A world-leading Durham University cosmologist behind one of the foremost theories for the evolution of the universe has been knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Professor Carlos Frenk receives the honour of Knight Bachelor from His Majesty King Charles III for services to astrophysics and cosmology.
Sir Carlos, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics in Durham’s Department of Physics, is one of the originators of the Cold Dark Matter theory for the formation of structure in the universe.
Professor Sir Carlos Frenk, CBE, FRS, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics, Durham University (Image: Durham University)
Working with scientists across the world, he uses high-power supercomputers to build model universes, based on the known laws of physics.
The techniques developed by Sir Carlos and his collaborators are now commonly used by cosmologists to explain the formation of the galaxies and other large-scale cosmic structures that we see in the universe around us.
Sir Carlos is a passionate science communicator, contributing to numerous popular science programmes on radio and television, while also championing scientific engagement with the public.
A simulated image of a Milky-Way sized halo (Image: The Aquarius Simulation-The Virgo Consortium)
His enthusiasm and drive also played an integral role, alongside Durham’s Emeritus Professor Alan Martin and the late Professor James Stirling, in the creation of Durham University’s Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics.
The Ogden Centre is a leading international centre for research in cosmology, astronomy and particle physics.
Sir Carlos helped secure philanthropic funding for the two buildings that house the centre, the second one designed by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind.
Professor Sir Carlos Frenk said: “To be knighted by His Majesty The King is a tremendous honour and to say that I am overjoyed is an understatement.
The Worlds, Systems and Creations projection to mark the official opening of the new Ogden Centre West building for The Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics (Image: Durham University)
“I am hugely grateful to my wife, Susan, and my family, my colleagues and students, and to Durham University, all of whom have given me unconditional support over the years, without which this would have never happened.
“As a teenager I remember being captivated by a night sky alight with stars and I knew then that I wanted to spend my life understanding its origins.
“To have been able to do that, working alongside some of the world’s most talented scientists, has been the greatest privilege.”
Sir Carlos joined Durham University in 1986 and in 2001 became the founding director of Durham’s Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC), which, alongside the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, makes up the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics.
His knighthood is the second royal honour for Sir Carlos after he was awarded a CBE by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2017.
He holds the Royal Astronomical Society’s highest honour, the Gold Medal for Astronomy, with previous recipients including Albert Einstein, Charles Babbage and Edwin Hubble.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and received the Society’s Rumford Medal for outstanding physics research, with past recipients including Michael Faraday and Louis Pasteur.
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Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, said: “Durham’s international standing in astrophysics and cosmology owes so much to the brilliance, determination and talent of Sir Carlos.
“His enthusiasm has inspired generations of new researchers while opening up the marvels of the Universe and science to the general public.
“I offer him my congratulations, and the congratulations of the University community, on his knighthood, which is worthy recognition of his achievements and outstanding career.”