Flowers was born in Liverpool to Scottish parents but moved to Edinburgh as a child. He went to the
University of Edinburgh where he earned a PhD in 1980. From 1985 until his retirement in 2017 Flowers worked at
Kingston University London in different positions. Flowers has dedicated much of his academic career to working on educational initiatives and research projects examining the widespread impact of the 1986
Chernobyl explosion – the worst nuclear accident in history. He worked closely with academics from Belarus in the immediate years after the disaster and has more recently collaborated with experts from Ukraine. He led the academic cooperation between Kingston University London and what later became the
International Sakharov Environmental Institute in Minsk between 1992 and 2004. In 2002 this university awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Radioecology. == Activism and promotion of Belarusian culture ==