At the Centenary Event on 15 October 2024 at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh awarded the 14th Lorimer Medal to Professor Chris Lintott BA PhD FRAS for his outstanding outreach activities and sharing his love of astronomy with the world.
This is the citation by President Mark Phillips:
Chris Lintott is an author, broadcaster and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford. He is well known to the general public as a presenter of the long-running BBC Sky at Night TV programme, having taken over the role from the late Sir Patrick Moore, also a former Lorimer Medallist in 1962.
As well as co-presenting the Sky at Night where he first appeared in 2000, he is co-founder of the Citizen Science platform, Galaxy Zoo and the Zooniverse, where members of the public can take part in astronomical research, among many other subjects.
In 2023, Chris took over the role of Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London, which gives free educational lectures to the general public, many of which our members will have seen online.
Chris’s research interests include galaxy formation, machine learning and planet hunting, often involving members of the public with the Zooniverse platform. He is a member of the Vera Rubin Observatory collaboration, a significant part of the next astronomical revolution.
His latest book, ‘Our Accidental Universe’, is the basis for his lecture at the Centenary event of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh, where he was presented with the medal.
The Council and Members of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh are delighted to present the Lorimer Medal to Chris for his outstanding outreach activities and sharing his love of astronomy with the world, something that we are all passionate about.
