Neil Turok wants the freedom to explore new ideas. When he takes the helm of the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, this autumn he intends to push forward the frontiers of theoretical physics. See CV

After studying theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge, UK, Turok pursued a PhD in mathematical physics at Imperial College London, where he worked with one of the inventors of superstring theory. Eager to make a lasting discovery, he also pursued his growing interest in galaxy formation. “It was evident even then that Neil was an iconoclast — using good judgement to explore alternative ideas,” says Paul Steinhardt, a long-time collaborator and theoretical physicist at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Turok was a postdoc at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, part of a large group that was encouraged to pursue original lines of research. This freedom allowed Turok to work out the physics necessary for more detailed calculations of how galaxies might be formed. Next, he tried to apply string theory to early-Universe formation theories, first at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, and then back at Princeton. But after a year, he realized such an application was premature.

Instead, Turok focused on applied cosmology, using existing theories to predict what would be seen by future measures of, for example, cosmic microwave background radiation. He successfully predicted an observable signature of the presence of dark energy. But, eager to continue exploring the Big Bang, Turok accepted an offer to chair the theoretical physics department at the University of Cambridge — a move that led to his fruitful collaboration with Stephen Hawking. They proposed that the Big Bang and an infinite Universe arose from a minuscule particle.

Most recently, Turok has used string theory to suggest that 'bangs', rather than just one Big Bang, occur repeatedly in a cycle of Universe expansion and contraction. “We are at an uncertain point in cosmology — waiting to see how much of the current conventions will remain in the future,” says Steinhardt. “Neil's creative, alternative models of the Universe have helped sharpen the focus of both theorists and experimentalists.”

But Turok's increasing dismay with the UK government's influence over university research prompted him to jump at the chance to head up the Perimeter Institute. “Perimeter is dedicated to challenging, pure science breakthroughs — without an agenda,” he says.