Diamond Light Source Appoints New Chairman

Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, has appointed Professor Sir Adrian Smith as its new Chairman. Professor Smith, who takes over from Lord Alec Broers, is a distinguished statistician with a breadth of in-depth experience in science and research, academia and politics. Currently Vice-Chancellor of the University of London and Deputy Chair of the UK Statistics Authority,  Professor Smith was Director General for Science and Research at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS from 2008-2012.

Now in its eighth year of operation Diamond Light Source, a joint venture between the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Wellcome Trust is a world-leading scientific research facility, used by over 3,000 researchers in a broad range of scientific fields each year, as well as over 70 different industrial companies. Professor Smith’s appointment coincides with a rapid phase of development at Diamond, with 13 new experimental stations scheduled for delivery between 2013 - 2018, and the construction of a new cutting-edge imaging facility for the both the life and the physical sciences underway.

 “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.”

Professor John Womersley, STFC Chief Executive, says: “There is wide agreement that scientific and technological excellenc 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."