British · b. 1931
Roger Penrose is a British mathematical physicist and philosopher of science, born in Colchester, England, in 1931. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. In 1965 he proved the first singularity theorem, showing that black holes must form under general relativity, and for this work he shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. He invented twistor theory, an approach to unifying quantum mechanics and spacetime, and discovered Penrose tilings, non-repeating patterns of tiles. He also proposed conformal cyclic cosmology and, with Stuart Hameroff, the Orch OR theory of consciousness. His books for general readers include The Emperor's New Mind, Shadows of the Mind, and The Road to Reality. They are known for presenting real mathematics rather than metaphors. He was knighted in 1994 and received the Wolf Prize in 1988, shared with Stephen Hawking.