For decades, Chris Impey has guided readers to the expanding frontiers of space. From quasars and black holes to the search for extrasolar planets, his books translate the technological achievements of modern astronomy into clear stories that connect humanity with the universe.

Impey, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory, will receive the Lewis Thomas Award for Scientific Writing at Rockefeller University on March 9, 2026. The annual international award recognizes scientists whose books bring clarity and literary depth to complex ideas while engaging a broad public.

The award was established in 1993 by the Rockefeller Council and honors “scientists as poets.” It is named after the first recipient of the award, the physician and essayist Lewis Thomas. Lewis Thomas is widely regarded as one of the greatest science writers of the 20th century, and is known for bridging the worlds of science and literature.

The legacy of astrobiology

Jesse H. Ausubel, chairman of the selection committee, said Impey’s selection resonates with the university’s history, particularly the legacy of Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Joshua Lederberg, who served as Rockefeller president from 1978 to 1990 and helped pioneer the field of exobiology.

“Lederberg recognized the importance of extraterrestrial biology at the dawn of the Space Age,” Ausubel says. “He wrote visionary papers in Science and Nature and became an early advisor to NASA.”

That intellectual lineage flows naturally into Impey’s work. “Impey challenged some of the most fundamental questions in science: What is life? How did life begin? Does life exist elsewhere in the universe?” said astronomer Ausubel. Questions, he added, belong to poetry and philosophy as much as they do to biology and astronomy.

Impey has pursued these questions through decades of observational research. Throughout his career, he has developed innovative ways to observe and measure matter and energy, advancing our understanding of quasars, the very distant objects powered by supermassive black holes, and the intergalactic medium, the vast space between galaxies. He refined gravitational lensing techniques and used instruments from ground-based observatories and the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate these mysteries.

At the same time, he has written ten popular science books exploring topics ranging from the origin of the universe, the evolution of galaxies to black holes, and the search for extraterrestrial life. Four of those books, including a 2023 book, examine humanity’s efforts to determine whether life exists beyond Earth. A world without end: Exoplanets, habitability, and the future of humanity.

in world without endImpey examines discoveries that reveal there are thousands of planets outside our solar system and explains how astronomers assess their chances of supporting life. from shakespeare avatar—He captures humanity’s fascination with a habitable world. He places these discoveries in the context of Earth’s environmental problems and reminds readers that scientific curiosity and stewardship of the Earth must coexist. “Planet B does not exist,” he writes.

Impey was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and spent part of his childhood between the East Coast of the United States and London. He graduated with honors in physics from Imperial College London in 1977 and received a Ph.D. Four years later he received a PhD in astronomy from the University of Edinburgh. After postdoctoral research at the University of Hawaii and the California Institute of Technology, he joined the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, where he is currently a Distinguished Professor.

He is widely known for his dedication to education and community involvement. Impey was honored as an NSF Distinguished Scholar, was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and became the first astronomer to be named a professor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Recent recipients of the Lewis Thomas Prize include neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene (2025), theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli (2024), forest researcher Suzanne Simard (2023), and evolutionary biologist Richard Plumb (2021). In 2002, the award was presented to neurologist and author Oliver Sacks, celebrating his humanistic exploration of the brain and human experience in books such as: Awakening and A man mistakes his wife for a hat.

The 2026 Lewis Thomas Award presentation and lecture will take place at Rockefeller University’s Caspary Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.