Adam Hart-Davis - Citation

Banana peels have had an unfortunate press through the years. As the cause of prat falls and the subject of numerous jokes, they are rather difficult to take seriously. But when our honorary graduate did just that in his first assignment as a lowly television researcher, a career of great distinction as a broadcaster, award-winning presenter and popular scientific writer was launched. Asked to explain exactly why we slip on a banana skin, Adam Hart-Davis produced an enthusiastic, entertaining and above all, soundly scientific response that showed his unique talent for amusing and informing us about the workings of our everyday world. Thanks to his many groundbreaking television series, articles and books, Adam Hart-Davis has established a pre-eminent reputation as a public educator. He has inspired young and old alike to care about the ways science, technology and engineering have shaped our daily lives and society and will influence the future.

Immensely curious about everything, Adam-Hart Davis projects an infectious interest in how even the most mundane objects work. He has referred modestly to his interest in “low technology", from the inventions that made lawn tennis possible (India rubber and the lawn mower) to the workings of modern sewage disposal systems and sanitaryware. But what is particularly outstanding is his use of everyday life to mediate complex scientific knowledges - about chemical composition, fluid mechanics and precision engineering, for example. Indeed, his scientific passions are founded on high-flying advanced academic study. At Eton he excelled in Chemistry, Physics and Maths. Chemistry was his chosen degree subject, and his MA at the University of Oxford was followed by a DPhil in organometallic chemistry at the University of York and postdoctoral study in Canada.

A member of a distinguished family of publishers and writers, Adam Hart-Davis had an early career with Oxford University Press, editing science textbooks and chess manuals. But he was not content with polishing the ideas of others for long. In 1977 he joined Yorkshire Television as a researcher for presenters such as Magnus Pyke, David Bellamy and Arthur C Clarke. His steady promotion - first to the production of school science shows and other factual programming and then to presentation - signified his intellectual and creative gifts, but also his great talent as a communicator. One of his first series as a presenter, Local Heroes, established him as a speaker with an outstanding ability to connect immediately to the viewer. On paper, his subject - great scientists and inventors of the past - might seem rather dry and daunting, but Adam Hart-Davis put his audience immediately at ease, with a witty fluorescent cycling suit and a boundless supply of entertaining anecdotes that humanized his subjects. He has gone on to become one of our foremost advocates of scientific understanding through numerous series about the history of science and technology. His work for television and radio has been extended and complimented by many books and articles aimed at different audiences, but all bearing his hallmark enthusiasm, his respect for his subject, and, above all, his hands-on style. It is hard not to relish the science when we see him peddling like mad in an old-fashioned bathtub to demonstrate the workings of the Victorian velocipede shower.

Numerous awards and honours have paid tribute to our honorary graduate's questioning mind, delightful humour, and skill in elucidating scientific knowledge over many disciplines, from engineering to cosmology. But equally important is his concern for the impact of science on individuals as well as society as a whole. His many historical series remind us of the way ordinary people interacted with technology. And his recent journey to Bangladesh to promote WaterAid sanitation projects is another excellent example of his international outreach in connecting science and humanitarian concerns. Adam Hart-Davis is to be celebrated for his campaigning zeal to engage with science not only to understand but also to improve our world.

Chancellor, for outstanding services to the public understanding of science, technology and engineering, it gives me great pleasure to present to you Adam Hart-Davis for the degree of Doctor of the University, honoris causa.

July 2007

Adam Hart-Davis with (L-R): Brunel Chancellor Lord Wakeham, Professor Maureen Moran, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks.

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