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We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Sir Adrian Smith as the new Chairman of the Board.
Sir Adrian, who takes over from Lord Broers, is a distinguished statistician with current and former positions in government and a number of national institutions. In 2002, he was invited by the Government to chair a review into secondary mathematics education in the UK, resulting in the well-received Smith Report. From 2008 - 2012, Sir Adrian served as Director General for Science and Research at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which followed on from his appointment in 1998 as Principal of Queen Mary University, London. Currently, Professor Smith holds the positions of Vice-Chancellor of the University of London and Deputy Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.
The breadth and depth of Sir Adrian’s experience in science and research, academia and politics make him the ideal candidate for the role as Chairman of the facility. Sir Adrian’s appointment coincides with a rapid period of development for Diamond, with 9 new experimental stations scheduled for delivery between 2014- 2018, and with the construction of a new cutting-edge electron microscopy facility for both the life and the physical sciences underway.
Sir Adrian comments: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to contribute to the next phase of development of Diamond, maintaining and enhancing its position as a leading-edge scientific facility and ensuring that the knowledge generated at the facility is widely disseminated in academe and industry, and fully exploited for the wider public good.”
Diamond’s CEO, Professor Andrew Harrison, adds: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Sir Adrian Smith as Chairman of the Board. His wealth of experience in science – practice and policy – and proven track record of influencing change will be a great asset to Diamond’s Board of Directors. With his distinguished career history to date, we are confident Sir Adrian will be a fervent and adept ambassador for Diamond. We are also extremely grateful to Lord Broers for his exceptional support and the role he has played in helping Diamond achieve its goals over the last six years.”
“The pace of development of synchrotrons and the science they support continues relentlessly around the world. Staying ahead requires foresight and planning. To this end, Diamond is already planning how to continue to develop its facilities to meet the scientific and societal challenges of the future. This is a crucial time in the evolution of Diamond and continued strong and effective leadership of our Board at this moment is therefore essential to our future success.”
Diamond Light Source is a joint venture between the UK Government, via the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and the Wellcome Trust, with shareholdings of 86% and 14% respectively.
Professor John Womersley, STFC Chief Executive, says: “There is wide agreement that scientific and technological excellence are critical to the UK’s future prosperity in an increasingly globalised knowledge economy. These are challenging but exciting times, and Sir Adrian’s broad knowledge of political, scientific and Research Council demands makes him an exceptionally good choice for steering Diamond’s future course. I very much look forward to working with him again.”
Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust said: “Professor Sir Adrian Smith is an excellent appointment who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise about Diamond Light Source, and the needs of large, world-leading facilities, with him. Diamond is highly valued by the UK research community and we continue to be supportive of the facility and the successful partnership with the STFC.”
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
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