MOD appoints new Chief Scientific Adviser
Professor Mark Welland FRS FREng is busy in his new role as MOD Chief Scientific Adviser.
Based at MOD Headquarters in Whitehall, he is responsible for advising Ministers, senior officials and the armed forces on complex scientific issues. He is also a member of the Defence Board, Chairman of the Research and Development Board and the Investment Appraisal Board.
Formally Head of the Nanoscience Group and Professor of Nanotechnology at the University of Cambridge, he succeeds Professor Sir Roy Anderson who rejoins Imperial College, London as Rector this summer.
His academic career started when he graduated in physics at the University of Leeds in 1979. He then gained a PHD in physics from the University of Bristol in 1984 and an MA from the University of Cambridge in 1988. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
Professor Welland was appointed in April and believes his academic experience and his scientific interest will help him in his role:
"I am looking forward to working with professionals and dedicated staff from both the Armed Forces and Civil Service to ensure science contributes fully in supporting the role of the armed forces by delivering world-beating technology."
He will continue his research at the University of Cambridge, splitting his time between London and Cambridge.