Anton Zensus
Astrophysicist.
exploring the universe.
bridging continents.
thinking at the horizon.
I am an astrophysicist who has spent decades at the frontier of what is knowable — shaping large-scale international collaborations, helping prepare the infrastructures that turn discovery into lasting capability, and connecting fundamental science with the world beyond the laboratory.
Fundamental research expands knowledge, drives progress, and strengthens the foundations on which societies make long-term decisions.
first picture of a black hole.
For most of human history, a black hole could only be inferred — never seen.
In 2019, we changed that. Six and a half billion solar masses. Fifty-five million light years away from us. An image that required the resolution to photograph a donut on the moon.
With my team and international partners, I advanced Very Long Baseline Interferometry — linking radio telescopes across the globe into a single instrument the size of the Earth. It took global trust, shared purpose, and the patience to work toward something no single institution could achieve alone.
new chapter.
As emeritus, I continue my research — and take on a select number of engagements where what I bring is not solutions, but perspective: the ability to sit with complexity, to see across systems, and to ask the questions that only experience makes visible.
- Astrophysicist and Director Emeritus, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
- Founding Chair, Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (first image of a black hole)
- Advisor on international scientific cooperation and research policy
- Current advisory roles in international research, development and science policy
- Engagements with select international research institutions, funding organisations and universities spanning Germany, Europe, the United States, and China
- Scientific and professional affiliations include
- Max Planck Society
- International Astronomical Union
- American Astronomical Society
- Atlantik-Brücke
- selected honors and distinctions
- Karl Schwarzschild Medal 2024 – highest German prize for astrophysics
- Tycho Brahe Medal 2023 – highest European award for observational astronomy
- European Research Council Advanced Grant 2021 – most competitive European research grant
- Max Planck Research Prize for International Cooperation 1999
- Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize 1994
- awards to the EHT Collaboration include
- Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics 2019
- Einstein Medal of the Swiss Albert Einstein Society 2019
- Group Achievement Award of the Royal Society 2021
- Bruno Rossi Group Award of the American Astronomical Society 2020
- further international honors include awards from
- Chinese Academy of Science
- Institute of Applied Astronomy, St. Petersburg
- RadioAstron Mission
- Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
impact.
science at scale.
Discovery.
I study distant galaxies and the role of supermassive black holes — how magnetic fields shape their environments, and how relativistic jets form in their vicinity.
For over two decades, my group and international partners advanced the resolution, sensitivity, and imaging fidelity of radio telescope arrays systematically, until imaging a black hole became achievable. My ERC-funded project, M2FINDERS, continues that pursuit: what happens at the jet base of M87's supermassive black hole?
translation.
Discovery becomes lasting value when scientific insight connects with technology, infrastructure, and the people who build both.
The first image of a black hole required more than a bold idea — it required twenty years of building: connecting telescopes across continents, pushing the technology to capture finer and finer detail, and developing the methods to turn billions of data points into a trustworthy image. Much of that groundwork was laid in Bonn. The infrastructure my group built and the data pipelines we developed were not support work — they were what made the result possible.
governance.
Good science depends on people willing to take responsibility beyond their own institutions. I engage where scientific independence, public trust, and the long-term resilience of research systems are at stake — particularly in international and transatlantic contexts.
discourse.
I have spent decades at the intersection of discovery and responsibility — and I believe scientists who have been there have an obligation to speak.
I contribute to discussions on science, research policy, and international cooperation through interviews, lectures, and extended conversations.
For interviews, panels, or lectures: azensus@mpifr.de
- Terra X Lesch & Co LIVE: Das erste Foto von Sagittarius A*! Mit Reinhard Genzel und Anton Zensus
- Das Unsichtbare sichtbar machen - Bilder von Schwarzen Löchern von Anton Zensus
- Radio Views: EHT Image of the Black Hole in SgrA* - MPIfR scientists tell the story
- European Southern Observatory (ESO): Unveiling Sgr A*, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy
- Anton Zensus on defending science funding
- An astounding coincidence with theory | April 10, 2019 | Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Spellbound by the Black Hole | Humboldt Kosmos 111/2020 (english)
- Im Bann des Schwarzen Lochs | Humboldt Kosmos 111/2020 (deutsch)
- Big Techday 22: Making the Invisible Visible - Imaging Black Holes - Prof. Dr. J. Anton Zensus
engagement.
For advisory, mentoring, and supervision: azensus@antonzensus.de
advisory.
I work with institutions and leaders where long-term perspective matters more than quick answers — helping to hold complexity, sharpen questions, and think through what responsibility requires.
This includes advising on science strategy, governance, and the long-term architecture of research organisations.
mentoring. supervision.
Over two decades ago, I founded the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics — now widely recognised as a model for international doctoral education.
Almost every European researcher active in our field today spent formative time in the Bonn group. Many now lead their own groups and train their own students.
That investment in people continues in a different register today — in conversations with individuals navigating roles that carry weight beyond themselves, collegial, reflective, and grounded in shared experience.
My approach in this area is informed by certified training in systemic coaching and supervision.
notes.
observations & reflections
contact.
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Prof. Dr. J. Anton Zensus
With gratitude to the global community of scientists, engineers, and institutions whose work continues beyond any individual.
