His most important work was to show that plasma waves accelerate electrons up to speeds close to the speed of light and play a major role in forming the radiation belts that surround the Earth in space. He led the EU SPACECAST project to develop a space weather forecasting system for satellites, and the EU SPACESTORM project which showed that the risk to satellites from space weather is much higher than previously thought. Richard’s work led to revised hazard assessments for the UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies in 2017 and 2020. He is Chair of the Space Environment Impacts Expert Group which provides advice on space weather to the UK Cabinet Office.