Baron Martin Rees
Baron Martin Rees, Ph.D., OM, FRS, FMedSci, FRAS, HonFREng, is the 15th Astronomer Royal appointed in 1995, Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, and crossbench member of the House of Lords.
With over 50 years of groundbreaking contributions to theoretical astrophysics, he has shaped our understanding of cosmic phenomena from black holes to the multiverse.
His main research interests are:
- High energy astrophysics — especially gamma ray bursts, galactic nuclei, black hole formation, and radiative processes (including gravitational waves).
- Cosmic structure formation — especially the early generation of stars and galaxies that formed at high redshifts at the end of the cosmic “dark age”.
- General cosmological issues.
He is Cofounder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and a leading voice on humanity’s greatest challenges in the 21st century. Martin has authored more than 500 research papers with over 150,000 citations, establishing him as one of the world’s most influential physicists. He recently received the 2024 Wolf Prize in Physics for fundamental contributions to high-energy astrophysics, galaxies and structure formation, and cosmology.
Born on 23 June 1942 in York, England, Martin was the only child of two teachers. After a peripatetic life during the war, his family settled in rural Shropshire near the Welsh border, where his parents founded Bedstone College, a progressive boarding school based on innovative educational concepts. He was educated at Bedstone before attending Shrewsbury School from age 13.
He studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours in the Mathematical Tripos in 1963. He earned his Ph.D. in Astrophysics in 1967, under Dennis Sciama at Cambridge and it coincided with revolutionary discoveries including quasars, pulsars, and the cosmic microwave background radiation, during what he called “an exciting period in astronomy and cosmology.”
Martin held postdoctoral positions at the Institute for Theoretical Astronomy, Cambridge between 1967 and 1972, with visiting appointments at Caltech in 1968 and in 1971, Princeton from 1969 to 1970, and Harvard in 1972. After a brief professorship at Sussex University between 1972 and 1973, he returned to Cambridge as Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, a position once held by Sir Fred Hoyle, and where he stayed for almost twenty years between 1973 and 1991.
He served as Director of the Institute of Astronomy between 1977 and 1982 and between 1987 and 1991. He was Royal Society Research Professor from 1992 to 2003, before becoming the 38th Master of Trinity College, Cambridge in 2004, until 2012. In 2019, he was appointed Professor Emeritus of Cosmology and Astrophysics at Cambridge.
Martin’s research has fundamentally transformed cosmology and astrophysics across multiple domains. In the early 1970s, he was among the first to propose that supermassive black holes power quasars, developing detailed models of accretion disk physics and relativistic jets.
His 1971 paper with Donald Lynden-Bell first suggested that supermassive black holes exist at the centers of galaxies—a prediction now confirmed by observations including the 2020 Nobel Prize-winning discovery of Sagittarius A*.
His 1984 paper Formation of Galaxies and Large-scale Structure with Cold Dark Matter became a cornerstone of modern cosmology, garnering over 1,500 citations. With Péter Mészáros, he developed the fireball model for gamma-ray bursts, correctly predicting afterglow emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum.
His 1979 Nature paper on The Anthropic Principle and the Structure of the Physical World pioneered discussions of cosmic fine-tuning and the multiverse. Since the 1970s, he has been interested in anthropic reasoning and the possibility that our visible universe is part of a vast multiverse.
In 1995, Martin was appointed the 15th Astronomer Royal, an honorary position dating to 1675. He served as the 60th President of the Royal Society between 2005 and 2010 during its 350th anniversary celebrations, becoming one of few to hold both prestigious positions. He previously served as President of the Royal Astronomical Society between 1992 and 1994 and the British Science Association in 1995.
In 2005, he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Rees of Ludlow, sitting as a crossbencher in the House of Lords. As a parliamentarian, he contributes to debates on science policy, education reform, emerging technologies, and issues such as assisted dying and preservation of dark skies, serving on the Science and Technology Committee.
Martin’s awards include the 2024 Wolf Prize in Physics, Templeton Prize (2011) – £1 million for contributions to understanding humanity’s place in the cosmos, Crafoord Prize (2005) from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1987), Albert Einstein World Award of Science (2003), Gruber Cosmology Prize (2001), Balzan International Prize (1989), Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (AAS/AIP), Bower Award for Science of the Franklin Institute, Michael Faraday Prize (2004), and Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award (2004).
Queen Elizabeth II appointed him to the Order of Merit in 2007, one of 24 members of this highest British honor. He was knighted in 1992 and holds over 30 honorary doctorates from universities including Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Toronto, Durham, Melbourne, Sydney, and Uppsala. He is a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Japan Academy, and numerous other international academies.
In 2012, Martin cofounded the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) with Huw Price and Jaan Tallinn. This interdisciplinary research center examines risks from artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate change, and other emerging threats to humanity’s survival. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Future of Life Institute and has been instrumental in establishing existential risk studies as a legitimate academic field. Watch Can we prevent the end of the world?
Martin has authored over 500 research papers and eleven popular books bridging science and society. His influential works include Our Final Century (2003): Warning of a 50% chance of civilization-ending catastrophe this century, Just Six Numbers (1999): His most successful book exploring cosmic fine-tuning and the six fundamental constants that determine the universe’s structure, On the Future: Prospects for Humanity (2018): Examining 21st-century challenges and opportunities, If Science is to Save Us (2023): Latest work on science’s role in addressing global challenges, Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others (1997), Gravity’s Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe (with Mitchell Begelman, 1995), and The End of Astronauts (with Donald Goldsmith, 2022).
In 2010, he delivered the prestigious BBC Reith Lectures on Scientific Horizons reaching millions. His TED talks on existential risk have garnered 4–5 million views collectively. Watch Is this our final century? and Can we prevent the end of the world?
Martin has served on the Board of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton since 1998, the Oxford Martin School, and chairs the advisory board for the Breakthrough Listen project searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. He has formerly been a Trustee of the British Museum, Science Museum, Gates Cambridge Trust, and Institute for Public Policy Research. His distinguished doctoral students include Roger Blandford, Craig Hogan, Nick Kaiser, Priyamvada Natarajan, and James E. Pringle.
In 2014, he instigated the Longitude Prize 2014 for antibiotic resistance and in 2015 coauthored the report launching the Global Apollo Programme for clean energy. He currently holds Visiting Professorships at Imperial College London and Leicester University.
Martin married anthropologist Caroline Humphrey in 1986. He is an atheist but has criticized militant atheists for being too hostile to religion. The Asteroid 4587 Rees and the Sir Martin Rees Academic Scholarship at Shrewsbury International School are named in his honor. In June 2022, he was featured on the BBC’s The Sky at Night celebrating his 80th birthday.
In recognition of his early and sustained warnings about existential risks facing humanity, Martin received the 2004 Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award, an honor annually bestowed upon respected scientists who have warned of future dangers and encouraged preventive measures. The award recognized his groundbreaking book Our Final Hour and his role as one of the first prominent scientists to systematically analyze 21st-century existential threats. He continues to serve on the Lifeboat Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, contributing to our mission of safeguarding humanity from emerging technological risks.
His additional honors include the Isaac Newton Medal (2012), Dirac Medal ICTP (2013), Lilienfeld Prize (2017), Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics and Cosmology (2020), and the prestigious Copley Medal (2023) from the Royal Society, its oldest and most distinguished award.
Watch Our Universe and Others, From Mars To The Multiverse — Newton Lecture (Professor Martin Rees), Conversation with Martin Rees, The World in 2050 — Martin Rees, Sir Martin Rees: Earth in its final century?, and Martin Rees: A Cosmic Perspective on the 21st Century.
Read his quotes.
Watch Martin Rees: Publish-human Intelligence – A Cosmic Perspective and Life’s Future in the Cosmos.
Listen to Talking Politics guide to Existential Risk and The Universe Speaks in Numbers: Martin Rees interviewed by Graham Farmelo.
Read On the Best Use of Science to Safeguard Humanity, The Era of Global Risk, The Scientific Citizen, and Cosmology and High Energy Astrophysics: A 50-Year Perspective.
Read Black holes are simpler than forests and science has its limits and The good scientist.
Visit his Personal Homepage, Academy of Achievement profile, Britannica page, Wikipedia page, Google Scholar page, and Institute of Astronomy profile. Follow him on Facebook and X.