Michel Mayor is a world-renowned Swiss astrophysicist who has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of planetary systems beyond our solar neighborhood. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1942, he earned his master's degree in physics from the University of Lausanne before transitioning to astrophysics and completing his doctoral studies at the Geneva Observatory in 1971. His early research focused on the kinematical properties of stars and evidence of spiral structure in the Milky Way, laying the foundation for his subsequent groundbreaking work. Since 1988, he has held professorial positions at the University of Geneva's Department of Astronomy, where he currently serves as Professor Emeritus despite formally retiring in 2007, remaining actively engaged in research at the Observatory of Geneva.
Mayor's most transformative contribution emerged from his continuous refinement of precision spectrograph technology, which enabled the detection of minute stellar radial velocities caused by planetary companions. This technical innovation culminated in 1995 when, alongside his doctoral student Didier Queloz, he discovered 51 Pegasi b, the first confirmed exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star, a finding that fundamentally altered humanity's cosmic perspective and launched the vibrant field of exoplanetary science. His pioneering work has directly led to the discovery of over 4,000 exoplanets in our galaxy, including the identification of numerous 'super-Earth' planets through instruments like the HARPS spectrograph that he and his team developed. This paradigm-shifting discovery earned him the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics, recognizing how his work has revolutionized our understanding of planetary systems and Earth's place in the cosmos.
Beyond his Nobel Prize-recognized breakthrough, Mayor's enduring influence permeates modern astronomy through methodological innovations that have become standard in exoplanet detection worldwide. His technical expertise and vision have established the foundation for current and future missions seeking potentially habitable worlds and advancing the search for extraterrestrial life. Recognized with numerous prestigious honors including the 2015 Kyoto Prize and the 2010 Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize, Mayor continues to actively contribute to astronomical research despite his emeritus status. His ongoing investigations promise to further illuminate planetary formation processes and expand humanity's cosmic perspective, demonstrating that his pioneering approach to extrasolar planet discovery continues to shape the trajectory of astrophysical research globally.
