Ian Robert Smail is a British astrophysicist. He is Professor of Physics at the

Durham University Department of Physics The Department of Physics at Durham University in Durham, England, is a physics and astronomy department involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and scientific research. Durham has the largest group working on particle theory i ...

, based in the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, itself part of the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics. Since 2015, he has been ranked as one of the most highly-cited researchers in

Space Sciences The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science: Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies occurring in outer s ...

Education

Smail attended

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

on a Hooper Scholarship, where he completed the

Natural Sciences tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos (NST) is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, ...

, graduating with an M.A. in Physics and Theoretical Physics in 1989. He carried out his doctoral studies in Astronomy (1989–1993) at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

(

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

), for a thesis entitled ''Gravitational Lensing by Rich Clusters'', supervised by Richard Ellis.

Career

From 1993 to 1995 Smail was a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Advanced Research Fellow in the Physics, Maths and Astronomy Division at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, and subsequently a Carnegie Fellow at the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science. He returned to Durham in 1996 to become a

PPARC The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) was one of a number of research councils in the United Kingdom. It directed, coordinated and funded research in particle physics and astronomy for the people of the UK. Its head office wa ...

Advanced Research Fellow (1996–1998) and then from 1998 a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Physics. He was made a Professor in 2004.

Honours

In 2001 Smail, alongside fellow Durham researcher Ben Moore, was one of the first recipients of the

Philip Leverhulme Prize The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded by the Leverhulme Trust to recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize schem ...

in the Astronomy and Astrophysics category. He received a

Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award was an award made by the Royal Society from 2000 to 2020. It was administered by the Royal Society and jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the UK Office of Science and Technology, to provide ...

in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smail, Ian Academics of Durham University Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of University College, Durham British astrophysicists California Institute of Technology faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people)