The fellowship is awarded for outstanding contributions to the public understanding of science.

Professor Chris Budd received the accolade for his work in organising ‘Bath Taps into Science’, an annual science and maths fair aimed at making the subjects interactive and enjoyable for school children.

This year, hundreds of school children attended the event held in March at the University of Bath and at Green Park Station.

The award also recognises Professor Budd’s work with students at the University, and also all of the work he does with schools and other bodies to promote maths around the world.

Professor Budd says: “I am thrilled to receive this award. It is a major honour and recognises the work being done by the Department for Mathematical Sciences in Bath to improve public understanding of the subject.

“I am very grateful to all of those who have supported Bath Taps into Science over the years, and hope the event will continue to grow and be popular with local school children in the future.”

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Jane Millar says: “'I would like to extend my congratulations to Professor Budd on this prestigious award. As a university we have appreciated Chris's commitment to advancing the public understanding of science. It is good to see him receive this external recognition.'

In addition to this recent fellowship, Professor Budd is also a National Teaching Fellow - the highest possible accolade for higher education teaching given in the UK.

Professor Budd used this fellowship to set up the Bath Taps into Science Festival, and a very successful 'Communicating Maths' module at the University.

He also directed the 2010 Bath input to the Royal Society Summer Exhibition called ‘Living in a Complex World’ which was attended by the Queen and Prince William.

Professor Budd has been at the University of Bath for 16 years researching problems at the interface of maths, engineering and industry.

Professor Budd has founded both the Bath Centre for Nonlinear Mechanics and the Bath Institute for Complex Systems.

As recognition for the esteem in which his work is held, Professor Budd now serves on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) panel.