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Chair and members for new Science and Technology Facilities Council appointed

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY News Release (P/2007/069) issued by The Government News Network on 28 March 2007

Science and Innovation Minister, Malcolm Wicks today announced the following appointments: Peter Warry as chair of the new Science and Technology Facilities Council, and Keith Burnett, Marshall Davies, Michael Edmunds, Philip Greenish, Philip Kaziewicz, Anneila Sargent, Richard Wade and Colin Whitehouse as members.

The SFTC brings together the work of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the Council of the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC) and the nuclear physics work of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It will be responsible for particle physics, astronomy, space science, nuclear physics, synchrotron radiation, neutron sources and high power lasers, and will manage the Rutherford Appleton and Daresbury laboratories. It will have a budget of about £530 million per annum and employ more than 2000 staff.

Malcolm Wicks said:

"I welcome Peter Warry as the first Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council. His wide ranging experience of business and government makes him well qualified to provide a strong contribution to the leadership and work of the Council. I also welcome all the new members of the Council whose appointment we are announcing today".

Peter Warry said:

"The Science and Technology Facilities Council is an exciting opportunity for its research communities and to increase the economic impact of our technologies, particularly through the Daresbury and Harwell campuses. I look forward to working with the new Council members and staff to forge an alliance that builds on all that was best in CCLRC and PPARC"

All appointments are for three years from 1 April 2007, except those of Richard Wade and Colin Whitehouse whose appointments are for four years from 1 April 2007.

Notes to Editors

1. These appointments have been made in accordance with the requirements of the Code of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. None of the appointees, other than Michael Edmunds who has leafleted on behalf of the Labour Party, have been involved in any relevant political activities in the last five years. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the Nolan recommendations there is a requirement for appointees' political activity to be made public. Peter Warry is Chair of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) for which he receives an honorarium of £15,410 pa. He will receive an honorarium of £15,410 pa as Chair of STFC. Members hold the following other ministerial appointments: Keith Burnett, Marshall Davies and Philip Greenish are members of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC); Michael Edmunds, Philip Kaziewicz and Anneila Sargent are PPARC members, for which they each receive an honorarium of £6,410 pa. All STFC members will receive an honorarium of £6,410 pa, except Richard Wade and Colin Whitehouse who as STFC employees receive no additional payment as Council members.

2. Mr Peter Warry is Chairman of Kier Group PLC (construction and housing), Victrex PLC (advanced materials) and BSS Group PLC (distribution). His professional skills are as an engineer, accountant and economist. He was Chief Executive of Nuclear Electric and his career has included general management posts in automotive, aerospace and telecoms. Between 1984-1986 he was a special advisor in the Prime Minister's Policy Unit. He has held an Industrial Professorship with the University of Warwick since 1993 and is a member of their Faculty of Sciences Advisory Board, a member of the Council of the University of Reading and a member of the Foundation for Science and Technology. He is a chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Since November 2001 he has held the post of chairman of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC).

3. Keith Burnett CBE FRS has been Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at the University of Oxford since 2005. He will shortly take up the post of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield. He has been a member of the CCLRC Council since 2005 and chaired its International Science Advisory sub-Committee.

4. Marshall Davies is a retired Director of Boots, an ex-President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and a director or member of a number of pharmaceutical associations and funds. He has been a member of CCLRC Council and Chair of the Audit Committee since 2005.

5. Michael Edmunds is Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Cardiff, where he was previously Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He has been a member of PPARC Council since 2005 and chair of PPARC's Science and Society Advisory Panel.

6. Philip Greenish has been Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Academy of Engineering since 2003. Prior to this, he had a long career with the Royal Navy where his final appointment was as Rear Admiral, Chief of Staff (Support) to Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He is a trustee of the Daphne Jackson Trust and had been a member of CCLRC, the predecessor organisation to STFC, since 2005.

7. Dr Philip Kaziewicz has been Managing director of GI Partners, a transatlantic private equity group, since 2001. He was appointed a business member of PPARC Council in 2006. Although he has been engaged in mainly commercial enterprises for the last ten years, he has a science background, with a PhD in experimental high energy physics funded through PPARC.

8. Anneila Sargent is Benjamin M Rosen Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. She has been a member of PPARC Council since 2003. She has participated in and chaired several high level advisory committees to the US National Science Foundation, National Research Council and NASA.

9. Professor Richard Wade joined PPARC in April 2001 as Director Programmes and Deputy Chief Executive. Previously he worked in both the Technology and Space Science Departments at CCLRC as head of the Engineering Division and then head of the Imaging Systems Division. He has a broad background in Instrumentation and Project Management covering a range of scientific areas including, ground and space based astronomy, synchrotron radiation and particle physics. Richard is currently President of the Council of the European Southern Observatory, is a UK delegate to CERN Council where he is also Chair of the Council Audit Committee, he is Chair of the international ALMA Project Board and is Chair of the European Coordinating Committing Committee for Astroparticle Physics. He has held a visiting professorship at the University of Wales since 2001

10. Professor Colin Whitehouse is currently CCLRC's Deputy Chief Executive. He joined CCLRC as Director of Engineering in May 2003, before becoming Director of Daresbury Laboratory from April 2004 to December 2005. His personal field of research relates to advanced semiconductor materials, nanotechnology and next-generation device structures. At CCLRC, Colin is a member of the executive board and also of the Board of CLIK, CCLRC's new commercial exploitation company, and is also responsible for all of CCLRC's Knowledge Transfer activities, including the development of the new national Science and Innovation Campuses at Daresbury and Harwell, which were announced by the Treasury in the March 2006 Budget statement. He is a visiting Professor in the Department of Materials at Oxford University and in the School of Engineering at Birmingham University. He is also a member of the MoD-DTI National Advisory Committee for Electronic Materials and Devices.

11. The Chief Executive of STFC is Professor Keith Mason whose appointment was announced on 18 October 2006. His appointment for five years will start on 1 April 2007. He is also a member of the Council and is STFC's Accounting Officer. He is currently Chief Executive of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), a post he has held since August 2005. Prior to that he was Head of UCL's Department of Space and Climate Physics and Director, Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

12. STFC will be under the sponsorship of the Department of Trade and Industry, which will provide most of its funding. More information about STFC can be found at http://www.newrc.research-councils.ac.uk/mHome.aspx

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