About Jim Al-Khalili
Jameel Sadik Al-Khalili (Arabic: جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist and science populariser. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. He is a regular broadcaster and presenter of science programmes on BBC radio and television, and a frequent commentator about science in other British media. In 2014 Al-Khalili was named a RISE (Recognising Inspirational Scientists and Engineers) leader by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). He was President of Humanists UK between January 2013 and January 2016. == Early life and education == Al-Khalili was born in Baghdad in 1962. His father was an Iraqi Air Force engineer with Arab heritage from Najaf, and his English mother was a librarian. Al-Khalili settled permanently in the United Kingdom in 1979. After completing (and retaking) his A-levels over three years until 1982, he studied physics at the University of Surrey and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1986. He stayed on at Surrey to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree in nuclear reaction theory, which he obtained in 1989, rather than accepting a job offer from the National Physical Laboratory.
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