Mark Whittle

I got my BA and MA in physics from Oxford and my PhD in astronomy from Cambridge. I was then a NATO and Lindemann postdoc fellow at the University of Arizona, and a research fellow at Jesus College Cambridge. I then joined the astronomy department at the University of Virginia where I am currently professor. I love to teach and have taught at the introductory, intermediate and graduate levels – most recently I’ve developed two new project-based courses, one on cosmology and the other on galaxies. In my research, I use large optical and radio telescopes to study the central regions of galaxies, including those harboring massive black holes. In a current project I’m studying young galaxies in the remote universe that have collided and merged and are spawning thousands of new stars while rapidly growing their central black holes. In 2004, following the success of NASA’s WMAP mission, I developed for public outreach an acoustic analysis of the sound present in the very young universe, as seen in the cosmic microwave background. This will be the focus of my TED presentation in Vancouver, 2026. In 2007 I recorded a 36-lecture series on "Cosmology: The Nature and History of Our Universe" for The Great Courses company, which is currently one of their highest rated courses. I feel very lucky to have had a career that began with my childhood hobby and has spanned a period of stunning growth in the subject – a true golden age.

Helping others feel the same wonder I feel for Nature, both cosmic and terrestrial.

I wonder if it might be possible to recast our modern understanding of the origin and evolution of our universe and our arrival within it, in the form of a poetic mythic narrative, perhaps even invoking anthropomorphic agents. The aim would be to capture some of the deeper human connections we have to kinship, lineage and wisdom, that are so often found in more traditional creation myths.

Astronomy, Cosmology, Physics, Science Communication, Teaching

I was invited by Julian Treasure to speak in his curated session on Reasons to Listen. I had very much enjoyed talking with Julian about cosmic sounds when he was writing his book, Sound Affects, so I was delighted to accept his invitation to the 2026 TED conference.