Martin Rees

British Astronomer Royal and cosmologist — who has written extensively on existential risk, the future of humanity, and the structure of the universe.

Existential risk in scientific mainstream: Rees's Our Final Hour (2003) brought the concept of catastrophic and existential risk to mainstream science communication — arguing with a 50/50 probability estimate that civilization would survive the 21st century. As Astronomer Royal, his engagement with these questions gave existential risk academic credibility before the EA/Bostrom movement. His cosmological work on the early universe, dark matter, and the multiverse is independently significant.