Reinhard Genzel

With a PhD in physics and astronomy from the University of Bonn (Germany), Reinhard Genzel is a distinguished researcher in the area of infrared astronomy. At present, he is Director at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (Germany), Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and Full Professor in the Physics & Astronomy Departments at the University of California, Berkeley (USA). Professor Genzel has received numerous awards and honours in the past, such as the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in (2012) and Leibniz Prize of the German Science Foundation (1990) amongst others. He has also delivered many prize lectures across the world. Professor Genzel is a member of several academic societies, such as Leopoldina, the US National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of London (foreign member). He serves as a reviewer for a host of acclaimed international academic publications. Moreover, he is a member of several Visiting Committees and is an Honorary Professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany. His main research interests include for instance massive black holes and galaxy evolution.