Chris Lintott
{{short description|British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster (born 1980)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Chris Lintott
| birth_name = Christopher John Lintott
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRAS|size=100%}}
| image = Jodcast live 2016 006.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Chris Lintott at Jodcast Live 2016, at Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK.
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|11|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = Torbay, Devon, England
| residence =
| citizenship = British
| nationality =
| fields =
| workplaces = {{Plainlist|
- Gresham College
- University of Oxford
- Somerville College, Oxford
- University College London
- Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum
- University of Cambridge}}
| education = Torquay Boys' Grammar School
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
- Magdalene College, Cambridge (BA)
- University College London (PhD)}}
| thesis_title = Analyses of the early stages of star formation
| thesis_url = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.722217
| thesis_year = 2006
| doctoral_advisor = {{Plainlist|
- Ofer Lahav{{cite web|title=Chris Lintott |url=http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~cjl/ |publisher=UCL |date=12 December 2012 |access-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220222744/http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~cjl/ |archive-date=20 February 2009 }}
- Jonathan Rawlings}}
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students = Becky Smethurst
| notable_students =
| known_for = {{Plainlist|
- The Sky at Night
- Galaxy Zoo{{cite journal | title = Galaxy Zoo: Morphologies derived from visual inspection of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey| last1 = Lintott | first1 = C. J. | authorlink = Chris Lintott| last2 = Schawinski | first2 = K. | last3 = Slosar | first3 = A. E. | last4 = Land | first4 = K. | last5 = Bamford | first5 = S. | last6 = Thomas | first6 = D. | last7 = Raddick | first7 = M. J. | last8 = Nichol | first8 = R. C. | last9 = Szalay | first9 = A. | last10 = Andreescu | first10 = D. | last11 = Murray | first11 = P. | last12 = Vandenberg | first12 = J. | journal =Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=389| issue=3| pages=1179–1189 | date=September 2008 | arxiv=0804.4483| bibcode=2008MNRAS.389.1179L| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13689.x| doi-access = free | s2cid = 15279243 }}}}
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards = {{Plainlist|
- Beatrice Tinsley Prize (2014)
- Kohn Award (2011)}}
| website = {{Official website|http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/contacts/people/lintott}}
}}
Christopher John Lintott {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRAS}} (born 26 November 1980){{cite web|title=Meet the Team – Chris Lintott|url=https://daily.zooniverse.org/2013/11/26/meet-the-team-chris-lintott/|publisher=Daily Zooniverse|date=26 November 2013|access-date=13 August 2019}}{{cite episode|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b046kwpv|first=Jim|last=Al-Khalili|title=Chris Lintott|series=The Life Scientific|series-link=The Life Scientific|network=BBC Radio 4|date=17 June 2014|access-date=13 August 2019}} is a British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster. He is a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford,{{cite web | url=https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/our-people/lintott | title=Prof Chris Lintott | University of Oxford Department of Physics }}{{cite book|last1=Schmadel|first1=Lutz D.|authorlink=Lutz D. Schmadel|title=Dictionary of Minor Planet Names|date=2012|publisher=Springer|isbn=9783642297182|page=402|edition=6th| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aeAg1X7afOoC&pg=PA402}}{{cite web|title=Chris Lintott profile|url=http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/contacts/people/lintott|publisher=University of Oxford|access-date=6 October 2014}} and, since 2023, Gresham Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-22 |title=Chris Lintott appointed Gresham Professor of Astronomy |url=https://www.gresham.ac.uk/about-us/news/chris-lintott-appointed-gresham-professor-astronomy |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=Gresham College |language=en}} Lintott is involved in a number of popular science projects aimed at bringing astronomy to a wider audience and is also the primary presenter of the BBC television series The Sky at Night, having previously been co-presenter with Patrick Moore until Moore's death in 2012. He co-authored Bang! – The Complete History of the Universe and The Cosmic Tourist with Moore and Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May.{{cite book|title=Bang!: The Complete History of the Universe|publisher=Carlton Books Ltd|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84732-336-1}}{{cite news|title=Friend to the stars|publisher=Guardian Unlimited Arts|date=19 October 2006|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1925602,00.html|access-date=27 November 2006|location=London, UK|first=Emma|last=Brockes}}[http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/people/chris-lintott Chris Lintott Podcasts] A collection of Lintotts' podcasts from the University of Oxford.
Education
Lintott attended Torquay Boys' Grammar School in Devon. In 1999, while still at school, he won a $500 Earth and Space Sciences award and the Priscilla and Bart Bok Honorable Mention Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for an article on 'Cosmic dust around young stellar objects'.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} This came from a six-week project at the University of Hertfordshire funded by a Nuffield bursary. He read Natural Sciences at Magdalene College, Cambridge and in 2006 received a PhD in astrophysics from University College London, for his thesis on the early stages of star formation, supervised by Ofer Lahav.{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University College London|title=Analyses of the early stages of star formation|first= Christopher John|last=Lintott|date=2006|url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1446423/
|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.722217}}|website=discovery.ucl.ac.uk|oclc=926299378}}
Research and career
{{As of|2017}} Lintott is co-director of the Programme on Computational Cosmology and Citizen Science Project Lead in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford,{{cite web| title=Computational Cosmology| url=http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/institutes/computational_cosmology| publisher=University of Oxford| access-date= 6 October 2014}} and a Research Fellow at New College, Oxford.{{cite web| title=Christopher Lintott| url=http://www.new.ox.ac.uk/christopher-lintott| publisher=New College, Oxford| date=2014| access-date=14 November 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018113731/http://www.new.ox.ac.uk/christopher-lintott| archive-date=18 October 2014| df=dmy-all}} He was the Director of Citizen Science Initiatives at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago from 2010 until 2012.{{cite web| title=TVO Guests| url=http://tvo.org/guest/169968/chris-lintott| publisher=TVO| date=2014| access-date=6 October 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015083702/http://tvo.org/guest/169968/chris-lintott| archive-date=15 October 2014| df=dmy-all}}
His research focuses on galaxy evolution and the application of astrochemical models of star formation to galaxies beyond the Milky Way; particularly the use of sulphur compounds as a signature of stars that are in the process of formation.{{Scopus|id=8426623500}}[https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=chris+lintott Chris Lintott publications] in Google Scholar After a recommendation from Ed Vaizey, former Culture Minister, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Lintott as Astronomy Trustee of the National Maritime Museum (NMM). His appointment ran from 24 June 2010 until 23 June 2014.
Lintott's research has been published in a wide variety of peer-reviewed scientific journals.{{AcademicSearch|11588889}}{{cite web|title=C.J. Lintott ADS citations|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/basic_connect?qsearch=C.+J.+Lintott&version=1|date=6 October 2014| publisher=SAO/NASA|access-date=6 October 2014}} He was a Fulford junior research fellow at Somerville College, Oxford between 2006 and 2010.{{cite web| title=Chris Lintott Receives Internet and Society Award from the Oxford Internet Institute| url=http://awards.oii.ox.ac.uk/galaxy-zoo| publisher=University of Oxford| date=2013| access-date=6 October 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026160902/http://awards.oii.ox.ac.uk/galaxy-zoo/| archive-date=26 October 2014| url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=National Maritime Museum appointment|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/77674/PA_LintottC_NMM.pdf|publisher=UK Government|access-date=6 October 2014}}
Lintott's research has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).[http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/person/BD018BD2-A7E8-4BBB-9721-EDB258398D88 UK Government research grants awarded to Chris Lintott] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112133123/http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/person/BD018BD2-A7E8-4BBB-9721-EDB258398D88 |date=12 January 2015 }}, via Research Councils UK, gtr.rcuk.ac.uk; accessed 15 March 2015.
=The Sky at Night=
{{main| The Sky at Night}}
Lintott first appeared on the BBC astronomy programme The Sky at Night, presented by Patrick Moore, as a guest in 2000. As Moore's mobility deteriorated, Lintott acquired an increasingly prominent role, often providing on-location reporting from events covered by the programme. In an interview in 2007 with Mark Lawson, Moore described him as "eminently suitable" as a presenter.{{cite web| title=Mark Lawson chats to Patrick Moore| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pz88g| publisher=BBC| date=2007| access-date=16 September 2016}} He jointly presented the programme with Moore until the latter's death in December 2012. Since the February 2013 episode, Chris Lintott has been a co-presenter with Lucie Green (until December 2013) and with Maggie Aderin-Pocock (since February 2014). In July 2004, Moore suffered a near-fatal bout of food poisoning and Lintott stood in as the sole presenter of that month's episode.{{cite news| title=A Brief Interview With Sir Patrick Moore| publisher=Universe Today| date=15 November 2004| url=http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/interview_sir_patrick_moore.html| access-date=22 February 2007}} It was the only episode which Moore did not present since the show was first broadcast on 24 April 1957 until his death.{{cite news|title=Sir Patrick hit by food poisoning|work=BBC News|date=6 July 2004|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3869339.stm|access-date=22 February 2007}}
=Galaxy Zoo and The Zooniverse=
{{main| Galaxy Zoo}}
Chris Lintott is the co-founder, along with Kevin Schawinski, of Galaxy Zoo, an online crowdsourcing project where members of the public can volunteer their time to assist in classifying over a million galaxies.(e.g.{{cite journal| title=Galaxy Zoo: the dependence of morphology and colour on environment| author1=S.P. Bamford| author2=R.C. Nichol| author3=I.K. Baldry| author4=K. Land| author5=C.J. Lintott| author6=K. Schawinski| author7=A. Slosar| author8=A.S. Szalay| author9=D. Thomas| author10=M. Torki| author11=D. Andreescu| author12=E.M. Edmondson| author13=C.J. Miller| author14=P. Murray| author15=M.J.Raddick| author16=J. Vandenberg| journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society| volume=393| issue=4| pages=1324–1352| date=March 2009| arxiv=0805.2612| bibcode=2009MNRAS.393.1324B| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14252.x| doi-access=free| s2cid=18119729}}{{cite journal| title=Galaxy Zoo: disentangling the environmental dependence of morphology and colour| author1=R.A. Skibba| author2=S.P. Bamford| author3=R.C. Nichol| author4=C.J. Lintott| author5=D. Andreescu| author6=E.M. Edmondson| author7=P. Murray| author8=M.J. Raddick| author9=K. Schawinski| author10=A. Slosar| author11=A.S. Szalay| author12=D. Thomas| author13=J. Vandenberg| journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society| volume=399| issue=2| pages=966–982| date=October 2009| arxiv=0811.3970| bibcode=2009MNRAS.399..966S| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15334.x| doi-access=free| s2cid=49483558}}{{cite journal| title=Galaxy Zoo: The Fundamentally Different Co-Evolution of Supermassive Black Holes and Their Early- and Late-Type Host Galaxies| author1=K. Schawinski| author2=C.M. Urry| author3=S. Virani| author4=P. Coppi| author5=S.P. Bamford| author6=E. Treister| author7=C.J. Lintott| author8=M. Sarzi| author9=W.C. Keel| author10=S. Kaviraj| author11=C.N. Cardamone| author12=K.L. Masters| author13=N.P. Ross| author14=D. Andreescu| author15=P. Murray| author16=R.C. Nichol| author17=M.J. Raddick| author18=A. Slosar| author19=A.S. Szalay| author20=D. Thomas| author21=J. Vandenberg| journal=The Astrophysical Journal| volume=711| issue=1| pages=284–302| date=March 2010| arxiv=1001.3141| bibcode=2010ApJ...711..284S| doi=10.1088/0004-637X/711/1/284| s2cid=17664494}}{{cite journal| title=Galaxy Zoo 1 : Data Release of Morphological Classifications for nearly 900,000 galaxies| author1=C. Lintott| author2=K. Schawinski| author3=S. Bamford| author4=A. Slosar| author5=K. Land| author6=D. Thomas| author7=E. Edmondson| author8=K. Masters| author9=R. Nichol| author10=J. Raddick| author11=A. Szalay| author12=D. Andreescu| author13=P. Murray| author14=J. Vandenberg| journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society| volume=410| issue=1| pages=166–178| date=January 2011| arxiv=1007.3265| bibcode=2011MNRAS.410..166L| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17432.x| doi-access=free| s2cid=56460191}}) Lintott stated when commenting on GZ: "One advantage is that you get to see parts of space that have never been seen before. These images were taken by a robotic telescope and processed automatically, so the odds are that when you log on, that first galaxy you see will be one that no human has seen before."{{cite news| title= Scientists seek galaxy hunt help| work= BBC News| date=11 July 2007| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6289474.stm| access-date=16 September 2016}} This was confirmed by Schawinski: "Most of these galaxies have been photographed by a robotic telescope, and then processed by computer. So this is the first time they will have been seen by human eyes."{{Cite journal| title=See new galaxies – without leaving your chair| journal=News@nature| author=M. Hopkin| url=http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070709/full/news070709-7.html| doi=10.1038/news070709-7| date=11 July 2007| pages=news070709–7| s2cid=153447885| access-date=16 September 2016}}
{{main| Zooniverse (citizen science project)}}
Lintott was the principal investigator (P.I.) of the Zooniverse citizen science platform for over 15 years.{{cite web|title=The Zooniverse Team|url=https://www.zooniverse.org/team|publisher=The Zooniverse|date=2013|access-date=6 October 2014}}{{Cite web |last=chrislintott |date=2023-09-06 |title=A note from Chris Lintott |url=https://blog.zooniverse.org/2023/09/06/a-note-from-chris-lintott/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=Zooniverse |language=en}} Quoting from the Zooniverse Team page: "Astronomer and founder of both Galaxy Zoo and the Zooniverse that grew from it, Chris is interested in how galaxies form and evolve, how citizen science can change the world". Lintott is also the chair of the Citizen Science Alliance, the organisation that produces, maintains and develops The Zooniverse.{{cite web|title=Citizen Science Alliance website|url=http://www.citizensciencealliance.org|access-date=28 September 2014}}
=Books=
File:Chris Lintott.jpg in Waterloo, Ontario in April 2010]]
In October 2006, Chris Lintott, Patrick Moore and Brian May co-authored a book entitled Bang! – The Complete History of the Universe, which was produced by Canopus Books and published by Carlton Books on 23 October 2006. It has been translated into 13 languages and has appeared in paperback. As suggested by the title, the illustrated book is a history of the Universe from the Big Bang to its eventual predicted end. It is aimed at a popular science audience and claims to make its subject matter easily comprehensible to readers without any knowledge of astronomy.{{cite news|title=Guitarist joins astronomers to tell history of universe|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|date=24 October 2006|url=https://www.theguardian.com/space/article/0,,1929767,00.html|access-date=7 January 2007|first=Maev|last=Kennedy}}
In October 2012, Brian May, Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott co-authored a book entitled The Cosmic Tourist: The 100 Most Awe-inspiring Destinations in the Universe.{{ cite book|author1=B. May |author2=P. Moore |author3=C. Lintott |title=The Cosmic Tourist: The 100 Most Awe-inspiring Destinations in the Universe|isbn=978-1847326195|publisher=Carlton Books|date=11 October 2012}} On the book's PR page, it is stated: "Take your seats for the greatest tour ever – one that encompasses no less than the whole of the Universe."{{cite web|title=The Cosmic Tourist|url=http://www.banguniverse.com/the-cosmic-tourist|publisher=BangUniverse|date=11 October 2012|access-date=7 October 2014}}
Chris Lintott's book, The Crowd and the Cosmos: Adventures in the Zooniverse was released in 2019.{{cite book|title=The Crowd and the Cosmos|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-crowd-and-the-cosmos-9780198842224?cc=us&lang=en&|access-date=12 February 2020|isbn = 9780198842224|publisher = Oxford University Press|date = January 2020}}
=Awards and honours=
Lintott is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 2011, Lintott was awarded the Royal Society Kohn Award. He was awarded this (quoting from the Royal Society webpage): "For his excellent engagement with society in matters of science and its societal dimension."{{cite web|title=Royal Society Kohn Award| url=https://royalsociety.org/awards/kohn-award|publisher=The Royal Society|date=2011|access-date=7 October 2014}}
In 2013, Lintott was awarded the Oxford Internet Institute Internet and Society Award. He was given this (quoting from the OII website): "in recognition of Galaxy Zoo's outstanding contributions to research by using crowd-sourced citizen science to capitalise on the availability of online big data-sets."{{cite web| title=An interview of Lintott by Victoria Nash of the OII| url=http://awards.oii.ox.ac.uk/galaxy-zoo| date=November 2013| access-date=24 February 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026160902/http://awards.oii.ox.ac.uk/galaxy-zoo/| archive-date=26 October 2014| url-status=dead}}
In 2014, he received the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize from the American Astronomical Society. He was awarded this (quoting from the AAS website): "For his insight and creativity that created a transformative approach to science by engaging nonscientists in cutting edge research."{{cite web|title=Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize|url=http://aas.org/about/grants-and-prizes/beatrice-m-tinsley-prize|publisher=The American Astronomical Society|date=2014|access-date=7 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008141327/http://aas.org/about/grants-and-prizes/beatrice-m-tinsley-prize|archive-date=8 October 2014|url-status=dead}}
In 2015, he won the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and Prize. In 2020 he was elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. {{cite web|url=https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows|title=AAS Fellows|publisher=AAS|access-date=29 September 2020}}
=Real Tennis=
Lintott is a fan and player of the game of real tennis, where he represents the Oxford University Tennis Club.{{cite web |title=Brodie Cup 2021/22 |url=https://www.tennisandrackets.com/news/brodie-cup-2021 |website=Tennis & Rackets Association}} In 2022, Lintott provided commentary for the broadcast of the 2022 Real Tennis World Championship at Prested Hall in Feering, Essex.{{cite web |title=2022 Real Tennis World Championship - Day 3 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8CjMwg9wgI |website=YouTube| date=2 October 2022 }} In 2023, he also provided commentary for the finals of the 2023 Ladies World Championship.{{cite web |title=2023 Ladies World Championship Final |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRFUVHk8ep4 |website=YouTube | date=16 April 2023 |publisher=T&RA Media}}
Bibliography
- Bang! – The Complete History of the Universe, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-801-88985-1}}
- The Cosmic Tourist: The 100 Most Awe-inspiring Destinations in the Universe, 2012, {{ISBN|978-1-847-32619-5}}
- The Crowd and the Cosmos: Adventures in the Zooniverse, 2019, {{ISBN|978-0-198-84222-4}}
- Our Accidental Universe: Stories of Discovery from Asteroids to Aliens, 2024, {{ISBN|978-1-911-70918-3}}
References
{{Reflist|35em}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|id=1718792|name=Chris Lintott}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lintott, Chris}}
Category:Mass media people from Torquay
Category:21st-century British astronomers
Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Category:Alumni of University College London
Category:Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford
Category:People educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School
Category:Fellows of the American Astronomical Society