Reinhard Genzel

Reinhard Genzel is a renowned astrophysicist who studies the centers of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. He is best known for his work on discovering and understanding supermassive black holes—extremely dense objects with gravity so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Using advanced telescopes and techniques, Genzel and his team tracked the orbits of stars near the galactic core, providing strong evidence for a supermassive black hole there. His research has significantly advanced our understanding of galaxy formation and the role of black holes in the universe. He shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work.