In his career, he has earned an Institute of Physics President’s medal by Sir Patrick Stewart, during his speech Brian took the opportunity to promote the need to invest in the future generation of young Scientists through education. During the later stages of his career, Brian was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on the Queen’s 2010 Birthday Honours, for his services to Science.
An Advanced Fellow of Particle Physics from the University of Manchester, Brian is best known as an icon of educational science programmes. In particular, Brian presents the incredibly popular Wonders of… series, and has published two highly successful books titled Why Does E=mc²? and The Quantum Universe. Incredibly, Brian has produced over 950 scientific publications.
Brian was first recognised for his contribution to science when he was elected as an International Fellow of The Explorers Club, then later, in 2006, he received the British Association’s Lord Kelvin Award for this work. 2006 was a particularly successful year for Brian, as he was also awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, enabling him to explore his passion for Earthly science and beyond. Within the same year, Brian was the keynote speaker for the Australian Science Festival.
Brian’s further accolades include the Wonders of the Solar System being named Best Documentary Series of 2010, the Best Presenter and Best Science/Natural History programme by the Royal Television Society, and the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Performer in a non-acting role, both of which awarded in 2011. Within a year, Brian was also awarded the Michael Faraday Prize of the Royal Society “for his excellent work in science communication”, and later was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2016.
