Professor Brian Cox’s enthusiasm for science is infectious – and the TV scientist is hoping it’s a bug that plenty of the nation’s young people will catch.

In a bid to encourage more youngsters to opt for careers in science, technology, maths and engineering, the physicist and TV presenter fronted publicity for the recent Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, which took place at ExCeL London this month.

Cox said: “I want to capture the imaginations of these students, and show them that science, technology, engineering and maths are the most exciting places to work.

“It’s important that we inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, because they are key to the future success of our economy.

“I hope to convince as many students as possible that they’ll enjoy being part of the UK's scientific future.”

Cox explained that the key to success in science isn’t being brainy, but simply being interested.

“The important thing is to make sure people understand that science is something they can do,” he said.

“It’s a real misconception that you have to be a genius – you just have to be interested and open to new ideas. I was always interested in astronomy, and lots of young people are.

“It’s really a case of demonstrating that education enhances immeasurably the interest that’s already present.

“Today’s young generation can be part of something that changes history – and that could be building or designing spacecrafts to travel to Mars or the moons of Jupiter in search of life.”

The physicist says his own interest in science probably stems from growing up while the Apollo space programme was under way.

“I was born in 1968 so I definitely absorbed the sense of excitement,” he said.

“My father was into it too and I remember the pictures of the moon landings on the wall in our house.

“I was probably seven or eight when I had my first telescope and I remember having star maps and looking up at the sky before that. For as long as I can remember, that's what I wanted to do.”

And now, after obtaining a doctorate in high-energy particle physics, as well as presenting many science programmes on TV and working at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern, Switzerland, Cox can share a wealth of fascinating facts about the universe, and its “daunting” size.

For instance, he cites that there are up to a trillion stars in a galaxy, and more than 350 billion large galaxies in the observable universe.

“It’s incredible that we’ve even been able to measure that,” he pointed out.

He added that the solar system is full of amazing things, explaining that the sun is a vast sphere of plasma which could comfortably fit a million Earths inside. Incredibly, it burns 600 million tons of hydrogen every second.

Cox also explained that there are hundreds of worlds out there, all little moons, “and none of them are boring”.

Many may even harbour life, and, he added: “At least, this possibility is well worth exploring over the coming decades, and today’s young people could be involved in those missions.”