Keith Tyson supports prestigious professorship

Artist Keith Tyson has pledged £250,000 over five years to part-fund the Savilian Professorship of Astronomy. Established at the University of Oxford some 400 years ago, the first named Savilian Chair of Astronomy was John Bainbridge while previous holders also include Sir Christopher Wren. Recent post holders, George Efstathiou, Joe Silk and Steve Balbus have been towering intellects in the field of astrophysics, making seminal contributions to our understanding of the cosmos.

The professorship was founded by mathematician Sir Henry Savile who was warden of Merton College; using his considerable wealth, he established two chairs in 1619: one dedicated to the study of geometry and one to astronomy. The professorships combined both tradition and modernity and, with ever more accurate telescopes and technology informing our understanding of the universe, the premise is as pertinent today as it was then.

'At their core, art and science are driven by the same impulse to understand the universe we inhabit,' comments Keith Tyson. 'The Savilian Chair has been home to some of the greatest scientific minds of the last 400 years, and I’m proud to play a part in ensuring Oxford can attract the very best minds to continue that tradition.'

Tyson’s longstanding relationship with the University of Oxford – and particularly with astrophysics at Oxford – began in 2002. The now Head of Astrophysics Professor Pedro Ferreira saw Tyson’s award-winning work at the Turner Prize exhibition at the Tate Britain and subsequently invited him to become artist in residence in Astrophysics; physics and astrophysics have continued to inform the artist’s work ever since. Tyson regularly attends lectures at the University’s Department of Physics and checks his work with researchers in the department.

'Physics and astrophysics are at the heart of my artistic practice, and my relationship with Oxford’s department over the past two decades – starting as artist-in-residence in 2002 – has been invaluable to me,' continues Tyson. 'The department’s researchers have helped me with everything from checking the orbital calculations behind the Dark Sundial – a sculpture that tracks the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way – to the cosmological concepts that run through my paintings and sculptures. This donation is my way of giving something back to an institution that has given me so much.'

‘Scientific ideas and a deep understanding of what we do infuses Keith’s wonderful and indomitable work,’ adds Professor Ferreira. ‘We are incredibly grateful for his very generous donation to help preserve this most prestigious of chairs. Even though the chair has been around for 400 years, I would argue that the latest three Savilian professors have been the greatest yet – this isn’t just about history. This donation is the first step in our campaign to fully endow the Savilian chair – a living piece of national heritage – protecting it for future generations. I hope other donations will follow. With the wealth of new data available to astrophysicists now, we are in a time of seismic change in astrophysics and we want the next Savilian Professors of Astronomy to be part of writing the next chapter.’

How to support the Savilian chair: find out more about the professorship and how you can help by contacting Felicity Fearon: felicity.fearon@physics.ox.ac.uk

Find out more about research in astrophysics at the Afternoon of Astrophysics on 13 June.