Brian May greatest guitarist of all time. He was ranked at No. 26 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In 2012, he was ranked the 2nd greatest guitarist in a "Guitar World" magazine readers poll. May was appointed a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 for "services to the music industry and for charity work". May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007, and was Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008 to 2013. He was a "science team collaborator" with NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission. He is also
Queen (band) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Each member of Queen has composed multiple hit singles, and all four band members were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2005, the band received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, and in 2018 they were presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a band. May placed an advertisement on a college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type"