Office".The London Gazette.No. 57753. 9 September 2005. p. 11653.Retrieved5 January2020.
  52. ^Sir Martin Rees appointed to the House of LordsArchived6 June 2011 at theWayback Machine,admin.cam.ac.uk, 1 August 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.
  53. ^Professor Sir Martin Rees wins Crafoord PrizeArchived29 March 2005 at theWayback Machine,admin.cam.ac.uk, 10 February 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.
  54. ^"Martin John Rees".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.7 August 2023.
  55. ^"Martin J. Rees".nasonline.org.
  56. ^"No. 52935".The London Gazette.29 May 1992. p. 9177.
  57. ^"APS Member History".
  58. ^"Honorary doctorates – Uppsala University, Sweden".uu.se.9 June 2023.
  59. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  60. ^"Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2003".Archived fromthe originalon 7 June 2014.Retrieved13 August2013.
  61. ^"No. 57753".The London Gazette.9 September 2005. p. 11653.
  62. ^"No. 58379".The London Gazette.29 June 2007. p. 9395.
  63. ^Cressey, Daniel (2011). "Martin Rees takes Templeton Prize".Nature.doi:10.1038/news.2011.208.
  64. ^"ICTP - The Medallists".ictp.it.
  65. ^"European Astronomical Society 2020 prizes"(PDF).European Astronomical Society.6 March 2020.Retrieved6 March2020.
  66. ^"AAS Fellows".AAS.Retrieved30 September2020.
  67. ^Copley Medal 2023
  68. ^"Martin Rees Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics 2024".Wolf Prize.3 July 2024.Retrieved20 August2024.
  69. ^"BBC Four – The Sky at Night, The Astronomer Royal at 80".BBC.
  70. ^"Templeton Report: Martin J. Rees Wins 2011 Templeton Prize".Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.
  71. ^Sample, Ian (6 April 2011)."Martin Rees: I've got no religious beliefs at all – interview".TheGuardian.
  72. ^"Can humanity survive the future?".Financial Times.October 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2022.Retrieved5 January2020.Rees, while stating he is an atheist, declares that he shares a sense of "mystery" with those who believe in God.
  73. ^"Martin Rees: 'We shouldn't attach any weight to what Hawking says".The Independent.27 September 2010.Retrieved20 February2020.
  74. ^Radford, Tim (2 December 2005)."Guardian profile: Martin Rees".The Guardian.Retrieved20 February2020.

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2005–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by 78th President of theRoyal Astronomical Society
1992–1994 		Succeeded by
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Preceded by 37thMaster of Trinity College, Cambridge
2004–2012 		Succeeded by
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