Jim Al-Khalili
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| Jim Al-Khalili | |
 Prof. Jim Al-Khalili
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| Born | 20 September 1962 Baghdad, Iraq |
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| Residence | Southsea, Hampshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Nuclear Physics |
| Institutions | University of Surrey University College London |
| Alma mater | University of Surrey |
| Notable awards | Michael Faraday Prize |
Prof. Jim Al-Khalili (born 20 September 1962) is a British theoretical nuclear physicist, academic, author and broadcaster.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Baghdad in 1962 to an Iraqi father, Sadik Al-Khalili and English mother, Jean Wheatcroft. Al-Khalili studied physics at the University of Surrey. He graduated with a B.Sc. in 1986 and stayed on to pursue a Ph.D. in nuclear reaction theory, which he obtained in 1989. In that year he was awarded a Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) postdoctoral fellowship at University College London. He returned to Surrey in 1991, first as a research assistant then lecturer. 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 the structure of neutron halo nuclei (atomic nuclei exhibiting the unusual feature of having one or two loosely bound neutrons orbiting the rest of the nucleus). He has published widely in his field with over 60 papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals.
Al-Khalili is now a professor of physics at the University of Surrey where he also holds a chair in the Public Engagement in Science. In addition, he also currently holds an EPSRC Senior Media Fellowship.[1] He has lectured widely both in the UK and around the world, particularly for the British Council.
In 2004 he was chosen as one of twenty-one "Faces of UK Science" on permanent exhibition in London’s National Portrait Gallery.[2].
Was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for science communication for 2007[3] [4] and elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Al-Khalili is a trustee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and sits on its Council.[5],a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and, in 2000, received the Institute's Public Awareness of Physics Award.
He is also a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and currently lives in Southsea, Hampshire, with his wife, Julie and two children, David and Kate.
[edit] Broadcasting
As a broadcaster, Jim Al-Khalili appears regularly on television and radio.
On television he has contributed to programmes ranging from Tomorrow's World, BBC Four's Mind Games, BBC Horizon and The South Bank Show. In 2004, he co-presented the Channel 4 documentary "The Riddle of Einstein's Brain" , produced by Icon Films.[6] In 2007 he presented Atom, a three-part series on BBC Four about the history of our understanding of the atom and atomic physics.[7]
Al-Khalili is a regular guest on Radio 4's In Our Time, presented by Melvyn Bragg.[8]
[edit] Published Works
A best-selling author of popular science books.
[edit] Author
Popular science books authored by Prof. Al-Khalili include:-
- Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines (1999, ISBN 0750305606)
- Nucleus: A Trip into the Heart of Matter (2001, ISBN 0801868602)
- Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed (2003, ISBN 1841882380)
These have, between them, been translated into thirteen languages.
[edit] Consultant editor
- Invisible Worlds: Exploring the Unseen (2004, ISBN 0297843427)
[edit] Contributor
- The Collins Encyclopedia of the Universe (2001, ISBN 0007105851).
[edit] References
- ^ EPSRC profile.
- ^ Portrait page at the National Portrait Gallery
- ^ Press release from the Royal Society
- ^ Commented on his website "...I am very pleased indeed. It almost makes up for Leeds United getting relegated - again."
- ^ Council of the British Association
- ^ Current and Past Productions of Icon Films.
- ^ Atom for BBC Four announcement.
- ^ Rutherford on In Our Time, Higgs Boson on In Our Time, The Graviton on In Our Time.
[edit] External links
- Google Scholar List of papers by JS Al-Khalili
- Faculty page at the University of Surrey
- Personal website
- EPSRC profile
- Jim Al-Khalili at the Internet Movie Database
- Nuclear waste is hardly a worry when the climate change threat is so urgent 26 July 2007The Guardian
- Dr Jim Al-Khalili Institute of Physics
