Kip Stephen Thorne 1940

Physicist known for his contributions to both theoretical gravitational astronomy, and experimental gravitational wave detection.

Thorne received his Bachelor's degree from Caltech in 1962, and his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1967. His dissertation, titled 'Geometrodynamics of Cylindrical Systems" was advised by John Archibald Wheeler, the most influential pioneer of black hole research. Thorne became professor at Caltech in 1967 which was his principal base throughout his research career, eventually becoming its Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics.

Kip Thorne was one of Stephen Hawking's closest friends and scientific collaborators, and the main reason Hawking spent most summers in Caltech; this tradition started during a research year in 1974, after which Hawking was offered a position that he declined to become professor at Cambridge.

Kip Thorne won the 2017 Nobel Prize for his leadership in the multinational initiative to detect gravitational waves, has authored multiple books for general audiences, and was the physics consultant for the movie 'Insterstellar', which created the most widely recognized imagery of black holes used today.

Thorne is atheist but grew up in a mormon family and considers religious belief compatible with scientific research,