An award-winning astrophysicist from the University of Central Lancashire has attracted the interest of one of the most revered scientists in the world following her ground-breaking discovery in the distant universe.
Dr Alexia Lopez made waves around the globe in early 2024 with her discovery of an ultra large structure in the distant universe. Although still a PhD student at the time, Alexia’s discovery of the Big Ring in the Sky challenged some of the basic assumptions about the history of the cosmos.
Now, the 28-year-old is being supported by Nobel Prize winner Sir Roger Penrose, a world-renowned mathematician and physicist who mentored Professor Stephen Hawking and is known for his work on general relativity theory and cosmology.
"Alexia Lopez has discovered a remarkable effect which appears to substantiate the conformal cyclic cosmological model that I originally suggested in the early years of the 21st century."
— Sir Roger Penrose
Sir Roger, who co-created the Penrose Triangle with his father and shares the 1988 Wolf Prize for physics with Stephen Hawking for their contribution to our understanding of the universe, has a keen interest in Alexia’s cosmological discoveries; The Giant Arc and Big Ring in the Sky, because they could show signs of his Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC) theory of the origin and development of the universe.
He said: "Alexia Lopez has discovered a remarkable effect which appears to substantiate the conformal cyclic cosmological model that I originally suggested in the early years of the 21st century. Her observations provide what appears to be a very strong challenge to conventional cosmology which had not been previously anticipated."
Since speaking to Roger about her research, Alexia, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Central Lancashire, has been a panellist at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Centre for Philosophy and Foundations of Science with Sir Roger Penrose, delivering the inaugural address on ‘Cyclic Cosmology and Lopez Giant Rings.’
"I couldn’t believe someone of such gravitas was interested in my work."
— Alexia Lopez
Sir Roger has also cited Alexia’s study in his latest research publication, The Physics of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology, and has invited her to meet in person at Oxford University, where he is an Emeritus Professor, in May.
“I thought someone was playing a joke at first when Roger got in touch to say he was fascinated by my findings,” said Alexia. “I couldn’t believe someone of such gravitas was interested in my work. Roger is so passionate about his research and it’s infectious to see how excited he is about the possible links between CCC and the kind of ultra large structures I am looking at.”
"To have the backing of Sir Roger Penrose is amazing and really highlights the significance of her [Alexia's] research.”"
— Professor Derek Ward Thompson
Alexia, who won PHD Student Achievement of the Year at the 2025 Educate North Awards and was shortlisted for the Research Project of the Year: STEM category in last years’ Times Higher Education Awards, has been with the University of Central Lancashire since first arriving in Preston from Barrow in 2015 to begin her undergraduate degree in physics with astrophysics. She then went on to complete a Masters and PhD with the University’s Jeremiah Horrocks Institute for Maths and Physics (JHI).
Professor Derek Ward Thompson, Director of the JHI, added: “We’re very proud of what Alexia has achieved so far and she’s still only at the beginning of her scientific career. To have the backing of Sir Roger Penrose is amazing and really highlights the significance of her research.”
