Sir Adrian Smith has been confirmed as President Elect of the Royal Society
Prof Deborah Ashby OBE FMedSci, Director of the School of Public Health, Imperial College London, and President of the Royal Statistical Society, said:
“I am delighted to see that Sir Adrian is to be the next President of the Royal Society. As President of the Royal Statistical Society, he was transformative in advocating for the role of data and evidence to inform society, and in the importance of statisticians engaging in that public debate. Since then, he has continued to lead in many spheres on the role that science and scientists can play. In these challenging and uncertain times, we need science, including mathematics and statistics, more than ever, and he is an inspired choice to lead the Royal Society.”
Prof Robin Grimes, Professor of Materials Physics at Imperial College London, and chief scientific adviser for nuclear science and technology in the Ministry of Defense, said:
“I attended Adrian’s undergrad probability lectures in my 1st year; they were excellent. He has brought the same degree of commitment to countless activities, irrespective of the eminence or not of the attendees. I am sure he will be an outstanding President, though that denim jacket he used to lecture in may not make it to Council meetings!”
Prof Graeme Reid, Chair of Science & Research Policy, UCL, said:
“This is wonderful news. I worked closely with Adrian during his time in the civil service. He and I collaborated more recently when we wrote a report for the science minister. Adrian brings a unique combination of leadership experience in government, universities and research institutes. This will be particularly valuable as we navigate difficult challenges during the coming years. Of course he is also great fun to work with.”
Prof Dame Julia Goodfellow FRSB, president of the Royal Society of Biology, said:
“I am delighted that Sir Adrian Smith is president elect of the Royal Society. The RSB looks forward to working with him in these unprecedented times to underpin the sustained recovery of the UK through the excellent and innovative work of our scientists.”
https://royalsociety.org/news/2020/05/sir-adrian-smith-prs-elect/
Declared interests
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