George F. R. Ellis

George F R Ellis
Born
George Francis Rayner Ellis

(1939-08-11) 11 August 1939 (age 85)
Johannesburg, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
EducationMichaelhouse
Alma mater
Known forTheoretical physical cosmology
AwardsTempleton Prize 2004
Prix Georges Lemaître 2019[1]
Scientific career
FieldsCosmology
Institutions
Doctoral advisorDennis W. Sciama[2]
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George Francis Rayner Ellis, FRS, Hon. FRSSAf (born 11 August 1939), is the emeritus distinguished professor of complex systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He co-authored The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with University of Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking, published in 1973, and is considered one of the world's leading theorists in cosmology.[3] From 1989 to 1992 he served as president of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation. He is a past president of the International Society for Science and Religion. He is an A-rated researcher with the NRF.

Ellis, an active Quaker,[4][5][6] was a vocal opponent of apartheid during the National Party reign in the 1970s and 1980s,[7] and it is during this period that Ellis's research focused on the more philosophical aspects of cosmology, for which he won the Templeton Prize in 2004.[8] He was also awarded the Order of the Star of South Africa by Nelson Mandela in 1999.[citation needed] On 18 May 2007, he was elected a fellow of the British Royal Society[citation needed] .

  1. ^ "George Ellis awarded Georges Lemaître Prize". UCLouvain. 29 May 2019.
  2. ^ George F. R. Ellis at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. ^ Gibbs, W. W. (1995). "Profile: George F. R. Ellis – Thinking Globally Acting Universally". Scientific American. 273 (4): 50–55. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1095-50.
  4. ^ Ellis, George F. R. (22 July 2014). "Physicist George Ellis Knocks Physicists for Knocking Philosophy, Falsification, Free Will". Cross-Check (Interview). Interviewed by John Horgan. Scientific American. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  5. ^ "The Theology of the Anthropic Principle". Counterbalance Foundation. Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  6. ^ Ellis, George F. R. (1993). "The Theology of the Anthropic Principle". In Russell, Robert John; Murphy, Nancey; Isham, Christopher J. (eds.). Quantum Cosmology and the Laws of Nature: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action. Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory. pp. 367–405. ISBN 978-0-268-03976-9.
  7. ^ Merali, Zeeya. "Is the Future Already Written?". Discover. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2007.