He has also written over 100 peer reviewed papers published in scientific journals[6][7][8][9] and speaks at international science festivals for children and adults.

[11][12][13] Forshaw attended Hesketh Fletcher High School[14] and studied A levels at Wigan and Leigh College where he considered his teachers, Jim Breithaupt, Alan Skinner and Jean Wadsworth an important influence on his future career.

[16][17] From 1992 to 1995 he worked as a postdoctoral research scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory[6] near Didcot in Oxfordshire, in the group led by noted particle physicist Frank Close.

[19]He has written over 100 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals, including papers on ordering gluon emissions, quantum field theory and holographic wavefunction of mesons.

[8] Forshaw and his frequent co-author Cox have stated the peer review process of science results publishing is important because it ensures that minimum standards are met in the scientific community and gives due attribution to all associates working on the piece who are finalising the presentation of the paper, and blogging research before it is published should be avoided.

In 2008 he added his voice to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) campaign against spending cuts to UK physics budgets in a letter to the then Secretary of State at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, which was signed by around 350 prominent physicists from the UK theoretical particle physics community.

[29][30][31] He is an ambassador for educational charity Potential Plus UK which aims to support the emotional and learning needs of gifted and exceptional children.

[35][36][37] Forshaw writes frequent popular science articles explaining complex concepts in physics for the press and magazine publications.