John Loughhead

John Loughhead was appointed as chief scientific advisor for the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Loughhead replaces previous chief scientific advisor Professor David MacKay, who was appointed in October 2009. Loughhead is set to start at the DECC on 22 October and will continue part-time as executive director of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) until the end of 2014.

The Chief Scientific Advisor’s role is to ensure that the Department’s policies and operations, and its contributions to wider Government issues, are underpinned by the best science and engineering advice available.

Background

Loughhead is a Chartered Engineer. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London where he also spent five years in computational fluid dynamics research. John is Past-President of the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, Fellow of both the UK and Australian national Academies of Engineering, Professor of Engineering at Cardiff University and Fellow of Queen Mary University of London. Loughhead's "vast engineering experience across academia and the private sector," means that he will bring a depth of knowledge that will be invaluable in key areas such as shale gas, and will help the UK remain as an energy world leader.

History

Loughhead has been active in energy research for more than 30 years, he has mainly focused on industrial development for the electronics and electrical power industries. Before joining UKERC, John was corporate vice-president of technology and intellectual property at Alstom head office in Paris. He is also a member of the EPSRC Council and of the European Advisory Group on Energy. Loughhead is presently the UK-China science focal point for energy and renewables, and a member of the European Energy Research Alliance Executive Committee.