Stephen J. Smartt CBE FRS (born 9 November 1968) is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who specialises in stellar evolution, supernovae and time domain sky surveys.[1] He is credited with the discovery of stars that explode as supernovae, measuring their mass, luminosity and the chemical elements synthesized.[1] Smartt is a Professor of Astrophysics at the School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast.[2] He is a patron of Northern Ireland Humanists.[3]
Born and raised in Belfast, Smartt was educated at Belfast Royal Academy and studied physics and applied mathematics at Queen’s University Belfast. He was awarded a PhD in astrophysics in 1996.[1]
He worked at the Isaac Newton Group of telescopes and held a fellowship at the University of Cambridge. Smartt returned to Belfast in 2004 and established a group working on stellar evolution, supernovae and time domain sky surveys.[citation needed]
Smartt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to science.[4]