Biography:Mike Cruise

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Mike Cruise

OBE FRAS
File:Mike Cruise.jpg
Cruise in 2019
Born(1947-05-12)12 May 1947
Died7 February 2026(2026-02-07) (aged 78)
Alma materUniversity College London (BSc, PhD)[1]
Awards
  • OBE (2024)[2][3]
  • Team member, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)[1]
  • Team member, Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsX-ray astronomy, spacecraft instrumentation, gravitational-wave detectors
InstitutionsUniversity of Birmingham; Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Mullard Space Science Laboratory

Adrian Michael Cruise OBE FRAS (12 May 1947 – 7 February 2026[4]) was a British astronomer and astrophysicist. Initially an X-ray astronomer, he also worked on instrumentation for space missions at other wavelengths. In his later career, he worked on the design and operation of gravitational wave detectors.[1][5]

Cruise held positions at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and University of Birmingham. He was President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2018 to 2020.[1][5] In 2024, he received an OBE for services to space science.[2]

Early life and education

Cruise was born on 12 May 1947.[6] He obtained his BSc from University College London (UCL).[1] His PhD was at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), where he worked on instrumentation for X-ray astronomy under the supervision of Peter Willmore.[1][7] His PhD thesis analysed X-ray observations collected during three Skylark launches (a sounding rocket); the doctorate was awarded in 1973.[7]

Career

Cruise remained at MSSL as a staff researcher; from 1985–1986 he briefly served as its Deputy Director.[5][1] He then moved to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, initially as the head of its Astrophysics Group and later as its Associate Director for Space.[1]

In 1995 he was appointed professor at the University of Birmingham, where he later spent five years as Head of School and then five years as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer.[5][1] He formally retired from Birmingham in 2012 but remained an honorary professor (emeritus status).[5]

Cruise was heavily involved in the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), serving as a council member, secretary, treasurer, vice president and was President of the RAS from 2018–2020.[1][5] From 2003–2008 he was on the board of directors for the Thinktank, Birmingham science museum.[8]

In 2011, as part of a collaboration with the Office of Astronomy for Development, Cruise assisted in the production of the first school astronomy textbook in the Pashto language, to support education in Afghanistan.[9]

Research

Cruise developed spacecraft instrumentation, initially for X-ray astronomy, contributing to X-ray space telescopes including Ariel V, Ariel VI, ROSAT, XMM-Newton and Spektr-RG.[5] He later worked on instruments for space telescopes at other wavelengths, particularly those of the European Space Agency, including Hipparcos, SOHO and STEREO.[5]

In his later career, Cruise became involved in gravitational wave research, particularly gravitational wave detectors that could operate at high frequency.[5] He proposed a new type of detector that would be sensitive to gravitational waves at MHz frequencies,[10][11] and built several prototypes of such instruments in his laboratory at Birmingham.[5][12] Cruise was part of the team that set the first experimental upper limits on gravitational waves at THz frequencies.[13]

He was a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration, and obtained grant funding for the UK's contribution to the Advanced LIGO instrument.[14] His work led to UK involvement in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission[1] and he helped design and build instruments on its precursor LISA Pathfinder.[5][15]

Honours and recognition

In 2016, Cruise was one of approximately 1000 authors listed on the paper announcing the first observation of gravitational waves.[16] All members of that team were jointly awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and the Gruber Prize in Cosmology later that year.[1]

Cruise was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to space sciences.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Tonkin, Sam (11 February 2026). "Professor Mike Cruise, OBE, 1947–2026". https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/professor-mike-cruise-obe-1947-2026. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 No. 64269. 30 December 2023. p. N12. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/64269/supplement/N12 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Awards for New Year 2024". https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/658daadd80a3bb000d9d05bd/NY24_-_GOV.UK_New_Year_Honours_List_2024.pdf. 
  4. ↑ "Tribute to Professor Mike Cruise". 12 February 2026. https://www.the-athena-x-ray-observatory.eu/en/blog/tribute-professor-mike-cruise. 
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 "University of Birmingham staff profile: Adrian (Mike) Cruise". https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/physics/cruise-adrian.aspx. 
  6. ↑ "Cruise, Prof. Adrian Michael, (Mike), (born 12 May 1947), Professor of Astrophysics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, 1995–2012, now Emeritus; President, Royal Astronomical Society, 2018–20". A & C Black. 1 December 2024. https://www.ukwhoswho.com/display/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-291818. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cruise, A.M. (1973). Rocket studies of cosmic X-ray sources (PhD thesis). Bibcode:1973PhDT.......138C. Archived from the original on 2 February 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "Adrian Michael CRUISE personal appointments". https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/ifV9clSKdqX3En7XrRqwZDu8qwk/appointments. 
  9. ↑ "MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING 14 OCTOBER 2011 AT 1100 IN THE COUNCIL ROOM". 14 October 2011. p. 1. https://ras.ac.uk/sites/default/files/images/stories/Council/MINUTES%20OF%20OCTOBER%202011%20COUNCIL%20MEETING.pdf. 
  10. ↑ Cruise, A. M. (7 July 2000). "An electromagnetic detector for very-high-frequency gravitational waves". Classical and Quantum Gravity 17 (13): 2525–2530. doi:10.1088/0264-9381/17/13/305. Bibcode: 2000CQGra..17.2525C. 
  11. ↑ Cruise, A. M.; Ingley, R. M. J. (21 May 2005). "A correlation detector for very high frequency gravitational waves". Classical and Quantum Gravity 22 (10): S479–S481. doi:10.1088/0264-9381/22/10/046. Bibcode: 2005CQGra..22S.479C. 
  12. ↑ Cruise, A. M.; Ingley, R. M. J. (21 November 2006). "A prototype gravitational wave detector for 100 MHz". Classical and Quantum Gravity 23 (22): 6185–6193. doi:10.1088/0264-9381/23/22/007. Bibcode: 2006CQGra..23.6185C. 
  13. ↑ Ejlli, A.; Ejlli, D.; Cruise, A. M.; Pisano, G.; Grote, H. (December 2019). "Upper limits on the amplitude of ultra-high-frequency gravitational waves from graviton to photon conversion". The European Physical Journal C 79 (12). doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-019-7542-5. Bibcode: 2019EPJC...79.1032E. 
  14. ↑ "Mike Cruise". 29 January 2016. https://theconversation.com/profiles/mike-cruise-224054. 
  15. ↑ Robertson, D. I.; Fitzsimons, E. D.; Killow, C. J.; Perreur-Lloyd, M.; Ward, H.; Bryant, J.; Cruise, A. M.; Dixon, G. et al. (21 April 2013). "Construction and testing of the optical bench for LISA Pathfinder". Classical and Quantum Gravity 30 (8). doi:10.1088/0264-9381/30/8/085006. Bibcode: 2013CQGra..30h5006R. 
  16. ↑ Abbott, Benjamin P. (2016). "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger". Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (6). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102. PMID 26918975. Bibcode: 2016PhRvL.116f1102A. 



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