Tim Coulson, Professorial Fellow in Zoology, had a close brush with death after contracting malaria in his early twenties.  It left him pondering big questions, such as why he existed, why is there something rather than nothing, and what had to happen for us to get here?

In his new book, The Universal History of Us (Penguin Michael Joseph), Tim attempts to answer these questions.  In a 13.8-billion year story, from the Big Bang to the present day, he recounts how our universe came into being, how our solar system was formed, how life developed on Earth, then consciousness, and then humanity.

 

Drawing on thirty years of research – from studying lions in Kenya, and wolves in Yellowstone Park, to visiting the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and writing mathematical models of how the natural world works – Tim’s book opens a window on one of the greatest enterprises of history: science. Revealing how scientists have sleuthed for centuries to answer the big questions, the new publication is for anyone who’s ever asked ‘Why am I here?’

To mark the launch of his book on Thursday 13th June, Tim hosted a special event at the University’s Museum of Natural History. He was joined by colleagues from across the University and College community, as well as friends and family.