Hardaker is chair of the board of Sense about Science[2] and is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Physics.

[3] Hardaker has a background in mathematics, and completed his PhD in radar meteorology at the University of Essex.

He has worked at institutes such as British Telecom Research Labs, the European Space Agency, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

[3] Hardaker was chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council and directed the programme on the Flood Risk from Extreme Events (FREE).

For five years he was also a non-executive director on the Board of Berkshire West Primary Care Trust and was actively involved with local and regional healthcare initiatives.