Starmus

Garik Israelian

Dr Israelian, an astrophysicist at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (Spain), is the creative director and spiritual father of the STARMUS Festival. In 1999 he led a collaboration reported in the journal Nature that found the first observational evidence that supernova explosions are responsible for the formation of black holes. His research has led […]

Nergis Mavalvala

Nergis Mavalvala is a Pakistani-American astrophysicist known for her role in the first observation of gravitational waves. She is the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is also the Associate Head of the Department of Physics. She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010. Mavalvala is best known for her work on the detection of gravitational waves in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) […]

Nicole Stott

Nicole Stott is an astronaut, aquanaut, engineer, artist, author of Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It; and most importantly a mom. She creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role […]

Michel Mayor

Professor Michel Mayor is an astrophysicist at Geneva University (Switzerland). Together with Didier Queloz, in 1995 he discovered the first extrasolar planet, named 51 Pegasi b, orbiting the sunlike star 51 Pegasi. Professor Mayor was awarded the Swiss Marcel Benoist Prize in recognition of his work and its significance for human life. In 2000 he was […]

Tim Peake

Born in Chichester, England, on 7 April 1972, Tim is married with two sons. Among his leisure activities he enjoys skiing, scuba diving, cross-country running and climbing. Other interests include quantum physics and aviation. Education Tim completed his secondary education at Chichester High School for Boys in West Sussex, England, in 1990. In 1992, he graduated from […]

Alfred Worden

Alfred Merrill “Al” Worden (born February 7, 1932), (Col, USAF, Ret.), is an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Worden was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 9 flight […]

Giancarlo Erra

UK based Italian composer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Giancarlo Erra started his career in 2005 with one man studio project Nosound. In 2008 Erra signed the project to the acclaimed UK based experimental label Kscope and moved to the UK to establish and expand his career. Being both writer and producer, his music inventively combines […]

Chris Hadfield

Colonel Chris Hadfield is an astronaut, business leader, hi-tech entrepreneur, 5-time best-selling author and global speaker on leadership, change and managing life. Having commanded the International Space Station and directed companies, he has deep experience with best practices and tactics on guiding teams through extreme circumstances of complexity and change, while also recognizing the importance […]

Gennady Padalka

Gennady Padalka  is a Russian Air Force officer and an RKA cosmonaut. Padalka has spent 879 days in space, more than any other person. He worked on both Mir and the International Space Station. Padalka is a recipient of the Hero Star of the Russian Federation and the title of Russian Federation Test-Cosmonaut. He is decorated with Fatherland Service Medal fourth class, Medals of the Russian Federation and […]