Chandra Wickramasinghe

Chandra Wickramasinghe
MBE
Wickramasinghe at the University of Buckingham
Born (1939-01-20) 20 January 1939 (age 85)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater
Known forOrganic composition of cosmic dust
AwardsFellow of Jesus College, Cambridge University (1963–1973)
Vidya Jyothi (1992)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisorFred Hoyle

Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe MBE (born 20 January 1939) is a Sri Lankan-born British mathematician, astronomer[1] and astrobiologist of Sinhalese ethnicity. His research interests include the interstellar medium, infrared astronomy, light scattering theory, applications of solid-state physics to astronomy, the early Solar System, comets, astrochemistry, the origin of life and astrobiology. A student and collaborator of Fred Hoyle, the pair worked jointly for over 40 years[2] as influential proponents of panspermia.[3][4] In 1974 they proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely organic, later proven to be correct.[5][6][7]

Wickramasinghe has advanced numerous fringe claims, including the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the 1918 flu pandemic and certain outbreaks of polio and mad cow disease. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that cometary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by experts on this pandemic.[8] Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.[8]

Wickramasinghe has written more than 40 books about astrophysics and related topics;[9] he has made appearances on radio, television and film, and he writes online blogs and articles. He has appeared on BBC Horizon, UK Channel 5 and the History Channel. He appeared on the 2013 Discovery Channel program "Red Rain".[10][11] He has an association with Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Buddhist sect Soka Gakkai International, that led to the publication of a dialogue with him, first in Japanese and later in English, on the topic of Space and Eternal Life.[12]

  1. ^ Chown, Marcus (9 April 2005). "The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle". NewScientist. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^ Wickramasinghe, Steve (2013). A Journey with Fred Hoyle. New York: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4436-12-0.
  3. ^ Napier, W.M. (2007). "Pollination of exoplanets by nebulae". Int. J. Astrobiol. 6 (3): 223–228. Bibcode:2007IJAsB...6..223N. doi:10.1017/S1473550407003710. S2CID 122742509.
  4. ^ Line, M.A. (2007). "Panspermia in the context of the timing of the origin of life and microbial phylogeny". Int. J. Astrobiol. 3. 6 (3): 249–254. Bibcode:2007IJAsB...6..249L. doi:10.1017/S1473550407003813. S2CID 86569201.
  5. ^ Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. The 3.4-μm interstellar absorption feature. Nature 287, 518−519 (1980).
  6. ^ Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 μm. Nature 294, 239−240 (1981).
  7. ^ Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands. Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).
  8. ^ a b Joseph Patrick Byrne (2008). Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues (PDF). ABC-CLIO. pp. 454–455. ISBN 978-0-313-34102-1.
  9. ^ University of Buckingham. "Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe". Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Altimatrix Consulting". Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  11. ^ Connor, Steve (1 March 2011). "We're all aliens... how humans began life in outer space". The Independent. The Independent.
  12. ^ Ikeda, Daisaku (1998). Space and Eternal Life: A Dialogue Between Chandra Wickramasinghe and Daisaku Ikeda. Journeyman Press. ISBN 9781851720613.