It has nearly 50 staff, post-docs and students working on subjects from inflation in the early Universe to understanding the stellar populations in galaxies.
Research at the Institute is supported by grants from STFC (the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council), the Royal Society and the European Union.
It was formed from members of the Relativity and Cosmology Group that had been set up by Prof David Matravers, head of the School of Mathematical Studies at the University of Portsmouth, following the arrival of Roy Maartens as a lecturer in 1994.
Bob Nichol joined the ICG from Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh) in 2004 initiating a research programme in observational cosmology.
[3][4] In 2009 the Institute moved from offices in Mercantile House to purpose-built rooms for nearly 50 researchers on the top floor of the Dennis Sciama Building.