From "Meet the Author" in Elysium Fire:

ALASTAIR REYNOLDS was born in Barry, South Wales, in 1966.  He studied at Newcastle and St. Andrews universities and has a PhD in astronomy.  He stopped working as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency to become a full-time writer.  Revelation Space and Pushing Ice were shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award; Revelation Space, Absolution Gap, and Century Rain were shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Award, and Chasm City won the British Science Fiction Award.