Jim Al-Khalili

Al-Khalili was born in Baghdad in 1962. His father was an Iraqi Air Force engineer, and his English mother was a librarian.{{cite web|first=Adam|last=Rutherford|author-link=Adam Rutherford|year=2019|title=Jim Al-Khalili on HIS life scientific|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002bml|publisher=BBC}} Al-Khalili settled permanently in the United Kingdom in 1979.

After completing (and retaking) his A-levels over three years until 1982, he studied physics at the University of Surrey and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1986. He stayed on at Surrey to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree in nuclear reaction theory, which he obtained in 1989, rather than accepting a job offer from the National Physical Laboratory.{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Jameel|last=Al-Khalili |title=Intermediate Energy Deuteron Elastic Scattering from Nuclei in a Three-Body Model |publisher=University of Surrey |year=1989 |url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.328117|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.328117}} |author-link=Jim Al-Khalili|oclc=556478831}} {{free access}} {{registration required}}

File:Jim Al-Khalili QED.jpg

In 1989, Al-Khalili was awarded a Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) postdoctoral fellowship at University College London, after which he returned to Surrey in 1991, first as a research assistant, then as a lecturer.{{cite web|title=University of Surrey: Professor Jim Al-Khalili|url=http://www.surrey.ac.uk/physics/people/jim_al-khalili/|access-date=2 November 2013}} In 1994, Al-Khalili was awarded an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Advanced Research Fellowship for five years, during which time he established himself as a leading expert on mathematical models of exotic atomic nuclei. He has published widely in his field.{{Google scholar id}}[https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7003459889 Al-Khalili, Jim S. Author details], Scopus

Al-Khalili is a professor of physics at the University of Surrey, where he also holds a chair in the Public Engagement in Science.{{cite news |title=Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE, theoretical physicist, University of Surrey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/open-weekend/professor-jim-al-khalili-obe |date=2 February 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 November 2013}} He has been a trustee (2006–2012) and vice president (2008–2011) of the British Science Association.{{cite web |url=http://royalsociety.org/people/jim-al-khalili/ |title=Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE |work=Royal Society |access-date=2 November 2013}} He also held an EPSRC Senior Media Fellowship.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGYe300kyXUC&q=Engineering%20and%20Physical%20Sciences%20Research%20Council%20Al-Khalili&pg=PT74 |first=Laura |last=Bowater |title=Science Communication: A Practical Guide for Scientists |year=2012 |page=74|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-40666-3 }}

Al-Khalili was awarded the Royal Society of London Michael Faraday Prize for science communication for 2007{{cite news |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jan/30/religion.world |title=The Arabic Science That Prefigured Newton |newspaper=The Guardian |location=England |date=21 January 2008 |access-date=17 March 2009}} and elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been a Fellow of the Institute of Physics since 2000, when he also received the Institute's Public Awareness of Physics Award.{{cite web |url=http://www.thersa.org/large-text/events/speakers-archive/a/jim-al-khalili |title=RSA – Jim Al-Khalili |access-date=2 November 2013 |work=Royal Society of Arts |archive-date=4 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104013757/http://www.thersa.org/large-text/events/speakers-archive/a/jim-al-khalili |url-status=dead }} He has lectured widely both in the UK and around the world, particularly for the British Council. He is a member of the British Council Science and Engineering Advisory Group,{{cite web |title=Biographies of Science and Engineering Advisory Group members |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/PageFiles/4487/Science_advisory_groups181109.pdf |work=British Council |access-date=2 November 2013 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923222907/http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/PageFiles/4487/Science_advisory_groups181109.pdf |url-status=dead }} a member of the Royal Society Equality and Diversity Panel,{{cite web |work=The Royal Society |title=Equality and Diversity Advisory Network |url=http://royalsociety.org/about-us/governance/committees/equality-diversity/ |access-date=2 November 2013}} an external examiner for the Open University Department of Physics and Astronomy, a member of the Editorial Board for the open access Journal PMC Physics A, and Associate Editor of Advanced Science Letters. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee for the Cheltenham Science Festival.

In 2007, he was a judge on the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize{{cite web |title=Judges Announcement |url=http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/node/54 |work=The Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction |access-date=2 November 2013 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225034228/https://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/node/54 |url-status=dead }} for non-fiction and has been a celebrity judge at the National Science & Engineering Competition Finals at The Big Bang Fair. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.{{London Gazette |issue=58729 |date=14 June 2008 |page=9 |supp=y}} In 2012, he delivered the Gifford Lectures on Alan Turing: Legacy of a Code Breaker at the University of Edinburgh.{{cite web |title=Gifford Lectures |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-soc-sci/news-events/lectures/gifford-lectures |website=ed.ac.uk |date=23 May 2024 |publisher=University of Edinburgh}} In 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Degree (DSc) from the University of London. Al-Khalili was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018{{cite web |url=https://royalsociety.org/news/2018/05/distinguished-scientists-elected-fellows-royal-society-2018/ |title=Distinguished scientists elected as Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society |publisher=Royal Society |date=9 May 2018 }} and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2023.{{cite web |title=Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes 73 new Fellows |url=https://raeng.org.uk/news/royal-academy-of-engineering-welcomes-73-new-fellows |access-date=4 October 2023}}

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to science and public engagement in STEM.{{London Gazette|issue=63377|supp=y|page=B9|date=12 June 2021}}

As a broadcaster, Al-Khalili is frequently on television and radio and also writes articles for the British press.{{IMDb name|2629380}}{{cite web |url=http://www.journalisted.com/jim-alkhalili |title=Jim Al-Khalili |work=Journalisted |access-date=2 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814195627/http://journalisted.com/jim-alkhalili |archive-date=14 August 2012 |url-status=dead }} In 2004, he co-presented the Channel 4 documentary The Riddle of Einstein's Brain, produced by Icon Films.{{cite magazine |title=C4 to unlock secrets of Einstein's brain |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/c4-to-unlock-secrets-of-einsteins-brain/1094951.article |date=17 June 2004 |magazine=Broadcast |access-date=2 November 2013}} His big break as a presenter came in 2007 with Atom, a three-part series on BBC Four about the history of our understanding of the atom and atomic physics.{{cite web |url=http://rationalist.org.uk/articles/4070/facing-the-future-an-interview-with-jim-al-khalili |title=Facing the future: an interview with Jim Al-Khalili |date=7 March 2013 |access-date=2 November 2013 |first=Caspar |last=Melville |work=Rationalist Association |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811010619/https://rationalist.org.uk/articles/4070/facing-the-future-an-interview-with-jim-al-khalili |url-status=dead }} This was followed by a special archive edition of Horizon, "The Big Bang".{{cite web |title=Lost Horizons: The Big Bang |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dcbqm |work=BBC Four |access-date=2 November 2013}}

In early 2009, Al-Khalili presented the BBC Four three-part series Science and Islam about the leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/audio/2009/jan/12/science-weekly-podcast |title=Science Weekly: What has the Islamic world ever done for science? |date=12 January 2009 |access-date=2 November 2013 |first=Alok |last=Jha |newspaper=The Guardian}} He has contributed to programmes ranging from Tomorrow's World, BBC Four's Mind Games, The South Bank Show to BBC One's Bang Goes the Theory.{{cite web |title=Bang Goes the Theory: Top five weird physics facts |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0070lzn |date=10 July 2011 |work=BBC One |access-date=2 November 2013}} In 2010 he presented the BBC documentary on the history of chemistry, Chemistry: A Volatile History.{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.809 | doi=10.1038/nchem.809 | title=Television: Can we have some more? | date=2010 | last1=Docherty | first1=Paul | journal=Nature Chemistry | volume=2 | issue=9 | page=701 | bibcode=2010NatCh...2..701D }} In October 2011, he began a programme on famous contemporary scientists on Radio Four, called The Life Scientific.{{cite web |title=The Life Scientific |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/science-discovery/jim-al-khalili/#intro |work=Radio Four |access-date=2 November 2013}} The first of this series featured his interview with Paul Nurse.{{cite web |url=http://www.surrey.ac.uk/physics/news/stories/2011/66047_jim_alkhalilis_new_science_series_starts_on_radio_4.htm |title=Jim Al-Khalili's new science series starts on Radio 4 |date=7 October 2011 |access-date=2 November 2013 |work=University of Surrey |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103151722/http://www.surrey.ac.uk/physics/news/stories/2011/66047_jim_alkhalilis_new_science_series_starts_on_radio_4.htm |url-status=dead }} He has since interviewed a series of notable scientists, including Richard Dawkins, Alice Roberts, James Lovelock, Steven Pinker, Martin Rees, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Mark Walport and Tim Hunt, and he has himself been interviewed on the show by Adam Rutherford.

Al-Khalili hosts a regular "Jim meets..." interview series at the University of Surrey, which is published on the university's YouTube channel. Guests have included David Attenborough, Robert Winston, Brian Cox and Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.{{YouTube|u=UniversityofSurrey|The University of Surrey}} In 2011, Al-Khalili hosted a three-part documentary series on BBC Four entitled Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kjqcv |title=Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity |work=BBC Four |access-date=2 November 2013}} In 2012, Al-Khalili presented a Horizon special on BBC 2, which examined the latest scientific developments in the quest to discover the Higgs Boson, with preliminary results from the Large Hadron Collider experiment at CERN suggesting that the elusive particle does indeed exist.

Al-Khalili has been one of the experts interviewed in the Philomena Cunk mockumentaries Cunk on Earth (2022) and Cunk on Life (2024).{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnCJ1e-aaAk|title=Philomena Cunk meets theoretical physicist Professor Jim Al-Khalili | Cunk on Life - BBC|date=6 January 2025|via=YouTube}}{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/jimalkhalili/status/1876971256576168063|title=x.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.varsity.co.uk/interviews/27617|title=Jim Al-Khalili on Cunk and the powers of ‘Edutainment’|website=Varsity Online}}

• 2007 – Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for science communication
• 2008 – Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008 Birthday Honours
• 2013 – Warwick Prize for Writing, shortlist, Pathfinders
• 2014 – RISE leader award{{cite web |url=http://www.surrey.ac.uk/features/professor-jim-al-khalili-announced-rise-leader-2014/ |title=RISE Awards Announced |date=31 March 2014 |access-date=8 April 2014 |archive-date=2 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002165843/https://www.surrey.ac.uk/features/professor-jim-al-khalili-announced-rise-leader-2014 |url-status=dead }}
• 2013 – Honorary Doctor of Science, Royal Holloway, University of London{{cite web |url=http://www.rhul.ac.uk/iquad/news/articles/hondegreesmarch13.aspx |title=Honorary degrees recognise contributions to science |access-date=2 November 2013 |date=26 March 2013 |work=Royal Holloway University of London}}
• 2016 – Inaugural winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/16/winners-of-inaugural-stephen-hawking-medal-announced-hans-zimmer-jim-al-khalili-particle-fever|title=Winners of inaugural Stephen Hawking medal announced|author=Nicola Davis|work=The Guardian|date=16 June 2016|access-date=7 December 2017}}
• 2017 – Honorary Doctorate, University of York{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/15403820.York_University_honours_global_experts/ |first=Catherine |last=Turnbull |title=York University honours global experts |date=12 July 2017 |newspaper=The Press |location=York |access-date=13 July 2017}}
• 2018 – Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
• 2019 – Honorary Doctor of Science, University of St Andrews{{cite web |url=https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/graduation/honorands/ |title=Honorands 2019 |access-date=28 June 2019 |date=28 June 2019 |work=University of St Andrews}}
• 2019 – Outstanding Achievement in Science & Technology at The Asian Awards.{{cite web |url=https://theasianawards.com/Jim_Al-Khalili.html |title=PROFESSOR JIM AL-KHALILI OBE |website=The Asian Awards |access-date=18 September 2019}}
• 2021 - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), "for Services to Science and Public Engagement in STEM."
• 2022 – Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Birmingham
• 2023 - Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Al-Khalili lives in Southsea, Portsmouth, with his wife Julie. They have a son and daughter.

Al-Khalili is an atheist and a humanist,{{cite AV media |quote="I find it more comfortable to say I'm an atheist, and for that I probably have someone like Dawkins to thank." |people=Jim Al-Khalili |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/science-discovery/jim-al-khalili/#intro |title=Science Explorer: Jim Al-Khalili featured in The Life Scientific |publisher=BBC Radio 4}} remarking, "as the son of a Protestant Christian mother and a Shia Muslim father, I have nevertheless ended up without a religious bone in my body".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jan/30/religion.world |title=It's time to herald the Arabic science that prefigured Darwin and Newton |newspaper=The Guardian |date=30 January 2008 |access-date=19 February 2010}} Al-Khalili became vice president of Humanists UK in 2016 after stepping down as its president.{{Cite web|title=Humanists UK Patron: Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE|url=https://humanists.uk/civicrm/|access-date=9 February 2022|website=Humanists UK|language=en}}

He is also a patron of Guildford-based educational, cultural and social community hub, The Guildford Institute.{{cite web | url=https://www.guildford-institute.org.uk/about/ | title=About: Find out more about the Guildford Institute and its mission }}

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{{div col}}

• The Riddle of Einstein's Brain (2004){{Cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/centre-for-advanced-biomedical-imaging/public-engagement/radio-television-print/2-riddle-of-einsteins-brain|title=The Riddle of Einstein's Brain|date=9 August 2018|website=Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging}}
• Atom (2007)
• Battle for the Beginning (2008)
• Science and Islam (2009)
• Genius of Britain: The Scientists Who Changed the World (2010)
• The Secret Life of Chaos (2010)
• Chemistry: A Volatile History (2010)
• Everything and Nothing (2011)
• Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity (2011)
• Order and Disorder (2012)
• Light and Dark (2013)
• The Secrets of Quantum Physics (2014)
• Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield (2015)
• The Beginning and End of the Universe (2016)
• Britain's Nuclear Bomb: The Inside Story (2017)
• Gravity and Me: The Force That Shapes Our Lives (2017)
• The Joy of AI (2018)
• Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World (2019)
• Secrets of the Solar System (2020)
• Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies (2022)
• Quantum Physics: The Laws That Govern Our Universe (2022)

{{div col end}}

A list of Jim Al-Khalili's peer reviewed research papers can be found on Google Scholar and Scopus.{{Scopus id}} His published books include:

• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines |year=1999 |title-link=Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines }}
• Nucleus: A Trip into the Heart of Matter (2001) (co-author)
• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed |year=2004 |title-link=Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed}}
• The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance (2010)
• a.k.a. The House of Wisdom: The Flourishing of a Glorious Civilisation and the Golden Age of Arabic Science
• a.k.a. Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic ScienceRetitled to avoid confusion with The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons.
• Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Science (2012){{cite journal |author=Heck, Peter |date=June 2013 |title=On Books |journal=Asimov's Science Fiction |volume=37 |issue=6 |pages=108–111}} Review of Paradox.
• Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology (2014) (co-author)
• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=Quantum Mechanics |date=26 January 2017 |publisher=Ladybird Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-7181-8627-2 |others=illus. Jeff Cummins & Dan Newman |title-link=Quantum Mechanics (Ladybird Expert book) }}
• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=Gravity |date=7 February 2019 |publisher=Ladybird Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-7181-8903-7 |others=illus. Jeff Cummins }}
• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=The World According to Physics |date=10 March 2020 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-18230-8}}
• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=The Joy of Science |date=5 April 2022 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-21157-2}}

;As editor

• The Euroschool Lectures on Physics with Exotic Beams, Vol. I (Lecture Notes in Physics) (2004)
• The Euroschool Lectures on Physics with Exotic Beams, Vol. II (Lecture Notes in Physics) (2006)
• The Euroschool Lectures on Physics with Exotic Beams, Vol. III (Lecture Notes in Physics) (2008)

;As consultant editor

• {{cite book|last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=Invisible Worlds: Exploring the Unseen |date=8 June 2004 |publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-84342-9}}

His essays, chapters and other contributions include:

• The Collins Encyclopedia of the Universe (2001)
• Scattering and Inverse Scattering in Pure and Applied Science (2001)
• Quantum Aspects of Life (2008)
• 30-second Theories: The 50 Most Thought-provoking Theories in Science (2009)

;Fiction

Jim Al-Khalili has written one science fiction novel:

• {{cite book |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |title=Sunfall |date=18 April 2019 |publisher=Bantam Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-593-07742-9}}

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{{University of Surrey}}

{{FRS 2018}}

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Category:1962 births

Category:Academics of the University of Surrey

Category:Academics of University College London

Category:Alumni of the University of Surrey

Category:British sceptics

Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Category:English atheists

Category:English humanists

Category:English people of Iraqi descent

Category:English physicists

Category:English television presenters

Category:Fellows of the Institute of Physics

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society

Category:Honorary Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Category:Iraqi atheists

Category:Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom

Category:Iraqi people of English descent

Category:Iraqi physicists

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at Priory School, Portsmouth

Category:People from Southsea

Category:Presidents_of_Humanists_UK

Category:Quantum biology

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Category:Writers from Baghdad