Mike Cruise
British astronomer and astrophysicist (1947–2026)
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Adrian Michael Cruise OBE FRAS (12 May 1947 – 7 February 2026[4]) was a British astronomer and astrophysicist. Initially an X-ray astronomer, he also worked on instrumentation for space missions at other wavelengths. In his later career, he worked on the design and operation of gravitational wave detectors.[1][5]
- OBE (2024)[2][3]
- Team member, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)[1]
- Team member, Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)[1]
Mike Cruise | |
|---|---|
Cruise in 2019 | |
| Born | 12 May 1947 |
| Died | 7 February 2026 (aged 78) |
| Alma mater | University College London (BSc, PhD)[1] |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | X-ray astronomy, spacecraft instrumentation, gravitational-wave detectors |
| Institutions | University of Birmingham; Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Mullard Space Science Laboratory |
Cruise held positions at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and University of Birmingham. He was President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2018 to 2020.[1][5] In 2024, he received an OBE for services to space science.[2]
Early life and education
Cruise was born on 12 May 1947.[6] He obtained his BSc from University College London (UCL).[1] His PhD was at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), where he worked on instrumentation for X-ray astronomy under the supervision of Peter Willmore.[1][7] His PhD thesis analysed X-ray observations collected during three Skylark launches (a sounding rocket); the doctorate was awarded in 1973.[7]
Career
Cruise remained at MSSL as a staff researcher; from 1985–1986 he briefly served as its Deputy Director.[5][1] He then moved to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, initially as the head of its Astrophysics Group and later as its Associate Director for Space.[1]
In 1995 he was appointed professor at the University of Birmingham, where he later spent five years as Head of School and then five years as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer.[5][1] He formally retired from Birmingham in 2012 but remained an honorary professor (emeritus status).[5]
Cruise was heavily involved in the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), serving as a council member, secretary, treasurer, vice president and was President of the RAS from 2018–2020.[1][5] From 2003–2008 he was on the board of directors for the Thinktank, Birmingham science museum.[8]
In 2011, as part of a collaboration with the Office of Astronomy for Development, Cruise assisted in the production of the first school astronomy textbook in the Pashto language, to support education in Afghanistan.[9]
Research
Cruise developed spacecraft instrumentation, initially for X-ray astronomy, contributing to X-ray space telescopes including Ariel V, Ariel VI, ROSAT, XMM-Newton and Spektr-RG.[5] He later worked on instruments for space telescopes at other wavelengths, particularly those of the European Space Agency, including Hipparcos, SOHO and STEREO.[5]
In his later career, Cruise became involved in gravitational wave research, particularly gravitational wave detectors that could operate at high frequency.[5] He proposed a new type of detector that would be sensitive to gravitational waves at MHz frequencies,[10][11] and built several prototypes of such instruments in his laboratory at Birmingham.[5][12] Cruise was part of the team that set the first experimental upper limits on gravitational waves at THz frequencies.[13]
He was a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration, and obtained grant funding for the UK's contribution to the Advanced LIGO instrument.[14] His work led to UK involvement in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission[1] and he helped design and build instruments on its precursor LISA Pathfinder.[5][15]
Honours and recognition
In 2016, Cruise was one of approximately 1000 authors listed on the paper announcing the first observation of gravitational waves.[16] All members of that team were jointly awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and the Gruber Prize in Cosmology later that year.[1]
Cruise was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to space sciences.[2][3]