Michael Rowan-Robinson served as Head of Astrophysics at Imperial College, London, from 1993 to 2007 and as President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2006 to 2008. He has received numerous awards for his work in infrared and submillimetre astronomy, including the first Institute of Physics Hoyle Medal in 2008. He worked on the IRAS, ISO, Spitzer, and Herschel missions and was involved in the pioneering submillimetre observations of the 1970s.