Frank Burnet (2 May 1948 – 21 Jan 2026) was a pioneering science communicator—part academic, part showman—he helped build a field, founded institutions, and inspired thousands of scientists in the UK and worldwide to make complex science intelligible, engaging, and fun.
Early on, Frank faced a dilemma: scientist or actor. Through his career, he brought the two together.
Scottish by birth, Frank graduated with first-class honours in Biochemistry from the University of St Andrews. He then spent a year in Sudan as a volunteer, working as an actor on an English-language television channel. On returning to the UK, he embarked on doctoral studies at New College Oxford to study Neuroendocrinology and one the side he acted with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, along with his close friend Mel Smith. There he won Best Freshman Actor in 1971. After completing his studies, Frank chose the academic path and in 1977 became a lecturer in Biochemistry at the University of Kent and later Master of Rutherford College (1990-96).
Alongside his academic work, Frank developed a “side hustle” in science communication. In 1988 he received a media fellowship from The Royal Society of London, and from then on he kept finding new ways to take science to the public—in pubs, on buses at as stations, through music, festivals, and more.
In 1996 Frank moved to Bristol to formalise this work, founding the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England. In 2000 he was invited to advise on the development of a new Science Festival in Cheltenham, and in 2002 he became its founding co-director with Kathy Sykes.
Frank’s approach to public communication was wide ranging and energetic. He borrowed the techniques of advertising and repurposed them— putting science on buses, work that was recognised with an MBE—and he collaborated on musical projects such as Peter and the Flu and Evolutionary Notes writing the librettos and helping audiences understand how viruses and chaos theory work. Yet perhaps his most influential achievement was FameLab, which grew into the world’s largest public-facing science communication competition and training programme.
Launched at the Cheltenham Science Festival in 2005 with Kathy Sykes, FameLab challenged early-career scientists to explain a scientific idea in just three minutes, armed only with their wits and a few simple props. It is perhaps what the young Frank would have been wanting to do just out of university. Through the Cheltenham Science Festival’s partnership with the British Council, FameLab has travelled widely. It has since reached over 40,000 scientists in 35 countries, in all continents, worked with more than 200 partner organisations, and helped many finalists begin careers in public engagement and science leadership.
Frank was appointed the first Professor of Science Communication in the UK. He retired from academia in 2009, but not from the work, continuing to support science festivals and labs internationally. Wherever he worked, his commitment remained the same: “to do what I can to build bridges between science and society.”
Frank is remembered not only for his iconic work, but for his passionate energy and the passion he imparted to others. Lyubov Kostova, former Director of the British Council Bulgaria, wrote that “Frank was inspirational and will continue to be so forever” emphasising that there hadn’t been an understanding, let alone practice in science communications. His work contributed to creating this field along with a community of well trained communicators, who then in turn, influenced the launch of festivals, university training programmes and public events by these people. In other words Frank launched a movement
He is survived by his wife, Gaie; his four daughters; and his two stepdaughters. Frank will be remembering in a celebration of his life in Bristol in July 2026. If you are interested in sharing a memory or story of Frank or joining us at his celebration please email: celebratingfrankburnet@gmail.com