Professor Lynn Gladden appointed Executive Chair of EPSRC

Trinity Fellow, Professor Lynn Gladden, will be the next Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Currently, Professor Gladden is Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering at Cambridge and was Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University from 2010 to 2016.

She is internationally recognised for applying magnetic resonance imaging techniques, originally developed for use in medicine, to engineering research in order to understand the physical and chemical phenomena that determine the performance of chemical processes and their resulting products. This is benefited a wide range of industrial processes.

As one of seven research councils forming UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), EPSRC is the UK’s main funder of engineering and physical sciences research. It supports long-term research and high-quality postgraduate training, in order to contribute to the economic competitiveness of the UK.

Professor Gladden said:

EPSRC science delivers world-leading, original thinking in mathematics, physical sciences and engineering that transforms the world we live in, and I am honoured to have been selected to be its new Executive Chair.

This is an exciting time to lead EPSRC. In particular, the formation of UKRI offers opportunities for EPSRC science and thinking to expand into new fields through collaboration with partner Councils, and to explore new ways of working to deliver the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

Sir Mark Walport, UKRI CEO, said: ‘Professor Lynn Gladden is a world-leading chemical engineer. Her ground-breaking work in academia coupled with her strong collaborations with industry makes her the ideal candidate to lead EPSRC and ensure the wider success of UK Research and Innovation.’

Professor Gladden takes over from Professor Philip Nelson in October 2018.