Stephen Smartt

Stephen J. Smartt CBE FRS (born 9 November 1968) is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who specialises in stellar evolution, supernovae and time domain sky surveys. He is credited with the discovery of stars that explode as supernovae, measuring their mass, luminosity and the chemical elements synthesized. Smartt is a Professor of Astrophysics at the School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast. He is a patron of Northern Ireland Humanists.

Born and raised in Belfast, Smartt was educated at Belfast Royal Academy and studied physics and applied mathematics at Queen’s University Belfast. He was awarded a PhD in astrophysics in 1996.

Smartt worked at the Isaac Newton Group of telescopes and held a fellowship at the University of Cambridge. Smartt returned to Belfast in 2004 and established a group working on stellar evolution, supernovae and time domain sky surveys. In September 2022 Smartt was appointed the Wetton Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and Director of the Hintze Centre for Astrophysical Surveys.

Honours and awards

Smartt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to science.

• Member of the Royal Irish Academy
• Fellow of the Royal Society, 2020
• Philip Leverhulme Prize, 2005