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| Chris Lintott | |
|---|---|
| Name | Christopher John Lintott |
| Birth date | 26 November 1980 |
| Birth place | Rochford, Essex, England |
| Occupation | Astrophysicist, presenter, author |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Employers | University of Oxford, Royal Astronomical Society |
| Notable works | The Crowd and the Cosmos, Bang! |
| Awards | Royal Society medals, Order of the British Empire |
Chris Lintott is a British astrophysicist, presenter and popularizer of astronomy. He is known for his academic work on galaxy formation and star formation, for co-presenting the television series The Sky at Night, and for co-founding the citizen science platform Zooniverse. Lintott holds a fellowship at University of Oxford and has collaborated with institutions such as the Royal Astronomical Society and the Smithsonian Institution.
Born in Rochford, Essex, Lintott attended local schools before reading physics and astrophysics at University of Oxford. At Oxford he studied under supervisors associated with research groups connected to Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge and the Space Telescope Science Institute, engaging with datasets from missions like Hubble Space Telescope and surveys including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. He completed postgraduate research on galaxy evolution, linking observational programmes such as Two Micron All Sky Survey and theoretical frameworks from groups associated with Cambridge University and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
Lintott became a research fellow and lecturer at University of Oxford and took up a position connected to the Department of Physics and outreach activities at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. His academic appointments involved collaborations with researchers at institutions such as Princeton University, Harvard University, Imperial College London, and University College London. He supervised graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who later held posts at organisations including NASA, European Space Agency, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Lintott's university roles also encompassed administrative participation in bodies like the Royal Astronomical Society and advisory work for projects funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Lintott's research has focused on galaxy morphology, star formation, and the impact of environment on galactic evolution, drawing on observations from instruments such as the Very Large Telescope, the Arecibo Observatory, and the Subaru Telescope. He contributed to analyses of datasets from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and multiwavelength studies linking Chandra X-ray Observatory data to infrared surveys like Spitzer Space Telescope. His work engaged theoretical models developed by groups at the Kavli Institute for Cosmology and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, examining processes including bar-driven gas inflow and feedback mechanisms from supernovae and active galactic nuclei studied in contexts such as the Herschel Space Observatory programmes. Publications co-authored by Lintott appeared alongside researchers affiliated with Cambridge University, University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University.
Lintott is widely recognized for popular science communication through television, radio and print. He co-presented The Sky at Night alongside figures including Sir Patrick Moore and worked with broadcasters like BBC and producers associated with BBC Two. He has contributed to newspapers and magazines connected to outlets such as The Guardian and collaborated on documentary projects with organisations including the Science Museum, London and the Natural History Museum, London. Lintott authored and co-authored books aimed at public audiences and students, working with publishers and writers engaged with authors such as Brian May and scientists affiliated with Royal Society events.
Lintott co-founded the Zooniverse platform, which evolved from projects including Galaxy Zoo and expanded to domains spanning astronomy, ecology and the humanities. Zooniverse partnerships have included institutions such as Adler Planetarium, Smithsonian Institution, University of Oxford, and University of Minnesota, and have processed data from missions like Kepler and Gaia. The platform implemented crowd-sourced classification methods influenced by research from Amazon Mechanical Turk studies and statistical techniques developed with collaborators at University of Chicago and University of Pittsburgh. Zooniverse projects have led to discoveries credited by teams connected to Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the SETI Institute, and various university groups, demonstrating the potential for public volunteers to contribute to peer-reviewed research.
Lintott has received recognition from scientific and civic organisations, including honours associated with the Royal Society and commendations from the Royal Astronomical Society. He has been included in lists compiled by institutions such as BBC for public engagement and received awards that align with honours granted by bodies like the Institute of Physics and local civic orders related to contributions to science communication. He has served on committees and panels convened by the European Southern Observatory and advisory boards for public science initiatives supported by the Wellcome Trust.
Outside academia, Lintott has engaged in advocacy for open science, data sharing, and inclusive participation in research, collaborating with organisations such as Open Knowledge Foundation and participating in forums hosted by World Economic Forum-affiliated panels. He has supported outreach programmes in schools and museums, working with charities and educational bodies including STEM Learning and regional initiatives linked to Arts Council England. Lintott maintains professional associations with colleagues across institutions such as University of Cambridge, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and University of Toronto while balancing public-facing roles with research duties.
Category:British astrophysicists Category:Science communicators Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford