Richard Ellis to join UCL

Astronomer Richard Ellis is to join UCL's Department of Physics & Astronomy as Professor of Astrophysics.

Ellis, who is currently the Steele Professor of Astronomy at Caltech, is an expert on the use of large telescopes, including a key role in developing the case for the forthcoming Thirty Meter Telescope. He is a world-leader in observational cosmology, including topics such as the evolution of galaxies, dark matter and the era of reionisation.

Prof Ellis' appointment will be shared with the European Southern Observatory (ESO), based near Munich, Germany, for the first two years. ESO operates telescopes at Paranal, La Silla and Chajnantor in Chile, and is the most scientifically productive astronomical observatory in the world.

The appointment brings Ellis back to his roots - he studied as an undergraduate at UCL before gaining his DPhil from Oxford in 1974.

Prof Nick Brook, Dean of Mathematical & Physical Sciences at UCL, said: "We're delighted that someone of Richard's calibre is joining us. As well as becoming part of our team, I'm delighted that he will help build bridges between UCL and ESO. ESO is working on some of the most exciting projects in astronomy today, including ALMA and the European Extremely Large Telescope."

Prof Ofer Lahav, Vice-Dean (Research) and Perren Professor of Astronomy at UCL, said: "Richard is joining a department with great strength in cosmology. We already carry out extensive research into dark energy, gravitational lensing and galaxy distribution, to name but a few. We know he will find a vibrant and like-minded scientific community here when he joins us in his new academic home."

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• Richard Ellis
• ESO
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