Brian Cox (physicist)

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Brian Edward Cox

Brian Cox speaking at The Royal Institution in November 2009
Born 3 March 1968 (1968-03-03) (age 43)
Chadderton, Lancashire, England
Residence Manchester
Nationality British
Fields Particle physics
Institutions University of Manchester
CERN
Alma mater Victoria University of Manchester
Known for ATLAS, D:Ream, Wonders of the Solar System, Wonders of the Universe
Influences Richard Feynman, Carl Sagan

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.[1] 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 (LHC)[2][3] at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland. He is 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 from the interaction points of the main experiments.[4]

He is best known to the public as the presenter of a number of science programmes for the BBC. He also had some fame in the 1990s as the keyboard player for the pop band D:Ream.

Contents

[edit] Studies and career in music

Cox was born in Chadderton, Lancashire.[5] His mother was a bank teller and his father a junior branch manager; his grandparents worked in cotton mills in Oldham.[6][7] He attended the fee-charging Hulme Grammar School in Oldham from 1979 to 1986.[8][9] It is regularly said that he failed his Mathematics A-level with a D grade, however this is a low pass grade. He cites a lack of interest and fledgling band commitments as the reason for the anomalous result. He studied physics at the University of Manchester where he joined D:Ream,[10] a group which had several hits in the UK charts, including the number one, "Things Can Only Get Better",[11] later used as a New Labour election anthem. He already had experience of the music industry in the 1980s as a keyboard player with the Rock band Dare.[12]

Cox obtained first class B.Sc. and MPhil degrees in physics from the University of Manchester. After D:Ream disbanded in 1997, Cox was awarded his PhD in high energy particle physics at Manchester University. The thesis was entitled "Double Diffraction Dissociation at Large Momentum Transfer", it was supervised by Prof Robin Marshall and drawn from work he did for the H1 experiment at the HERA[13] particle accelerator at the DESY laboratory in Hamburg, Germany.[14]

[edit] Academic in television and radio

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

Cox has appeared in many science programmes for BBC radio and television, including In Einstein's Shadow,[15] the BBC Horizon series[16] ("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 as a voice-over for the BBC's Bitesize revision programmes. Cox presented a five-part BBC Two television series entitled Wonders of the Solar System in early 2010 and a follow up four-part series, Wonders of the Universe, which began on 6 March 2011.[17] A new series, titled Wonders of Life is currently being filmed,[18] which Cox describes as "a physicist's take on life / natural history."[19]

He co-presents Space Hoppers and has also featured in Dani's House on CBBC.[20]

BBC Two commissioned Cox to copresent Stargazing Live, 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[21] – linked to events across the United Kingdom. A second series featuring a variety of guests ran in January 2012.[22]

Since November 2009, Cox has co-presented a BBC Radio 4 "comedy science magazine programme", The Infinite Monkey Cage with comedian Robin Ince.[23] 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.[24]

Cox has also appeared numerous times at TED, giving talks on the LHC and particle physics.[25] In 2009 he appeared in People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.[26] 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.[27]

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 subsequently broadcast on BBC Two. On 4 March, Frankenstein’s Science featured 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 said 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.

He has also written and co-authored several books on physics including Why does E=mc2?[28] with Jeff Forshaw, and The Quantum Universe, also with Jeff Forshaw.

Cox was the science advisor for the science fiction film Sunshine. On the DVD release, he provides an audio commentary where he discusses scientific accuracies (and inaccuracies) depicted in the film. He was also featured on the Discovery Channel special Megaworld: Switzerland.

[edit] 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.[29] Cox was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours for services to science.[30][31]

On 15 March 2011, Cox won Best Presenter and Best Science/Natural History programme by the Royal Television Society for Wonders of the universe. On March 25, 2011, Cox won twice at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for 'Best Performer' in a non-acting role, while Wonders of the Solar System was named best documentary series of 2010.

[edit] Personal life

In 2004 Cox married US 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.[32] George's middle name is "Eagle" after the Apollo 11 lunar module. Milinovich also has a son, named Moki, from a previous relationship. The family currently lives in London.

He recalls a happy childhood in Oldham that included pursuits such as plane spotting and even bus spotting. He has stated in many interviews and in an episode of Wonders of the Universe [33] that when he was 12, the book Cosmos by Carl Sagan was a key factor in inspiring him to become a physicist.[34] Brian Cox is a humanist, and is a "Distinguished Supporter" of the British Humanist Association.[35] He is a life-long Oldham Athletic A.F.C. fan.

[edit] Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Einstein's Equation of Life and Death Himself BBC's Horizon series
2005 Einstein's Unfinished Symphony Himself BBC's Horizon series
2007 The Six Billion Dollar Experiment Himself BBC's Horizon series
2008 The Big Bang Machine Presenter
What on Earth is Wrong with Gravity Presenter BBC's Horizon series
Do You Know What Time It Is Presenter BBC's Horizon series
2009 Can we Make a Star on Earth Presenter BBC's Horizon series
2010 Wonders of the Solar System Presenter
Dani's House Himself
Would I Lie to You? Panelist
2011 Stargazing LIVE Co-Presenter
QI Panelist
Wonders of the Universe Presenter
A Night With The Stars Presenter
The One Show Guest
2012 Stargazing LIVE Co-Presenter
Wonders of Life Presenter
The Jonathan Ross Show Guest

[edit] Discography

Session discography[36]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Butterworth, J.; Couchman, J. P.; Cox, B. E.; Waugh, B. M. (2003). "KtJet: A C++ implementation of the K⊥ clustering algorithm". Computer Physics Communications 153: 85–96. arXiv:hep-ph/0210022. Bibcode 2003CoPhC.153...85B. doi:10.1016/S0010-4655(03)00156-5.  edit
  2. ^ Cox, B.; Forshaw, J.; Lee, J.; Monk, J.; Pilaftsis, A. (2003). "Observing a light CP-violating Higgs boson in diffraction". Physical Review D 68 (7). arXiv:hep-ph/0303206. Bibcode 2003PhRvD..68g5004C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.68.075004.  edit
  3. ^ Cox, B. (2002). "Double diffractive higgs and di-photon production at the Tevatron and LHC". Physics Letters B 540 (3–4): 263–268. arXiv:hep-ph/0110173. Bibcode 2002PhLB..540..263C. doi:10.1016/S0370-2693(02)02144-5.  edit
  4. ^ FP420 R&D Project, FP420, 16 October 2007, retrieved 5 April 2011
  5. ^ "Oldham News | News Headlines | Star shines in stellar lecture - Chronicle Online". Oldham-chronicle.co.uk. 2011-06-09. http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/57332/star-shines-in-stellar-lecture. Retrieved 2011-12-31. 
  6. ^ Steve Connor (5 March 2011). "Brian Cox: stars in his eyes". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/brian-cox-stars-in-his-eyes-2233010.html. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  7. ^ Science (21 February 2011). "Brian Cox: 'I'm not anti-religion. I'm anti-maniac'". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/8330863/Brian-Cox-Im-not-anti-religion.-Im-anti-maniac.html. Retrieved 2011-12-31. 
  8. ^ "Congratulations to Professor Brian Cox OBE". Oldham Hulme Grammar School website. 17 June 2010. http://www.hulme-grammar.oldham.sch.uk/news/view/congratulations_to_professor_brian_cox_obe. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 
  9. ^ "Brian Cox: Science is not 'dominated by old men'". BBC News. 2 February 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12344973. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 
  10. ^ Caspar Llewellyn Smith (4 April 2010). "Brian Cox: The man with the stars in his eyes". The Observer (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2010/apr/04/brian-cox-observer-profile. Retrieved 6 December 2010. 
  11. ^ UK top 40 hit database, EveryHit.co.uk (search result for D:Ream), done 6 September 2008
  12. ^ Naughton, Philippe; Costello, Miles (24 February 2008). "A Life in the Day: Dr Brian Cox". The Times (London). http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3403949.ece. Retrieved 6 January 2011. 
  13. ^ Cox, B. (2005). A review of forward proton tagging at 420m at the LHC, and relevant results from the Tevatron and HERA. 753. pp. 103–111. arXiv:hep-ph/0409144. doi:10.1063/1.1896693.  edit
  14. ^ Professor Brian Cox, ApollosChildren.com (with downloadable postscript file), retrieved 6 September 2008
  15. ^ In Einstein's shadow, BBC, January 2005, retrieved 6 September 2008.
  16. ^ Sue Rider Management, Professor Brian Cox, retrieved 6 September 2008
  17. ^ Wonders of the Solar System, retrieved 4 April 2010
  18. ^ http://twitter.com/#!/ProfBrianCox/status/156359474976788481
  19. ^ "Brian Cox answers your questions about life, the universe and everything". The Guardian (London). 24 March 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/mar/24/brian-cox-wonders-universe?commentpage=8#comment-10089245. 
  20. ^ Space Hoppers, retrieved 4 April 2010
  21. ^ Ross returns to BBC for Stargazing series, Catherine Neilan, Broadcast, 25 November 2010
  22. ^ Speech by Saul Nassé, head of BBC Learning, 27 September 2010, retrieved 6 December 2010.
  23. ^ Live chat: science fiction vs science fact..., Steve Bowbrick, BBC Radio 4 blog, 28 June 2010, retrieved 6 July 2010.
  24. ^ CarPool, Brian Cox on CarPool, 24 July 2009, retrieved 19 September 2009.
  25. ^ Brian Cox, TED, retrieved 6 January 2011.
  26. ^ ATLAS physicist voted sexiest in the world, February 2009
  27. ^ Landmark Apple Store Event for Professor Cox, press release from HarperCollins, 24 November 2010, retrieved 6 December 2010.
  28. ^ Why does E=mc2? (and why should we care?) Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press ISBN 0306817586
  29. ^ 2010 Kelvin medal and prize
  30. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59446. p. 9. 12 June 2010.
  31. ^ "Professor Brian 'chuffed' with OBE". The Sun (London). 12 June 2010. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3011039/Prof-Brian-Cox-chuffed-with-OBE.html. 
  32. ^ "Twitter / Gia Milinovich: We had our little boy at a". Twitter.com. 2009-05-26. http://twitter.com/giagia/status/1922310447. Retrieved 2011-12-31. 
  33. ^ "BBC Two Programmes – Wonders of the Universe". http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zdhtg. Retrieved 2011-03-29. 
  34. ^ Smith, David (2008-09-14). "Putting the fizz into physics". London: The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/14/cern.particlephysics. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  35. ^ "Professor Brian Cox OBE". British Humanist Association. http://www.humanism.org.uk/about/people/distinguished-supporters/brian_cox. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
  36. ^ "Brian Cox Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1968-03-03. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Brian+Cox#t=Credits_All&q=&p=1. Retrieved 2011-12-31. 

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