Anton Zensus
Astrophysicist.
exploring the universe. shaping science at scale.
I am an astrophysicist with decades of experience in fundamental research and international collaboration in radio astronomy.
Fundamental research generates knowledge that drives scientific and technological progress and provides a reliable basis for decisions that affect society.
first picture of a black hole.
With my team and international partners, I advanced Very Long Baseline Interferometry, linking radio telescopes worldwide and enabling the first image of a black hole.
new chapter.
My work now centers on selected research projects and advisory roles at the intersection of scientific excellence, global collaboration, and the development of people and institutions.
- Emeritus Director and Scientific Member, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
- Advisor on Transatlantic and Global Science Strategy
- Expert in Radio Astronomy and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)
- Researches galaxies and quasars with global radio telescope networks
- Founding Chair, Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (first black hole image)
- Advisor to the President of the Max Planck Society for Transatlantic Cooperation
- Chair of the North America Roundtable of the Max Planck Society
- German Research Foundation (DFG) - Physics review board
- University of Bonn (Germany) - Scientific Advisory Board
- Associated Universities Inc. (USA) - Astronomy Committee
- Next Generation Very Large Array (USA) - Science Advisory Committee
- Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (China) - Scientific Advisory Board
- Deutsches Museum - Kuratorium
- Atlantik-Brücke
- International Astronomical Union
- European Astronomical Society
- American Astronomical Society
- Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
- Astronomische Gesellschaft
- 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 Forschungspreis für Internationale Kooperation 1999
- Alexander von Humboldt Forschungspreis 1994
Awards to the EHT Collaboration:
- Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics 2019
- Frontiers of Science Award 2025
- 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
- NSF Diamond Achievement Award 2019
further honors:
- Golden Medal of the Institute of Applied Astronomy, St. Petersburg 2013
- RadioAstron Bronze Medal 2012
- Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes 1982-84
impact.
science at scale.
Discovery.
I study distant galaxies and the role of supermassive black holes, including the influence of magnetic fields on their environments.
Using Very Long Baseline Interferometry, we operate a global radio telescope network that in 2017 produced the first image of a black hole in the galaxy Messier 87. My ERC-funded project, M2FINDERS, focuses on how relativistic jets form.
translation.
Fundamental research creates lasting value for society when scientific excellence is combined with technological development, industrial expertise, and the infrastructure needed to turn discovery into sustained capability.
My large-scale research collaborations have advanced specialised technologies and helped train the next generation of scientists and engineers.
governance.
Open science depends on people who are willing to take responsibility beyond their own institutions.
I engage where scientific independence, public trust, and long-term resilience are at stake, bringing experience shaped by decades of work in global research systems.
record.
enjoy...
discourse.
I contribute to public discourse on science, technology, and international cooperation through interviews, lectures and long-form conversations.
Contact: 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.
dialogue. responsibility.
write me at:
advisory.
I engage selectively, where experience and independent perspective support long-term strategy.
I do not offer solutions, but conversation at moments when responsibility, uncertainty, and consequence meet.
mentoring. supervision.
I work with individuals who carry responsibility for systems larger than themselves.
These conversations are collegial rather than instructional, shaped by shared reflection rather than guidance, and grounded in experience rather than framework.
notes.
reports - reflection - commentary
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 contribution.
