Liverpool, UK – 23 November 2009: Professor Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, has been appointed Chancellor of the University of Liverpool.
As Director of the Government’s Foresight Programme, he created an in-depth horizon-scanning process which advised government on a wide range of long-term issues, from flooding to obesity.
Currently Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at the University of Oxford, Sir David was appointed Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Liverpool in 1974. He moved to the University of Cambridge in 1988 and became Head of Chemistry in 1993. Sir David continues his association with the University of Cambridge where he is Director of Research in the Department of Chemistry.
He has published more than 450 papers on his research in chemical physics and on science and policy. Sir David is Science Adviser to President Kagame of Rwanda and Adviser to EU Commissioners on science capacity building in Africa. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Liverpool in 2001.
President of Council, David McDonnell, said: “I am delighted Sir David has agreed to become Liverpool’s Chancellor. Sir David is a worthy successor to Lord Owen, who served the University as Chancellor for 13 years. Sir David has a long association with the University of Liverpool and his guidance and expertise will be invaluable in steering the University through the years ahead.”
Sir David said: “It is an enormous honour for me to serve this great institution as its Chancellor. The University of Liverpool is recognised world-wide for the quality of its teaching and research and its reputation for international excellence continues to grow. I spent 14 formative years as a professor of the University and am now delighted to return to play a role in its future development.”
Sir David will be inaugurated as Chancellor during the University’s graduation ceremonies on Tuesday, 8 December.
Notes to editors:
1. The University of Liverpool is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive institutions in the UK. It attracts collaborative and contract research commissions from a wide range of national and international organisations valued at more than £93 million annually. Visit www.liv.ac.uk
2. The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment was established in October 2008 to find ways of cutting fossil fuel use worldwide without impeding any country’s economic growth. The School is also helping to foster sustainable living so that all of us enjoy health and lifestyle advances without increasing environmental damage. The feasibility of biofuels, the economics of emissions cuts and the profit-making opportunities for low-carbon firms are among innovative research projects at the School. Led by Professor Sir David King, the School will be a unique catalyst for innovative science, progressive decision making and sustainable economic progress. Visit www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk