Will Percival

Will Percival is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist known for his research on the large-scale structure of the Universe and galaxy surveys.

Early life and education

Percival was born in England and earned his PhD in astrophysics from the University of Oxford in 1999.

Career

Percival's research focuses on the large-scale properties of the Universe, galaxy surveys, and cosmic structure formation. He has contributed to galaxy redshift surveys including the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI).

Percival is director of the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics and co-Spokesperson for DESI. He has served on advisory and steering committees for organizations such as the European Space Agency and UK Space Agency.

Research and contributions

Percival's research focuses on:

• Observational cosmology and large-scale structure
• Cosmological structure formation and galaxy surveys
• The physics of cosmic expansion and acceleration

Honours and awards

• 2025: Member of the Royal Society of Canada
• 2018: Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Distinguished Research Chair in Astrophysics, University of Waterloo
• 2016: Distinguished Scientist Fellowship, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• 2008: Royal Astronomical Society Fowler Award
• 2008: Royal Astronomical Society Team Award (2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey)
• 2007: Philip Leverhulme Prize

References