Prof. Ian Crawford

BIOGRAPHY

Ian Andrew Crawford is a British professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck, University of London. Crawford is a specialist in the science and exploration of the Moon and in the search for life in the universe. Before switching his research interests to planetary science in 2003, Crawford had a 15-year career at University College London as an observational astronomer specialising in studies of the interstellar medium. He is the author of over 130 peer-reviewed research papers in the fields of astronomy, planetary science, astrobiology and space exploration. In 2021, Crawford edited a book, Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History and Cosmic Perspectives, which explores the links between the academic disciplines of astrobiology and big history and their wider relevance to society. Crawford served as a Vice-President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2017 to 2019. He is a former member of the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) of the European Science Foundation and of the European Space Agency's Human Spaceflight and Exploration Science Advisory Committee (HESAC).