Paul Davies

The newest member of the COSMOS Editorial Advisory Board is Professor Paul Davies, the Britsh-born physicist and bestselling author now at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at Macquarie University in Sydney.

A theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, author and broadcaster, his previous academic appointments were at the Universities of Cambridge, London, Newcastle upon Tyne and Adelaide. His research has ranged from the origin of the universe to the origin of life, and includes the properties of black holes, the nature of time and quantum field theory. Davies is well known as the winner of the 1995 Templeton Prize - the world's largest annual prize - for his work on science and religion.

In addition to his research, Davies is well known as an author, broadcaster and public lecturer. He has written more than 25 books, including The Mind of God and How to Build a Time Machine, which have been translated into many languages. He writes regularly for newspapers, journals and magazines in several countries, and has been a longstanding contributor to The Economist, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Bulletin.

In other developments, neuroscientist and COSMOS co-founder Dr Alan Finkel has been appointed chairman of the magazine's Editorial Advisory Board, which includes such luminaries as Apollo 1 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, medical research pioneer Professor Judith Whitworth and celebrated palaeontologist Professor Mike Archer. He took over from science broadcaster Robyn Williams, who remains a member.