Exeter Emeritus Fellow Professor Frank Close elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Emeritus Fellow in Physics Professor Frank Close has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his extraordinarily effective work in explaining profound concepts in physics at all levels of society, including in parliament and the general public.
The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth.
Professor Close was elected alongside over 60 outstanding scientists worldwide, including 52 Fellows, 10 Foreign Members and one Honorary Fellow who were all selected for their exceptional contributions to science.
Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said: ‘The global pandemic has demonstrated the continuing importance of scientific thinking and collaboration across borders. Each Fellow and Foreign Member bring their area of scientific expertise to the Royal Society, and when combined, this expertise supports the use of science for the benefit of humanity.’
Professor Close commented he was: ‘honoured to receive this recognition and to be adding to Exeter College’s presence in the Royal Society’.
Head of the Oxford Department of Physics, Professor Ian Shipsey, remarked on his colleague’s: ‘remarkable ability to share his knowledge in a compelling and accessible way to a whole host of different audiences’.
Professor Close has appeared on radio programmes such as In Our Time and The Life Scientific, and published numerous academic, biographical and popular science books, alongside speaking at the 2013 Hay Festival and 2015 Oxford Literary Festival. His latest book, Trinity, is about the relation between Oxford professor Rudolf Peierls and his assistant, the atomic spy Klaus Fuchs.
