British cosmologist and astrophysicist (born 1942)
Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow , (born 23 June 1942) is a Britishcosmologist andastrophysicist .[ 10] Astronomer Royal from 1995 to 2025,[ 11] [ 12] [ 13] Master ofTrinity College, Cambridge , from 2004 to 2012, andPresident of the Royal Society between 2005 and 2010.[ 14] [ 15] Wolf Prize in Physics in 2024 for fundamental contributions to high-energy astrophysics, galaxies and structure formation, and cosmology.
Early life and education [ edit ] Rees was born on 23 June 1942 inYork , England.[ 1] [ 16] Shropshire near the border with Wales. There, his parents foundedBedstone College , a boarding school based on progressive educational concepts.[ 17] Shrewsbury School . He studied for themathematical tripos atTrinity College, Cambridge ,[ 1] first class honours . He then undertook post-graduate research at Cambridge and completed a PhD supervised byDennis Sciama in 1967.[ 3] [ 18] [ 19] Big Bang , the discovery ofneutron stars andblack holes , and a host of other revelations.[ 17]
After holdingpostdoctoral research positions 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 Professor at theUniversity of Cambridge until 1991, and the director of theInstitute of Astronomy .
He was professor of astronomy atGresham College , London, in 1975 and became aFellow of the Royal Society in 1979. From 1992 to 2003, he was Royal Society Research Professor, and from 2003 Professor ofCosmology andAstrophysics . He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, during 2004–2012. He is an Honorary Fellow ofDarwin College ,[ 20] King's College ,[ 21] Clare Hall ,[ 22] Robinson College andJesus College, Cambridge .[ 23]
Rees 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 [ 24] Future of Life Institute .[ 25] British Museum , theScience Museum , the Gates Cambridge Trust and theInstitute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) .
His doctoral students have includedRoger Blandford ,[ 3] [ 4] Craig Hogan ,[ 5] [ 6] Nick Kaiser [ 26] Priyamvada Natarajan ,[ 7] James E. Pringle .
Rees is the author of more than 500 research papers.[ 27] astronomy and science intended for the lay public and gives many public lectures and broadcasts. In 2010 he was invited to deliver theReith Lectures for theBBC ,[ 28] From Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons .
Rees has made contributions to the origin ofcosmic microwave background radiation , as well as togalaxy clustering and formation. His studies of the distribution ofquasars challenged the now-rejectedsteady state theory .[ 29] black holes power quasars,[ 30] superluminal astronomical observations can be explained as anoptical illusion caused by an object moving partly in the direction of the observer.[ 31]
Since the 1990s, Rees has worked ongamma-ray bursts , especially in collaboration withPéter Mészáros ,[ 32] anthropic reasoning, and the possibility that our visible universe is part of a vaster "multiverse ".[ 33] [ 34]
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.[ 35] [ 36] [ 37] [ 38]
In his booksOur Final Hour On the Future existential risks in the 21st century due to technological advancements, particularly inbioengineering andartificial intelligence . He estimated a 50% chance of human extinction during the 21st century, but remains optimistic that if the risks are successfully managed, technology could drastically improve standards of living.[ 39]
In 2007, he delivered theGifford Lectures on21st Century Science: Cosmic Perspective and Terrestrial Challenges at theUniversity of St Andrews .[ 40] TED talks on existential risks.[ 41]
Rees thinks thesearch for extraterrestrial intelligence is worthwhile and has chaired the advisory board for the "Breakthrough Listen " project, a programme ofSETI investigations funded by the Russian/US investorYuri Milner .[ 42]
In August 2014, Rees was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian referendum on that issue .[ 43]
To mark the 300th anniversary of theBoard of Longitude in 2014, he instigated a programme of new challenge prizes of £5-10m under the name "Longitude Prize 2014" 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 Dementia was announced in 2022.[ 44]
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-free baseload electricity less costly thanelectricity from coal by the year 2025.[ 45]
In his general writings and in theHouse 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.[ 46] [ 47]
Selected bibliography [ edit ] Cosmic Coincidences: Dark Matter, Mankind, and Anthropic Cosmology John Gribbin ), 1989, Bantam;ISBN 0-553-34740-3 New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology , 1995;ISBN 0-521-64544-1 Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe , 1995;ISBN 0-7167-6029-0 ISBN 0-521-71793-0 Before the Beginning – Our Universe and Others , 1997;ISBN 0-7382-0033-6 Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe , 1999;ISBN 0-297-84297-8 Fine-tuned universe § Examples for a list of the six numbers)Our Cosmic Habitat , 2001;ISBN 0-691-11477-3 Our Final Hour : A Scientist's Warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future In This Century—On Earth and BeyondOur Final Century: Will the Human Race Survive the Twenty-first Century? ), 2003;ISBN 0-465-06862-6 What We Still Don't Know ISBN 978-0-7139-9821-4 From Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons , 2011;ISBN 978-1-84668-503-3 On the Future : Prospects for HumanityISBN 978-0-691-18044-1 Rees, Martin (September 2020)."Our place in the universe" Scientific American .323 (3):56– 62.doi :10.1038/scientificamerican0920-58 .PMID 39014689 . The End of Astronauts (co-author Donald Goldsmith), 2022, Harvard University PressISBN 9780674257726 If Science is to Save us , 2022, Polity PressISBN 9781509554201 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. 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 Britain until 2010. Rees has received honorary degrees from a number of universities including Bath,[ 48] US National Academy of Sciences , theRussian Academy of Sciences , thePontifical Academy of Sciences , theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ,[ 49] Science Academy of Turkey [ 50] Japan Academy . He became president of theRoyal Society on 1 December 2005[ 51] [ 52] Templeton Prize .[ 53] life peerage , sitting as acrossbencher in theHouse of Lords as Baron Rees of Ludlow, ofLudlow in the County of Shropshire.[ 54] [ 55] [ 56]
TheAsteroid 4587 Rees and the Sir Martin Rees Academic Scholarship atShrewsbury International School are named in his honour.
In June 2022, to celebrate his 80th birthday, Rees was the subject of the BBC programmeThe Sky at Night Chris Lintott .[ 73]
Rees married the anthropologistCaroline Humphrey in 1986.[ 1] militant atheists for being too hostile to religion.[ 74] [ 75] [ 76] Labour Party , but has no party affiliation when sitting in the House of Lords.[ 77] [ 78]
^a b c d e Anon (2017)"REES OF LUDLOW" Who's Who Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black.(Subscription orUK public library membership required.) doi :10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.32152 (subscription required) ^a b c "List of Fellows" .raeng.org.uk . Archived fromthe original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved29 October 2014 .^a b c d Martin Rees at theMathematics Genealogy Project ^a b Blandford, Roger David (1973).Electrodynamics and astrophysical applications of strong waves lib.cam.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.OCLC 500386171 .EThOS uk.bl.ethos.450028 . Archived fromthe original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved11 December 2017 . ^a b Hogan, Craig James (1980).Pre galactic history (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.EThOS uk.bl.ethos.258089 . ^a b Hogan, Craig James."Curriculum vitae" (PDF) . Retrieved19 February 2018 . ^a b "CURRICULUM VITAE: Priyamvada Natarajan" .Yale CampusPress .Yale University . Retrieved27 August 2020 .^ "Martin Rees – the Mathematics Genealogy Project" .^ "Curriculum Vitae – Nicholas Kaiser" (PDF) .ifa.hawaii.edu . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 17 February 2005. Retrieved13 September 2019 .^ 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 .ISSN 0066-4146 .S2CID 248066390 . Retrieved19 August 2022 . ^ "Portraits of Astronomers Royal" .rmg.co.uk . Royal Museums Greenwich. Archived fromthe original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved18 February 2015 .^ "Astronomer Royal" .The British Monarchy Royal Household . Archived fromthe original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved23 June 2017 .^ "UK gets first female Astronomer Royal in 350 years" .BBC News . 30 July 2025.^ "Interviews with Charlie Rose, 2003 and 2008" .charlierose.com . Archived fromthe original on 28 January 2010.^ Anon (2010)."New Statesman Interviews Martin Rees" .New Statesman ^ GRO Register of Births: SEP 1942 9c 1465 YORK – Martin J. Rees, mmn=Bett ^a b "Templeton Prize Winners – Discover Laureates From 1973 to Today" .Templeton Prize .^ Rees, Martin (1967).Physical Processes in Radio Sources and the Intergalactic Medium copac.jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. Archived fromthe original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved30 October 2017 . ^ "Inventory: Martin Rees" Financial Times . 2014.Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved31 August 2014 .(subscription required) ^ "Master & fellows" . Darwin College Cambridge. Retrieved19 February 2018 .^ "Honorary Fellows" .www.kings.cam.ac.uk . Archived fromthe original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018 .^ "Honorary Fellow | Clare Hall" .www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk . Archived fromthe original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018 .^ "Honorary and St Radegund Fellows" . Jesus College Cambridge. Retrieved19 February 2018 .^ Lewsey, Fred (25 November 2012)."Humanity's last invention and our uncertain future" .Research News . University of Cambridge. Retrieved28 January 2013 . ^ Who We Are the original on 7 May 2014, retrieved7 May 2014 ^ "Nick Kaiser | Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics" .higgs.ph.ed.ac.uk . 7 August 2014. Archived fromthe original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018 .^ Martin Rees publications indexed by theScopus bibliographic database.(subscription required) ^ "BBC Radio 4 – The Reith Lectures, Martin Rees – Scientific Horizons, The Scientific Citizen" .BBC . Retrieved16 March 2023 .^ "Lord Martin Rees" .Academy of Achievement . Retrieved13 October 2024 .^ 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 . ^ Rees, M.J. (1966). "Appearance of Relativistically Expanding Radio Sources".Nature .211 (5048):468– 70.Bibcode :1966Natur.211..468R .doi :10.1038/211468a0 .S2CID 41065207 . ^ 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 . ^ 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 .S2CID 4363262 . ^ Martin J. Rees (1997).Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others . Perseus Books.ISBN 978-0-7382-0033-0 ^ "Martin Rees Biography and Interview" .www.achievement.org .American Academy of Achievement .^ Rees, Martin (9 June 2006)."Dark materials" .The Guardian .ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved16 March 2023 . ^ Podcast of Lecture "The World in 2050" [permanent dead link James Martin 21st Century School , 21school.ox.ac.uk, February 2009.^ Rees, Martin (23 May 2015)."Astronomer Royal Martin Rees: How soon will robots take over the world?" .The Telegraph .ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved23 June 2019 . ^ Illing, Sean (18 October 2018)."Cosmologist Martin Rees gives humanity a 50-50 chance of surviving the 21st century" .Vox . Retrieved13 October 2024 . ^ "The St Andrews Gifford Lectures" .st-andrews.ac.uk . University of St Andrews.^ Rees, Martin."Martin Rees | Speaker" .TED . Retrieved13 October 2024 . ^ Interview with Paul Broks Archived 23 February 2012 at theWayback Machine , Prospectmagazine.co.uk; accessed 31 August 2014.^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories" .The Guardian . London. 7 August 2014. Retrieved26 August 2014 .^ "£4m prize offers hope to people with dementia to stay independent" .UK Research and Innovation . 26 September 2022. Retrieved13 October 2024 .^ Carrington, Damian."Global Apollo programme seeks to make clean energy cheaper than coal" .The Guardian . No. 2 June 2015.Guardian News Media . Retrieved2 June 2015 . ^ "Lord Rees of Ludlow | Spoken contributions" .UK Parliament .^ "Science and Technology Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament" .^ "Lord Rees of Ludlow: oration" .www.bath.ac.uk . Retrieved16 October 2025 .^ "M.J. Rees" . Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived fromthe original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved14 February 2016 .^ "Foreign Honorary Members" .Bilim Akademisi . Archived fromthe original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved31 August 2014 .^ "Rees tipped to head science body" .BBC News . 29 March 2005. Retrieved16 March 2023 .^ Martin Rees nominated for presidency of the Royal Society Archived 1 October 2007 at theWayback Machine , royalsoc.ac.uk, 29 March 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.^ Sample, Ian (6 April 2011)."Martin Rees wins controversial £1m Templeton prize" .The Guardian .ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved16 March 2023 . ^ "State: Crown Office" .The London Gazette . Retrieved5 January 2020 .^ Sir Martin Rees appointed to the House of Lords Archived 6 June 2011 at theWayback Machine , admin.cam.ac.uk, 1 August 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.^ Professor Sir Martin Rees wins Crafoord Prize Archived 29 March 2005 at theWayback Machine , admin.cam.ac.uk, 10 February 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.^ "Martin John Rees" .American Academy of Arts & Sciences . 7 August 2023.^ "Martin J. Rees" .www.nasonline.org .^ "No. 52935" .The London Gazette ^ "APS Member History" .^ "Honorary doctorates – Uppsala University, Sweden" .www.uu.se . 9 June 2023.^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement" .www.achievement.org .American Academy of Achievement .^ "Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2003" . Archived fromthe original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved13 August 2013 .^ "No. 57753" .The London Gazette ^ "No. 58379" .The London Gazette ^ Cressey, Daniel (2011). "Martin Rees takes Templeton Prize".Nature .doi :10.1038/news.2011.208 . ^ Memoirs And Proceedings Of The Manchester Literary And Philosophical Society Volume 152 2013-14 ^ "ICTP - The Medallists" .www.ictp.it .^ "European Astronomical Society 2020 prizes" (PDF) .European Astronomical Society . 6 March 2020. Retrieved6 March 2020 .^ "AAS Fellows" . AAS. Retrieved30 September 2020 .^ Copley Medal 2023 ^ "Martin Rees Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics 2024" .Wolf Prize . 3 July 2024. Retrieved20 August 2024 .^ "BBC Four – The Sky at Night, The Astronomer Royal at 80" .BBC .^ "Templeton Report: Martin J. Rees Wins 2011 Templeton Prize" . Archived fromthe original on 3 March 2016.^ Sample, Ian (6 April 2011)."Martin Rees: I've got no religious beliefs at all – interview" .TheGuardian.com ^ "Can humanity survive the future?" Financial Times . October 2018.Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved5 January 2020 .Rees, while stating he is an atheist, declares that he shares a sense of "mystery" with those who believe in God. ^ "Martin Rees: 'We shouldn't attach any weight to what Hawking says" .The Independent . 27 September 2010. Retrieved20 February 2020 .^ Radford, Tim (2 December 2005)."Guardian profile: Martin Rees" .The Guardian . Retrieved20 February 2020 . text available under theCC BY 4.0 license.
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