Professor Carlos Frenk – who is behind one of the foremost theories of the evolution of the Universe – has been knighted in The King’s Birthday Honours.
Sir Carlos receives the honour of Knight Bachelor from His Majesty King Charles III for services to astrophysics and cosmology.
Sir Carlos, Ogden Professor in our Department of Physics, is one of the originators of the Cold Dark Matter theory for the formation of structure in the Universe.
Working with scientists across the world he uses high-power supercomputers to build model universes, based on the known laws of physics.
The techniques developed by him and his collaborators are now commonly used by cosmologists to explain the formation of galaxies and other large-scale cosmic structures that we see around us.
Sir Carlos is a passionate science communicator, contributing to numerous popular science programmes on radio and television while also championing scientific engagement with the public.
His enthusiasm and drive played an integral role, alongside Durham’s Emeritus Professor Alan Martin and the late Professor James Stirling, in the creation of Durham University’s Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics.
To be knighted by His Majesty The King is a tremendous honour and to say that I am overjoyed is an understatement. I am hugely grateful to my wife, Susan, and my family, my colleagues and students, and to Durham University, all of whom have given me unconditional support over the years, without which this would have never happened. As a teenager I remember being captivated by a night sky alight with stars and I knew then that I wanted to spend my life understanding its origins. To have been able to do that, working alongside some of the world’s most talented scientists, has been the greatest privilege.
Sir Carlos joined us in 1986 and in 2001 he became the founding director of Durham’s Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC), a position he held until 2020.
He helped to establish the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics as one of the world’s foremost research centres into the origins and evolution of our Universe.
Sir Carlos’s knighthood is his second royal honour after he was awarded a CBE by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2017.
He also holds the Royal Astronomical Society’s highest honour, the Gold Medal for Astronomy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and received the Society’s Rumford Medal for outstanding physics research.
Sir Carlos is regularly named in Clarivate’s list of the world’s most highly cited researchers recognising research with exceptional reach and influence.
Durham’s international standing in astrophysics and cosmology owes so much to the brilliance, determination and talent of Sir Carlos. His enthusiasm has inspired generations of new researchers while opening up the marvels of the Universe and science to the general public. I offer him my congratulations, and the congratulations of the University community, on his knighthood, which is worthy recognition of his achievements and outstanding career.
Learn more about Professor Carlos Frenk.
See more about our Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics and our Institute for Computational Cosmology.
Our Department of Physics is ranked joint 67th in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 and third in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2026. Visit our Physics webpages for more information on our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The King’s Birthday Honours list can be read in The Gazette Official Public Record.
For more information or enquiries on the University's approach to honours, please contact Lucian Hudson, Executive Director, Communications and External Relations on communications.team@durham.ac.uk.
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