Rate My Professor Paul Davies

Paul Davies is a Regents' Professor in the Department of Physics at Arizona State University, a position he has held since 2012, following his appointment as Professor of Physics in 2006. He is also Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University since 2006. His distinguished career includes earlier roles such as Visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales (since 2015), Professor of Natural Philosophy at Macquarie University (2001–2006), Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Queensland (1998–2001), Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Adelaide (1993–1997), Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Adelaide (1990–1993), Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1980–1990), Lecturer in Mathematics at King's College London (1972–1980), and Research Fellow at the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, University of Cambridge (1970–1972). Davies obtained a BSc First Class in Physics from University College London in 1967 and a PhD from the Physics Department of University College London in 1970. He has been awarded honorary DSc degrees by Macquarie University (2006), Chapman University (2009), and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).

Davies's research utilizes the theory of quantum fields in curved spacetime to explore the link between thermodynamics and gravitation, with emphasis on black holes and cosmological horizons as entropy measures. His interests extend to cosmology, astrobiology, the origin and nature of life including extraterrestrial life, quantum properties of black holes, the nature of time, complex systems, and the evolutionary origins of cancer. He has authored more than 30 books, including What's Eating the Universe? (and Other Cosmic Questions) (2021), The Demon in the Machine (2019), The Eerie Silence (2010), and The Goldilocks Enigma (2006). Notable publications include "Does new physics lurk inside living matter?" (Physics Today, 73(8), 2020), "Quantum vacuum of spacetime with a fundamental length" (Physical Review D, 110(2), 2024), and "Biological arrow of time: emergence of tangled information hierarchies and self-modelling dynamics" (Journal of Physics: Complexity, 6(1), 2025). Among his many honors are the Templeton Prize (1995), Michael Faraday Award of the Royal Society (2002), Kelvin Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics (2001), Robinson Cosmology Prize (2011), Klumpke-Roberts Prize of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (2011), and Trotter Prize (2004). Davies serves on the editorial boards of Oncogene and Astrobiology journals, as well as advisory boards for the John Templeton Foundation, Templeton World Charity Foundation, Breakthrough Listen, and Matter to Life.