DIUS appoints new Director General of Science and Research

Professor Adrian F.M. Smith has been appointed as the new Director General of Science and Research at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Professor Smith will take up his post in September 2008. He succeeds Sir Keith O'Nions who retired at the beginning of April.

The Director General of Science and Research is responsible for advising the Permanent Secretary of DIUS and the Secretary of State on science and research spending policy. He is also responsible for enhancing understanding of the role of science in society and improved public engagement on key scientific issues.

Professor Smith will join DIUS from Queen Mary College, University of London, where he has been Principal since 1998.

Announcing the appointment, DIUS Permanent Secretary, Ian Watmore said:

"I am delighted to welcome Professor Smith to the Department. His outstanding research background combined with success in management and leadership roles in the Higher Education sector make him the ideal choice to take the Science and Research agenda forward, and help the whole Department achieve its broader objectives."

Biography of Professor Adrian F.M. Smith, FRS

Prior to being Principal of Queen Mary, Professor Smith was at Imperial College, London, where he held a number of posts over an eight-year period. These included: Professor of Statistics, Head of Department of Mathematics, Member of the Management and Planning Group and Company Director of ICON (Imperial Consultancy). From 1977-1990 he was Professor of Statistics at Nottingham, Head of Department of Mathematics and a member of the University Council. Professor Smith has also held posts at the University of Oxford and University College, London. He read undergraduate mathematics at Cambridge University.

Professor Smith is Treasurer of Universities UK, a member of the governing body of the London Business School and a recent past Chair of London Higher, the regional umbrella body representing London's 42 HEI's. He served on the Advisory Committee to the UK Government Office for National Statistics from 1996-1998, worked for the UK Government Department of the Environment from 1991-1998 as a Statistical Advisor to the Nuclear Waste Inspectorate and for the Ministry of Defence from 1982 to 1987 as adviser on Operational Analysis. Professor Smith has also worked with the UK Higher Education Funding and Research Councils.

Professor Smith is a past President of the Royal Statistical Society and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001 in recognition of his contribution to statistics. He is currently a member of the Council of the Royal Society. In 2003-04 he undertook an Inquiry into Post-14 Mathematics Education for the UK Secretary of State for Education and Skills; in 2006 he completed a report for the UK Home Secretary on the issue of public trust in Crime Statistics.

---