Michael Banks

popular science author
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Journalist, Non-fiction writer
Available for:
Festivals and other events, Judging, Media, Public speaking

Michael is a science writer and author and is currently news editor of Physics World magazine. He is based in Bristol, UK.

Michael’s first book — The Secret Science of Baby — was published in December 2022 and looks into the fascinating, and surprising, physics behind conception, pregnancy and babyhood.

His second book – Physics Around the Clock – is a revealing and humorous journey through the science of everyday life. It was published in the UK in September 2025 and will be released in the US on 7 April 2026.

Over the past decade, Michael has covered the latest breakthroughs in physics. As well as Physics World, he has written for Nature, BBC Focus and Science Uncovered as well as appeared on BBC Radio 4 and at science festivals.

Michael was born in Oldham, Lancashire, UK. After an undergraduate degree in physics from Loughborough University, UK, he did a PhD in condensed-matter physics from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics in Stuttgart, Germany.