Professor John D. Barrow, of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, was today awarded the 2006 Templeton Prize.
Professor John D. Barrow, of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, was today awarded the 2006 Templeton Prize.
Professor Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said: “I am delighted that Professor Barrow has been awarded the 2006 Templeton Prize. John’s work provides great insight into the universe and our place within it.”
Prof Barrow is a noted cosmologist and prolific writer with 17 books and more than 400 scientific papers to his name. His multi-disciplinary research explores fundamental questions regarding science and religion. He is currently a Professorial Fellow at Clare Hall.
Prof Barrow said: "Astronomy has transformed the simple-minded, life-averse, meaningless universe of the sceptical philosophers. It breathes new life into so many religious questions of ultimate concern and never-ending fascination.
“Many of the deepest and most engaging questions that we grapple with still about the nature of the universe have their origins in our purely religious quest for meaning. The concept of a lawful universe with order that can be understood and relied upon emerged largely out of religious beliefs about the nature of God.”
HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will award the prize to Prof Barrow in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 3 May 2006.
The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities is awarded annually to an individual to ‘encourage and honour the advancement of knowledge in spiritual matters’. It was founded in 1972 by the philanthropist Sir John Templeton.
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