Martin Rees

Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, (born 23

The Right Honourable
June 1942) is a British cosmologist and
astrophysicist.[10] He is the fifteenth Astronomer The Lord Rees of Ludlow
OM FRS HonFREng FMedSci FRAS
Royal, appointed in 1995,[11][12] and was Master of
HonFInstP
Trinity College, Cambridge, from 2004 to 2012 and
President of the Royal Society between 2005 and
2010.[13][14] He has received various physics awards
including the Wolf Prize in Physics in 2024 for
fundamental contributions to high-energy astrophysics,
galaxies and structure formation, and cosmology.

Early life and education

Rees was born on 23 June 1942 in York,
England.[1][15] After a peripatetic life during the war
his parents, both teachers, settled with Rees, an only
child, in a rural part of Shropshire near the border with
Wales. There, his parents founded Bedstone College, a
Official portrait, 2019
boarding school based on progressive educational
concepts.[16] He was educated at Bedstone College, 60th President of the Royal Society
then from the age of 13 at Shrewsbury School. He In office
studied for the mathematical tripos at Trinity College, 2005–2010
Cambridge,[1] graduating with first class honours. He Preceded by The Lord May of Oxford
then undertook post-graduate research at Cambridge
Succeeded by Paul Nurse
and completed a PhD supervised by Dennis Sciama in
1967.[3][17][18] Rees' post-graduate work in 78th President of the Royal Astronomical
Society
astrophysics in the mid-1960s coincided with an
In office
explosion of new discoveries, with breakthroughs
1992–1994
ranging from confirmation of the Big Bang, the
discovery of neutron stars and black holes, and a host Preceded by Ken Pounds
of other revelations.[16] Succeeded by Carole Jordan
39th Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
In office
Career 2004–2012

After holding postdoctoral research positions in the Preceded by Amartya Sen

United Kingdom and the United States, he was a Succeeded by Sir Gregory Winter
professor at Sussex University, during 1972–1973. He Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
later moved to Cambridge, where he was the Plumian Assumed office
Professor at the University of Cambridge until 1991, 6 September 2005
and the director of the Institute of Astronomy. Life Peerage
Personal details
He was professor of astronomy at Gresham College,
London, in 1975 and became a Fellow of the Royal Born 23 June 1942

Society in 1979. From 1992 to 2003, he was Royal York, England

Society Research Professor, and from 2003 Professor Political party None (crossbencher)
of Cosmology and Astrophysics. He was Master of Spouse(s) Dame Caroline Humphrey,
Trinity College, Cambridge, during 2004–2012. He is Lady Rees
​
an Honorary Fellow of Darwin College,[19] King's ​(m. 1986)​[1]
College,[20] Clare Hall,[21] Robinson College and Jesus Website www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~mjr/ (htt
College, Cambridge.[22] p://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~mjr/)

Education Shrewsbury School[1]

Rees is a member of the Board of the Institute for
Advanced Study in Princeton, and the Oxford Martin Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge
School. He co-founded the Centre for the Study of (BA, PhD)
Existential Risk[23] and serves on the Scientific Known for Rees–Sciama effect
Advisory Board for the Future of Life Institute.[24] He 21-cm cosmology
has formerly been a Trustee of the British Museum, the Coining particle chauvinism
Science Museum, the Gates Cambridge Trust and the Awards Dannie Heineman Prize for
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Astrophysics (1984)
Gold Medal of the Royal
His doctoral students have included Roger
Astronomical Society (1987)
Blandford,[3][4] Craig Hogan,[5][6] Nick Kaiser[25]
Balzan Prize (1989)
Priyamvada Natarajan,[7] and James E. Pringle. Bower Award (1998)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology
(2001)
Research Albert Einstein World Award of
Science (2003)
Rees is the author of more than 500 research
Michael Faraday Prize (2004)
papers.[26] He is an author of books on astronomy and
Crafoord Prize (2005)
science intended for the lay public and gives many Order of Merit (2007)
public lectures and broadcasts. In 2010 he was invited Templeton Prize (2011)
to deliver the Reith Lectures for the BBC,[27] now Isaac Newton Medal (2012)
published as From Here to Infinity: Scientific Dalton Medal (2012)
Horizons. HonFREng[2] (2007)
Nierenberg Prize (2015)
Rees has made contributions to the origin of cosmic
Fritz Zwicky Prize (2020)
microwave background radiation, as well as to galaxy
Copley Medal (2023)
clustering and formation. His studies of the distribution
Wolf Prize in Physics (2024)
of quasars challenged the now-rejected steady state
theory.[28] He was one of the first to propose that Scientific career
enormous black holes power quasars,[29] and that Fields Astronomy
superluminal astronomical observations can be Astrophysics
explained as an optical illusion caused by an object Institutions University of Cambridge
moving partly in the direction of the observer.[30] University of Sussex
Since the 1990s, Rees has worked on gamma-ray Thesis Physical processes in radio
bursts, especially in collaboration with Péter sources and inter-galactic
Mészáros,[31] and on how the "cosmic dark ages" medium (https://web.archive.o
ended when the first stars formed. Since the 1970s he rg/web/20180613184309/http
has been interested in anthropic reasoning, and the s://copac.jisc.ac.uk/id/611874
possibility that our visible universe is part of a vaster 1?style=html) (1967)
"multiverse".[32][33] Doctoral Dennis Sciama[3]
advisor
Doctoral Roger Blandford[3][4]
Public engagement students Craig Hogan[5][6]
In addition to expansion of his scientific interests, Rees Priyamvada Natarajan[7]
has written and spoken extensively about the problems James E. Pringle[8]
and challenges of the 21st century, and interfaces Nick Kaiser[9]
between science, ethics, and politics.[34][35][36][37]
Martin Rees' voice
In his books Our Final Hour and On the Future, Rees 0:00 / 0:00
warns that humanity faces significant existential risks
Recorded June 2010 from the BBC Radio 4
in the 21st century due to technological advancements, programme the Reith Lectures
particularly in bioengineering and artificial
intelligence. Although he remains optimistic that if it is
managed successfully, technology could drastically improve standards of living.[38]

In 2007, he delivered the Gifford Lectures on 21st Century Science: Cosmic Perspective and Terrestrial
Challenges at the University of St Andrews.[39] He made two TED talks on existential risks.[40]

Rees thinks the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is worthwhile and has chaired the advisory board
for the "Breakthrough Listen" project, a programme of SETI investigations funded by the Russian/US
investor Yuri Milner.[41]

In August 2014, Rees was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian
expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's
referendum on that issue.[42]

To mark the 300th anniversary of the Board 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.[43]

In 2015, he was co-author of the report that launched the Global Apollo Programme, which calls for
developed nations to commit to spending 0.02% of their GDP for 10 years, to fund coordinated research
to make carbon-free baseload electricity less costly than electricity from coal by the year 2025.[44]
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 as assisted dying, preservation of dark skies, and reforms to broaden the
post-16 and undergraduate curricula in the UK.[45] He is also a current member of the House of Lords
Science and Technology Committee.[46]

Selected bibliography
Cosmic Coincidences: Dark Matter, Mankind, and Anthropic Cosmology (co-author 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, 2nd
edition 2009, 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
(see 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 Beyond (UK title: Our 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 yet to be published.
From Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons, 2011; ISBN 978-1-84668-503-3
On the Future: Prospects for Humanity, October 2018, Princeton University Press;
ISBN 978-0-691-18044-1
Rees, Martin (September 2020). "Our place in the universe" (https://www.scientificamerican.
com/article/how-astronomers-revolutionized-our-view-of-the-cosmos/). Scientific American.
323 (3): 56–62. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0920-58 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fscientific
american0920-58). PMID 39014689 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39014689). (Online
version is titled "How astronomers revolutionized our view of the cosmos".)
The End of Astronauts (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674257726)
(co-author Donald Goldsmith), 2022, Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674257726
If Science is to Save us (https://www.wiley.com/en-us/If+Science+is+to+Save+Us-p-978150
9554201), 2022, Polity Press ISBN 9781509554201
Rees, M.,"Cosmology and High Energy Astrophysics: A 50 year Perspective on Personality,
Progress, and Prospects" (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-astro-11
1021-084639), Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 60:1–30, 2022.

Honours and awards

He has been president of the Royal Astronomical Society (1992–94) and the British Science Association
(1995–96), and was a Member of Council of the Royal Institution of Great Britain until 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 the US National Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences,[47] the Science
Academy of Turkey[48] and the Japan Academy. He became president of the Royal Society on 1
December 2005[49][50] and continued until the end of the Society's 350th Anniversary Celebrations in
2010. In 2011, he was awarded the Templeton Prize.[51] In 2005, Rees was elevated to a life peerage,
sitting as a crossbencher in the House of Lords as Baron Rees of Ludlow, of Ludlow in the County of
Shropshire.[52][53] In 2005, he was awarded the Crafoord Prize.[54] Other awards and honours include:

1975 – Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[55]

1982 – Elected to the National Academy of Sciences[56]
1984 – Heineman Prize
1987 – Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
1989 – Balzan Prize for High Energy Astrophysics
1992 – Knight Bachelor[57]
1993 – Bruce Medal
1993 – Elected to the American Philosophical Society[58]
1995 – Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Uppsala
University, Sweden[59]
1999 – Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement[60]
2000 – Bruno Rossi Prize
2001 – Gruber Prize in Cosmology
2003 – Albert Einstein World Award of Science[61]
2004 – Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society
2004 – Lifeboat Foundation's Guardian Award
2004 – Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize for science communication
2005 – Life Peerage[62]
2005 – Crafoord Prize, with James Gunn and James Peebles
2007 – Order of Merit – in the personal gift of The Queen[63]
2007 – Caird Medal of the National Maritime Museum
2007 – Honorary Fellow[2] of the Royal Academy of Engineering[2]
2011 – Templeton Prize[64]
2012 – Institute of Physics Isaac Newton Medal
2013 – Dirac Medal ICTP[65]
2016 – Honorary Doctorate, Harvard University (awarded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
on 26 May 2016)
2017 – Lilienfeld Prize
2020 – Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics and Cosmology[66]
2020 – Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.[67]
2023 – Copley Medal[68]
2024 – Wolf Prize in Physics[69]
The Asteroid 4587 Rees and the Sir Martin Rees Academic Scholarship at Shrewsbury International
School are named in his honour.
In June 2022, to celebrate his 80th birthday, Rees was the subject of the BBC programme The Sky at
Night, in conversation with Professor Chris Lintott.[70]

Personal life
Rees married the anthropologist Caroline Humphrey in 1986.[1] He is an atheist but has criticized militant
atheists for being too hostile to religion.[71][72][73] Rees is a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party, but
has no party affiliation when sitting in the House of Lords.[74][75]

See also
Particle chauvinism

References
1. Anon (2017) "REES OF LUDLOW" (https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whosw
ho/U32152). Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black.
(Subscription or UK public library membership (https://www.ukwhoswho.com/page/subscribe#pub
lic) required.) doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.32152 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fww%2
F9780199540884.013.32152) (subscription required)
2. "List of Fellows" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160608094405/http://www.raeng.org.uk/abo
ut-us/people-council-committees/the-fellowship/list-of-fellows). raeng.org.uk. Archived from
the original (http://www.raeng.org.uk/about-us/people-council-committees/the-fellowship/list-
of-fellows) on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
3. Martin Rees (https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=78460) at the Mathematics Genealogy
Project
4. Blandford, Roger David (1973). Electrodynamics and astrophysical applications of strong
waves (https://web.archive.org/web/20190427084213/https://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vw
ebv/holdingsInfo%3fbibId=6228). lib.cam.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.
OCLC 500386171 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/500386171). EThOS uk.bl.ethos.450028
(https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.450028). Archived from the original (htt
p://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6228) on 27 April 2019. Retrieved
11 December 2017.
5. Hogan, Craig James (1980). Pre galactic history (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.
EThOS uk.bl.ethos.258089 (https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.258089).
6. Hogan, Craig James. "Curriculum vitae" (https://www.nsf.gov/mps/ast/aaac/members/2013-
14_bios/hogan.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 19 February 2018.
7. "CURRICULUM VITAE: Priyamvada Natarajan" (https://campuspress.yale.edu/priya/cv/cv
2/). Yale CampusPress. Yale University. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
8. "Martin Rees – the Mathematics Genealogy Project" (https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nod
ak.edu/id.php?id=78460).
9. "Curriculum Vitae – Nicholas Kaiser" (https://web.archive.org/web/20050217143424/http://w
ww.ifa.hawaii.edu/~kaiser/biblio/cv.pdf) (PDF). ifa.hawaii.edu. Archived from the original (htt
ps://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~kaiser/biblio/cv.pdf) (PDF) on 17 February 2005. Retrieved
13 September 2019.
10. Rees, Martin J. (18 August 2022). "Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics: A 50-Year
Perspective on Personalities, Progress, and Prospects" (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/f
ull/10.1146/annurev-astro-111021-084639). Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
60 (1): 1–30. Bibcode:2022ARA&A..60....1R (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022ARA&
A..60....1R). doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-111021-084639 (https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannure
v-astro-111021-084639). ISSN 0066-4146 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0066-4146).
S2CID 248066390 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:248066390). Retrieved
19 August 2022.
11. "Portraits of Astronomers Royal" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150104225904/http://www.r
mg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/history/portraits-of-the-astronomers-r
oyal). rmg.co.uk. Royal Museums Greenwich. Archived from the original (http://www.rmg.co.
uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/history/portraits-of-the-astronomers-royal)
on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
12. "Astronomer Royal" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160308012357/http://www.royal.gov.uk/
TheRoyalHousehold/OfficialRoyalposts/AstronomerRoyal.aspx). The British Monarchy.
Royal Household. Archived from the original (http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/O
fficialRoyalposts/AstronomerRoyal.aspx) on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
13. "Interviews with Charlie Rose, 2003 and 2008" (https://web.archive.org/web/201001280205
01/http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/1729). charlierose.com. Archived from the original
(http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/1729) on 28 January 2010. accessed 31 August
2014
14. Anon (2010). "New Statesman Interviews Martin Rees" (http://www.newstatesman.com/idea
s/2010/04/interview-science-climate). New Statesman. accessed 31 August 2014
15. GRO Register of Births: SEP 1942 9c 1465 YORK – Martin J. Rees, mmn=Bett
16. "Templeton Prize Winners – Discover Laureates From 1973 to Today" (https://www.templeto
nprize.org/templeton-prize-winners-2/). Templeton Prize.
17. Rees, Martin (1967). Physical Processes in Radio Sources and the Intergalactic Medium (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20180613184309/https://copac.jisc.ac.uk/id/6118741?style=html).
copac.jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. Archived from the original (http://cop
ac.jisc.ac.uk/id/6118741?style=html) on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
18. "Inventory: Martin Rees" (https://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7c844532-b80b-11e0-8868-00144feab
dc0.html#axzz2IdKRAN00). Financial Times. 2014. Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/archiv
e/20221210221216/https://www.ft.com/content/7c844532-b80b-11e0-8868-00144feabdc0#a
xzz2IdKRAN00) from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
(subscription required)
19. "Master & fellows" (https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/people/fellows). Darwin College
Cambridge. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
20. "Honorary Fellows" (http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/research/fellows/honorary.html).
www.kings.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
21. "Honorary Fellow | Clare Hall" (https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/affiliation/honorary-fellow).
www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
22. "Honorary and St Radegund Fellows" (https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/college/people/honorary
-st-radegund-fellows). Jesus College Cambridge. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
23. Lewsey, Fred (25 November 2012). "Humanity's last invention and our uncertain future" (htt
p://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/humanitys-last-invention-and-our-uncertain-future).
Research News. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
24. Who We Are (https://archive.today/20140507163856/http://fli.webfactional.com/who), Future
of Life Institute, 2014, archived from the original (http://fli.webfactional.com/who) on 7 May
2014, retrieved 7 May 2014
25. "Nick Kaiser | Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics" (https://higgs.ph.ed.ac.uk/people/associ
ates/nick-kaiser). higgs.ph.ed.ac.uk. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
26. Martin Rees (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=7201512394) publications
indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
27. "BBC Radio 4 – The Reith Lectures, Martin Rees – Scientific Horizons, The Scientific
Citizen" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sj9lh). BBC. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
28. "Lord Martin Rees" (https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/). Academy of
Achievement. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
29. 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 (https://ui.adsab
s.harvard.edu/abs/1984ARA&A..22..471R). doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.22.090184.002351 (http
s://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev.aa.22.090184.002351).
30. Rees, M.J. (1966). "Appearance of Relativistically Expanding Radio Sources". Nature. 211
(5048): 468–70. Bibcode:1966Natur.211..468R (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1966Natu
r.211..468R). doi:10.1038/211468a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F211468a0).
S2CID 41065207 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:41065207).
31. 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 (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992ApJ...397..570M).
doi:10.1086/171813 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F171813).
32. 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 (https://ui.adsabs.harva
rd.edu/abs/1979Natur.278..605C). doi:10.1038/278605a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F27860
5a0). S2CID 4363262 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4363262).
33. Martin J. Rees (1997). Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others. Perseus Books.
ISBN 978-0-7382-0033-0.
34. "Martin Rees Biography and Interview" (https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/#i
nterview/). www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
35. Rees, Martin (9 June 2006). "Dark materials" (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/
2006/jun/10/science.comment). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 (https://search.worldcat.or
g/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
36. Podcast of Lecture "The World in 2050" (http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/downloads/podcasts/
200902_rees.mp3), given at the James 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?" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/11605785/Astronomer-Ro
yal-Martin-Rees-predicts-the-world-will-be-run-by-computers-soon.html). The Telegraph.
ISSN 0307-1235 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0307-1235). Retrieved 23 June 2019.
38. Illing, Sean (18 October 2018). "Cosmologist Martin Rees gives humanity a 50-50 chance of
surviving the 21st century" (https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/18/17886974/scienc
e-technology-climate-change-existential-threats-martin-rees). Vox. Retrieved 13 October
2024.
39. "The St Andrews Gifford Lectures" (https://gifford.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk). st-andrews.ac.uk.
University of St Andrews.
40. Rees, Martin. "Martin Rees | Speaker" (https://www.ted.com/speakers/sir_martin_rees).
TED. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
41. Interview with Paul Broks (http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/02/cosmic-man/)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120223211001/http://www.prospectmagazine.co.u
k/2010/02/cosmic-man/) 23 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine,
Prospectmagazine.co.uk; accessed 31 August 2014.
42. "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories" (https://www.theguardia
n.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text). The
Guardian. London. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
43. "£4m prize offers hope to people with dementia to stay independent" (https://www.ukri.org/n
ews/4m-prize-offers-hope-to-people-with-dementia-to-stay-independent/). UK Research and
Innovation. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
44. Carrington, Damian. "Global Apollo programme seeks to make clean energy cheaper than
coal" (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/02/apollo-programme-for-clean-e
nergy-needed-to-tackle-climate-change). The Guardian. No. 2 June 2015. Guardian News
Media. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
45. "Lord Rees of Ludlow | Spoken contributions" (https://members.parliament.uk/member/3751/
contributions). UK Parliament.
46. "Science and Technology Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament" (https://c
ommittees.parliament.uk/committee/193/science-and-technology-committee-lords/members
hip/).
47. "M.J. Rees" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160214092416/https://www.knaw.nl/en/member
s/foreign-members/4688). Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from
the original (https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/foreign-members/4688) on 14 February 2016.
Retrieved 14 February 2016.
48. "Foreign Honorary Members" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150106184357/http://en.bilima
kademisi.org/uyeler/foreign-honorary-members-of-the-science-academy/). Bilim Akademisi.
Archived from the original (http://en.bilimakademisi.org/uyeler/foreign-honorary-members-of-
the-science-academy) on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
49. "Rees tipped to head science body" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4391243.st
m). BBC News. 29 March 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
50. Martin Rees nominated for presidency of the Royal Society (http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/new
s.asp?id=3022) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20071001001405/http://www.royalso
c.ac.uk/news.asp?id=3022) 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, royalsoc.ac.uk, 29
March 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.
51. Sample, Ian (6 April 2011). "Martin Rees wins controversial £1m Templeton prize" (https://w
ww.theguardian.com/science/2011/apr/06/martin-rees-templeton-prize). The Guardian.
ISSN 0261-3077 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
52. "State: Crown Office" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/57753). The London
Gazette. No. 57753. 9 September 2005. p. 11653. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
53. Sir Martin Rees appointed to the House of Lords (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/200
5080101) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110606190012/http://www.admin.cam.a
c.uk/news/dp/2005080101) 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, admin.cam.ac.uk, 1
August 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.
54. Professor Sir Martin Rees wins Crafoord Prize (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/20050
20801) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20050329142814/http://www.admin.cam.ac.u
k/news/dp/2005020801) 29 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine, admin.cam.ac.uk, 10
February 2005; accessed 31 August 2014.
55. "Martin John Rees" (https://www.amacad.org/person/martin-john-rees). American Academy
of Arts & Sciences. 7 August 2023.
56. "Martin J. Rees" (http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/45936.html).
www.nasonline.org.
57. "No. 52935" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/52935/page/9177). The London
Gazette. 29 May 1992. p. 9177.
58. "APS Member History" (https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Martin+Rees
&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advance
d).
59. "Honorary doctorates – Uppsala University, Sweden" (http://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/tradition
s/prizes/honorary-doctorates/). www.uu.se. 9 June 2023.
60. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement" (https://achievement.or
g/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration). www.achievement.org. American
Academy of Achievement.
61. "Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2003" (https://web.archive.org/web/2014060700152
3/http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/winners-science-martinrees.php). Archived from the
original (http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/winners-science-martinrees.php) on 7 June
2014. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
62. "No. 57753" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/57753/page/11653). The London
Gazette. 9 September 2005. p. 11653.
63. "No. 58379" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/58379/page/9395). The London
Gazette. 29 June 2007. p. 9395.
64. Cressey, Daniel (2011). "Martin Rees takes Templeton Prize". Nature.
doi:10.1038/news.2011.208 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnews.2011.208).
65. "ICTP - The Medallists" (https://www.ictp.it/about-ictp/prizes-awards/the-dirac-medal/the-me
dallists.aspx). www.ictp.it.
66. "European Astronomical Society 2020 prizes" (https://eas.unige.ch/documents/eas_prizes_2
020.pdf) (PDF). European Astronomical Society. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
67. "AAS Fellows" (https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows). AAS. Retrieved
30 September 2020.
68. Copley Medal 2023 (https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/copley-medal/)
69. "Martin Rees Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics 2024" (https://wolffund.org.il/martin-rees/). Wolf
Prize. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
70. "BBC Four – The Sky at Night, The Astronomer Royal at 80" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/progra
mmes/m0018b4q). BBC.
71. "Templeton Report: Martin J. Rees Wins 2011 Templeton Prize" (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20160303194123/http://www.templeton.org/templeton_report/20110420/index.html).
Archived from the original (https://www.templeton.org/templeton_report/20110420/index.htm
l) on 3 March 2016.
72. Sample, Ian (6 April 2011). "Martin Rees: I've got no religious beliefs at all – interview" (http
s://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/apr/06/astronomer-royal-martin-rees-interview).
TheGuardian.com.
73. "Can humanity survive the future?" (https://www.ft.com/content/3ebb3122-cb11-11e8-8d0b-
a6539b949662). Financial Times. October 2018. Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/archive/
20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/3ebb3122-cb11-11e8-8d0b-a6539b949662) from the
original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2020. "Rees, while stating he is an
atheist, declares that he shares a sense of "mystery" with those who believe in God."
74. "Martin Rees: 'We shouldn't attach any weight to what Hawking says" (https://www.independ
ent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/martin-rees-we-shouldnt-attach-any-weight-to-what-hawking-
says-about-god-2090421.html). The Independent. 27 September 2010. Retrieved
20 February 2020.
75. Radford, Tim (2 December 2005). "Guardian profile: Martin Rees" (https://www.theguardian.
com/science/2005/dec/02/highereducationprofile.research). The Guardian. Retrieved
20 February 2020.
This article incorporates text (https://royalsociety.org/people/martin-rees-12156/) available
under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martin_Rees&oldid=1265617979"