Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe (1939-) is professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at Cardiff University; Director of Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology. Student and collaborator with Sir Sir Fred Hoyle (June 24, 1915 – August 20, 2001) was a British astronomer, notable for a number of his theories that run counter to current astronomical opinion, and a writer of science fiction, including a number of books co-authored by his son Geoffrey Hoyle. An early paper of... Fred Hoyle; their joint work on the infrared spectra of interstellar grains led to developing the modern theory of Panspermia is a theory (more directly described as a hypothesis, as there is no compelling evidence yet available to support or contradict it) that suggests that the seeds of life are prevalent throughout the Universe and life on Earth began by such seeds landing on Earth and propagating. The theory... panspermia. This theory proposes that cosmic dust in interstellar space and in comets is partly organic, and that life on earth evolved from this source rather than from "primordial soup." Currently working on developing methods for detecting life processes in space. Winner in 1997 of the Crafoord Prize; Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.