Brian Cox Biography PDF

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Biographies Text focus: Information Text The University of Manchester Schools and Colleges, CC BY 2.0 BRIAN COX It’s fair to say that our universe is pretty big, and understanding all of the things that go on inside it is a very complex endeavour. Without people like Brian Cox ex...

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Biographies Text focus: Information Text The University of Manchester Schools and Colleges, CC BY 2.0 BRIAN COX It’s fair to say that our universe is pretty big, and understanding all of the things that go on inside it is a very complex endeavour. Without people like Brian Cox explaining it to us in easy-to-understand ways, most of us would find it utterly incomprehensible. Thankfully, Professor Brian Cox is here to help, and it has made him one of the most popular TV presenters in Britain. Unpicking the secrets of the universe and laying them bare for us all to see wasn’t always on the cards for Cox. He was born in 1968 to parents who were both bankers and spent his childhood enjoying dance and gymnastics. He developed a love of the universe as he grew up, especially after reading a book called Cosmos when he was twelve years old. Unfortunately, he didn’t do particularly well in his A-level exams. Part of this was down to another commitment: his band. Cox was a gifted keyboard player at a time when keyboards were becoming ever more popular in pop music. The late 80s and 90s were a time when electronic music really hit the charts, and Brian Cox joined two successful bands. Perhaps most successful were D:ream, who had a number 1 hit with “Things can only get better” in 1994 and supported Take That on tour. He continued to play keyboards for the band on certain albums until 2010 when he finally left for good. During his time in the band, Cox went to university and earned a degree in Physics. He completed a doctorate, earning him a PhD in high energy particle physics, in 1998. He followed this up in 2005 by becoming a professor of particle physics at Manchester University. Television is where Brian Cox has really found fame amongst the public. They can be forgiven for not reading his thesis on “double diffraction dissociation at large momentum transfer” (we’re not sure what that means, either), but millions tuned in to watch his brilliant 2010 series, “Wonders of the Solar System”. He then went on to present “Wonders all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com of the Universe” and “Wonders of Life” in the following few years. Cox has presented many other TV shows, including the Stargazing Live events with Dara O’Briain. He has performed several TED talks and voiced shows for children’s education. All of his work has earned Brian Cox international recognition. He was voted an International Fellow of The Explorers Club in 2002, won a Lord Kelvin’s Award for raising awareness of science in 2006 and received an OBE in 2010. He now spends lots of his time working with the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Brian and his wife, Gia, have a son named George, who was born in 2009. George’s middle name is “Eagle”, which his parents chose after the lunar module Apollo 11, which took the first humans to the moon. With a name like that, perhaps Brian won’t be the last of his family to take an interest in the secrets of the universe. 1. When was Brian Cox born? RETRIEVAL FOCUS 2. What was his first job? 3. Where did Cox teach as a professor? 4. Which “Wonders of…” TV show was released first? 5. When did he received his OBE? V V S I E VIPERS QUESTIONS What is an “endeavour”? Find and copy a word that tells the reader how the author felt about the “Wonders of…” series. Why might Brian Cox’s life have taken a different direction? Why was the timing of Cox’s keyboard skills useful? What is the purpose of the opening paragraph? all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com