Jump to content

Brian Cox (physicist): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
[pending revision][pending revision]
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
WKCole (talk | contribs)
82 edits
WKCole (talk | contribs)
82 edits
m Restoring from vandalism
Line 49: Line 49:
Since November 2009, Cox has co-presented a [[BBC Radio 4]] 'comedy science magazine programme',<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio4/2010/06/ Live chat: science fiction vs science fact...], Steve Bowbrick, [[BBC Radio 4]] blog, 28 June 2010, retrieved 6 July 2010.</ref> ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with comedian [[Robin Ince]]. The programme, in a Monday 4.30pm slot, ended its third series on 6 December 2010<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wdfd4#synopsis ''Philosophy''], BBC website, retrieved 6 December 2010.</ref> and it is due to return in May 2011.<ref>On-air announcement on Radio 4, 6 December 2010.</ref> Guests have included comedians [[Tim Minchin]], [[Alexei Sayle]], [[Dara Ó Briain]] and scientists including [[Alice Roberts|Dr Alice Roberts]] of the BBC show ''[[The Incredible Human Journey]]''. Cox also appeared in Ince's ''[[Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People]]''. Cox is a regular contributor to the [[BBC 6 Music]] Breakfast Show with [[Shaun Keaveny]], with a weekly feature. Cox appeared on the 24 July 2009 episode of [[Robert Llewellyn|Robert Llewellyn's]] ''[[Carpool (web series)|CarPool]]'' podcast series.<ref>CarPool, ''[http://www.llewtube.com/ Brian Cox on CarPool],'' 24 July 2009, retrieved 19 September 2009.</ref>
Since November 2009, Cox has co-presented a [[BBC Radio 4]] 'comedy science magazine programme',<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio4/2010/06/ Live chat: science fiction vs science fact...], Steve Bowbrick, [[BBC Radio 4]] blog, 28 June 2010, retrieved 6 July 2010.</ref> ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with comedian [[Robin Ince]]. The programme, in a Monday 4.30pm slot, ended its third series on 6 December 2010<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wdfd4#synopsis ''Philosophy''], BBC website, retrieved 6 December 2010.</ref> and it is due to return in May 2011.<ref>On-air announcement on Radio 4, 6 December 2010.</ref> Guests have included comedians [[Tim Minchin]], [[Alexei Sayle]], [[Dara Ó Briain]] and scientists including [[Alice Roberts|Dr Alice Roberts]] of the BBC show ''[[The Incredible Human Journey]]''. Cox also appeared in Ince's ''[[Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People]]''. Cox is a regular contributor to the [[BBC 6 Music]] Breakfast Show with [[Shaun Keaveny]], with a weekly feature. Cox appeared on the 24 July 2009 episode of [[Robert Llewellyn|Robert Llewellyn's]] ''[[Carpool (web series)|CarPool]]'' podcast series.<ref>CarPool, ''[http://www.llewtube.com/ Brian Cox on CarPool],'' 24 July 2009, retrieved 19 September 2009.</ref>


Cox has also appeared numerous times at [[TED (conference)|TED]], giving talks on the LHC and particle physics.<ref>[http://www.ted.com/search?q=brian+cox Brian Cox], ''[[TED (conference)|TED]]'', retrieved 6 January 2011.</ref> In 2009 he reappeared in [[People (magazine)|''People'' magazine]]'s Sexiest Men Alive.<ref>[http://atlas.ch/news/2009/sexiest-physicist.html ATLAS physicist voted sexiest in the world], February 2009</ref> In 2010 he was featured in ''The Case for Mars'' by [[Symphony of Science]]. In November 2010 he made a promotional appearance in the [[Covent Garden]] [[Apple Store]], talking about his new [[iBooks|iBook]] set to accompany his new TV series as well as answering audience questions.<ref>[http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/about-harpercollins/Imprints/collins/Pages/Collins.aspx Landmark Apple Store Event for Professor Cox], press release from [[HarperCollins]], 24 November 2010, retrieved 6 December 2010.</ref>
Cox has also appeared numerous times at [[TED (conference)|TED]], giving talks on the LHC and particle physics.<ref>[http://www.ted.com/search?q=brian+cox Brian Cox], ''[[TED (conference)|TED]]'', retrieved 6 January 2011.</ref> In 2009 he appeared in [[People (magazine)|''People'' magazine]]'s Sexiest Men Alive.<ref>[http://atlas.ch/news/2009/sexiest-physicist.html ATLAS physicist voted sexiest in the world], February 2009</ref> In 2010 he was featured in ''The Case for Mars'' by [[Symphony of Science]]. In November 2010 he made a promotional appearance in the [[Covent Garden]] [[Apple Store]], talking about his new [[iBooks|iBook]] set to accompany his new TV series as well as answering audience questions.<ref>[http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/about-harpercollins/Imprints/collins/Pages/Collins.aspx Landmark Apple Store Event for Professor Cox], press release from [[HarperCollins]], 24 November 2010, retrieved 6 December 2010.</ref>


Cox gave the [[Royal Television Society|Royal Television Society's]] 2010 [[Huw Wheldon]] Memorial Lecture on "Science, a Challenge to TV Orthodoxy", in which he examined problems in media coverage of science and news about science. It was broadcast on BBC Two on 1 December 2010. On 4 March, Frankenstein’s Science featured Professor Cox in discussion with biographer [[Richard Holmes (biographer)|Richard Holmes]] on [[Mary Shelley|Mary Shelley’s]] exploration of humanity’s desire to bring life to an inanimate object and whether the notion is possible, in both the 19th century and today.
Cox gave the [[Royal Television Society|Royal Television Society's]] 2010 [[Huw Wheldon]] Memorial Lecture on "Science, a Challenge to TV Orthodoxy", in which he examined problems in media coverage of science and news about science. It was broadcast on BBC Two on 1 December 2010. On 4 March, Frankenstein’s Science featured Professor Cox in discussion with biographer [[Richard Holmes (biographer)|Richard Holmes]] on [[Mary Shelley|Mary Shelley’s]] exploration of humanity’s desire to bring life to an inanimate object and whether the notion is possible, in both the 19th century and today.
Line 62: Line 62:
==Personal life==
==Personal life==
In 2004 Cox married [[U.S.]] blogger [[Gia Milinovich]], who was working at the [[Large Hadron Collider]] at [[CERN]], when a documentary was being made. Their first child, George, was born on 26 May 2009.<ref>http://twitter.com/giagia/status/1922310447</ref> Milinovich also has a son, named Moki, from a previous relationship. George's middle name is "Eagle" - a testament to Brian's enduring relationship with space. (Eagle was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.) The family currently lives in London. Cox recalls a happy childhood in Oldham that included geeky pursuits such as plane spotting and even bus spotting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/14/cern.particlephysics|title=Putting the fizz into physics|first=David|last=Smith|publisher=[[The Observer]]|date=2008-09-14|accessdate=2008-09-14}}</ref>
In 2004 Cox married [[U.S.]] blogger [[Gia Milinovich]], who was working at the [[Large Hadron Collider]] at [[CERN]], when a documentary was being made. Their first child, George, was born on 26 May 2009.<ref>http://twitter.com/giagia/status/1922310447</ref> Milinovich also has a son, named Moki, from a previous relationship. George's middle name is "Eagle" - a testament to Brian's enduring relationship with space. (Eagle was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.) The family currently lives in London. Cox recalls a happy childhood in Oldham that included geeky pursuits such as plane spotting and even bus spotting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/14/cern.particlephysics|title=Putting the fizz into physics|first=David|last=Smith|publisher=[[The Observer]]|date=2008-09-14|accessdate=2008-09-14}}</ref>

Brian Cox is a [[humanist]], and is a "Distinguished Supporter" of the [[British Humanist Association]].


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 03:13, 24 March 2011

Brian Cox
Brian Cox speaking at The Royal Institution in November 2009
Born (1968-03-03) 3 March 1968 (age 56)
Oldham, Lancashire, UK
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Manchester
Known forATLAS, D:Ream
SpouseGia Milinovich
Scientific career
FieldsParticle physics
InstitutionsUniversity of Manchester
CERN

Brian Edward Cox, OBE, (born 3 March 1968) is a British particle physicist, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and a professor at the University of Manchester. He is a member of the High Energy Physics group at the University of Manchester, and works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland. He is also working on the R&D project of the FP420 experiment in an international collaboration to upgrade the ATLAS and the CMS experiment by installing additional, smaller detectors at a distance of 420 metres (1,380 ft) from the interaction points of the main experiments.[2]

He is best known to the public as the presenter of a number of science programmes for the BBC, in connection with which he is generally referred to as "Professor Brian Cox". He also had some fame in the 1990s as the keyboard player for the pop band, D:Ream.

Studies and career in music

Raised in Oldham, Greater Manchester, the son of middle class bankers,[3] Cox was a bright but not outstanding pupil. He attended Hulme Grammar School in Oldham from 1979 to 1986,[4] (where he received a D grade for A-Level Mathematics)[5] and studied physics at the University of Manchester where in 1993, while still a student, he joined D:Ream,[6] who had several hits in the UK charts, including the number one, "Things Can Only Get Better",[7] later used as a New Labour election anthem. He already had previous experience of the music industry in the 1980s as keyboard player with the band Dare.[8]

During his music career he earned an undergraduate first class honours degree and M.Phil. degree, both in physics, from the University of Manchester. A year after D:Ream disbanded in 1997, Cox was awarded his Ph.D. degree in high energy particle physics at the same university, based on his thesis drawn from work he did for the H1 experiment at the HERA particle accelerator at the DESY laboratory in Hamburg.[9]

Academic, television and radio

A Brian Cox
Brian Cox at Science Foo Camp in 2008.

Cox is known for his involvement in science programmes for BBC radio and television, including In Einstein's Shadow,[10] the BBC Horizon series[11] ("The Six Billion Dollar Experiment", "What on Earth is Wrong with Gravity?" "Do You Know What Time It Is?" and "Can we Make a Star on Earth?") and for voiceovers on the BBC's Bitesize revision programmes. Cox was the science advisor for the science fiction film Sunshine and was featured on the Discovery Channel special Megaworld: Switzerland. In March and April 2010, Cox presented a five-part BBC television series entitled Wonders of the Solar System,[12] which had more than six million viewers. He also co-presents the CBBC channel's Space Hoppers.[13] Cox has also been featured in CBBC's acclaimed TV show "Dani's House".

Cox confirmed that the BBC had commissioned a follow-up series to Wonders of the Solar System and that it would be called Universal. Filming began on 10 May 2010; two days earlier, Cox announced, via his Twitter page, that the series had become Wonders of the Universe to keep it in line with the title of the earlier series. The first episode of the series aired on 6 March 2011 on BBC One and BBC One HD. BBC Two commissioned Cox to copresent Stargazing, a three day live astronomy series in January 2011 – co-presented with physicist-turned-comedian Dara Ó Briain and featuring chat show host Jonathan Ross[14] – linked to events across the United Kingdom.[15]

Since November 2009, Cox has co-presented a BBC Radio 4 'comedy science magazine programme',[16] The Infinite Monkey Cage with comedian Robin Ince. The programme, in a Monday 4.30pm slot, ended its third series on 6 December 2010[17] and it is due to return in May 2011.[18] Guests have included comedians Tim Minchin, Alexei Sayle, Dara Ó Briain and scientists including Dr Alice Roberts of the BBC show The Incredible Human Journey. Cox also appeared in Ince's Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People. Cox is a regular contributor to the BBC 6 Music Breakfast Show with Shaun Keaveny, with a weekly feature. Cox appeared on the 24 July 2009 episode of Robert Llewellyn's CarPool podcast series.[19]

Cox has also appeared numerous times at TED, giving talks on the LHC and particle physics.[20] In 2009 he appeared in People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.[21] In 2010 he was featured in The Case for Mars by Symphony of Science. In November 2010 he made a promotional appearance in the Covent Garden Apple Store, talking about his new iBook set to accompany his new TV series as well as answering audience questions.[22]

Cox gave the Royal Television Society's 2010 Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture on "Science, a Challenge to TV Orthodoxy", in which he examined problems in media coverage of science and news about science. It was broadcast on BBC Two on 1 December 2010. On 4 March, Frankenstein’s Science featured Professor Cox in discussion with biographer Richard Holmes on Mary Shelley’s exploration of humanity’s desire to bring life to an inanimate object and whether the notion is possible, in both the 19th century and today.

On 6 March 2011, Cox appeared as a guest at Patrick Moore's 700th episode anniversary of The Sky At Night. He has stated in numerous interviews that he is a life-long fan of the programme, and that it helped inspire him to become a physicist. On 10 March 2011, Cox gave the Ninth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture. On the 2nd July 2011, Cox will be at the Flaming Lips gig at Jodrell Bank preforming a lecture.

Honours and awards

Cox has received many awards for his efforts to publicise science. In 2002 he was elected an International Fellow of The Explorers Club and in 2006 Cox received the British Association's Lord Kelvin Award for this work. Also in 2006 he was elected as a University Research Fellow of The Royal Society. A frequent lecturer, he was keynote speaker at the Australian Science Festival in 2006, and in 2010 won the Institute of Physics Kelvin Prize for his work in communicating the appeal and excitement of physics to the general public.[23] Cox was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours for services to science.[24][25] On Tuesday 15th March 2011, Cox was nominated and won Best Presenter and Best Science/Natural History program by the Royal Television Society for Wonders of the Solar System. On that following night Cox, won and was named "Best Presenter" at the ceremony and also took the "Science and natural history" prize for his Wonders of the Solar System series. He said on Twitter that he was "absolutely delighted" with the two awards.

Personal life

In 2004 Cox married U.S. blogger Gia Milinovich, who was working at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, when a documentary was being made. Their first child, George, was born on 26 May 2009.[26] Milinovich also has a son, named Moki, from a previous relationship. George's middle name is "Eagle" - a testament to Brian's enduring relationship with space. (Eagle was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.) The family currently lives in London. Cox recalls a happy childhood in Oldham that included geeky pursuits such as plane spotting and even bus spotting.[27]

Brian Cox is a humanist, and is a "Distinguished Supporter" of the British Humanist Association.

References

  1. ^ "Professor Brian Cox: 'We don't know what 96% of the universe is made of – we don't understand something fundamental'". The Guardian. London. 7 March 2010.
  2. ^ FP420 R&D Project, FP420, 16 October 2007, retrieved 6 September 2008
  3. ^ Steve Connor (5 March 2011). "Brian Cox: stars in his eyes". The Independent. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Congratulations to Professor Brian Cox OBE". Oldham Hulme Grammar School website. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Brian Cox: Science is not 'dominated by old men'". BBC News. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  6. ^ Caspar Llewellyn Smith (4 April 2010). "Brian Cox: The man with the stars in his eyes". The Observer. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  7. ^ UK top 40 hit database, EveryHit.co.uk (search result for D:Ream), done 6 September 2008
  8. ^ "A Life in the Day: Dr Brian Cox". The Times. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  9. ^ Professor Brian Cox, ApollosChildren.com (with downloadable postscript file), retrieved 6 September 2008
  10. ^ In Einstein's shadow, BBC, January 2005, retrieved 6 September 2008.
  11. ^ Sue Rider Management, Professor Brian Cox, retrieved 6 September 2008
  12. ^ Wonders of the Solar System, retrieved 4 April 2010
  13. ^ Space Hoppers, retrieved 4 April 2010
  14. ^ Ross returns to BBC for Stargazing series, Catherine Neilan, Broadcast, 25 November 2010
  15. ^ Speech by Saul Nassé, head of BBC Learning, 27 September 2010, retrieved 6 December 2010.
  16. ^ Live chat: science fiction vs science fact..., Steve Bowbrick, BBC Radio 4 blog, 28 June 2010, retrieved 6 July 2010.
  17. ^ Philosophy, BBC website, retrieved 6 December 2010.
  18. ^ On-air announcement on Radio 4, 6 December 2010.
  19. ^ CarPool, Brian Cox on CarPool, 24 July 2009, retrieved 19 September 2009.
  20. ^ Brian Cox, TED, retrieved 6 January 2011.
  21. ^ ATLAS physicist voted sexiest in the world, February 2009
  22. ^ Landmark Apple Store Event for Professor Cox, press release from HarperCollins, 24 November 2010, retrieved 6 December 2010.
  23. ^ 2010 Kelvin medal and prize
  24. ^ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 12 June 2010.
  25. ^ "Professor Brian 'chuffed' with OBE". The Sun. 12 June 2010..
  26. ^ http://twitter.com/giagia/status/1922310447
  27. ^ Smith, David (14 September 2008). "Putting the fizz into physics". The Observer. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brian Cox (physicist).
Wikiquote has quotations related to Brian Cox (physicist).

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Brian_Cox_(physicist)&oldid=420431745"