Announcements

Professor Richard Thompson, Professor of Experimental Physics and Head of Quantum Optics and Laser Science Research Group in the Department of Physics, has been elected to succeed Professor Chris Phillips as one of the Deans for the Faculty of Natural Sciences from 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2014.

Professor Jeff Kramer, Professor of Distributed Computing in the Department of Computing and the current Senior Dean, has been re-elected to serve as Senior Dean for a further year from 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2012.

The full list of Faculty Deans for 2011-12 is below:

Read Election of Deans in full

Professor Donal Bradley FRS, Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, has accepted appointment as Pro Rector (Research), with effect from 1 October 2011. He will take over from the Acting Pro Rector (Research), Professor David Begg who continues as Principal of Imperial College Business School.

Professor Bradley will be responsible for strategic research issues across the College, determining priorities for strategic research investment and coordinating and developing the College’s research relationships externally. He will be a member of the Management Board and will report to the Rector. The position is part-time and Professor Bradley will retain his research activities within the Centre for Plastic Electronics and the Department of Physics.

Professor Bradley is one of the most highly cited scientists in the fields of physics and materials science, and is a co-inventor of conjugated polymer electroluminescence, an innovation that launched the field of plastic electronics. He graduated from Imperial with a first class BSc and ARCS in Physics in 1983 and returned to the College in 2000 as Professor of Experimental Solid State Physics after extended periods at Cambridge and Sheffield Universities.

He became the Lee-Lucas Professor of Experimental Physics in 2006, was Head of the Department of Physics from 2005 to 2009, and has been Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences since 2009. In 2009 he was named the first Director of the Centre for Plastic Electronics. He is a co-founder of Cambridge Display Technology Ltd and a co-founder and Director of Molecular Vision Ltd, an Imperial spin-out company. He is also a Director of the Solar Press (UK) Ltd.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2004, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2005, and was awarded a CBE in the 2010 New Years Honours for services to science.

Professor Bradley’s successor as Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences will be announced in due course.

Rodney Eastwood
College Secretary

Read Pro Rector (Research) in full

Following the signing of an agreement by the College and the University of Oxford on 1 August 2011, staff in the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology have transferred to the University of Oxford. From this date the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology has ceased to be an Institute within Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine.

The transfer follows consideration by the Trustees of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Trust about their support for funding rheumatology research.

Staff in the new Oxford institute will operate from the Aspenlea Road premises for the immediate future until their new building in Oxford is completed and available for occupation.

Read Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in full

The disturbances that have affected some parts of London over recent days appear much reduced, with little activity reported overnight in the capital.

However, some disruption to journeys may remain, as a result of road closures and ongoing investigations. Staff and students who find their journeys severely affected are encouraged to contact their manager or academic supervisor to discuss the option of working remotely.

The College will continue to monitor the situation closely. The areas that have so far been affected are some distance from Imperial’s campuses. The College’s Security team is being extra vigilant and is prepared to step up activities should the disturbances spread to areas close to Imperial.

If you spot any suspicious activity around campus, please contact Security on 020 7589 1000 (or extension 4444 if dialing from a College phone).

For a list of useful resources, please visit the College’s Alerts page

Read Wednesday 10 August update on public disorder in London in full

Mr Muir Sanderson has accepted appointment as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 November 2011. As a member of the Management Board, and reporting to the Rector, he will be responsible for defining and delivering the College’s financial strategy, which includes investment management and fund development. He will also become a member of Council.

Mr Andrew Murphy, who has served as Acting Chief Financial Officer since December 2010 following Dr Martin Knight’s departure from the College, will return to his role as Director of Finance, reporting to Mr Sanderson.

Mr Sanderson will join the College from the management consultancy Booz & Company where he has worked for 17 years and was made a partner in 2001. While there he has worked with clients from a range of industries, notably financial services, the public sector and manufacturers of consumer goods, advising on and supporting the implementation of financial and business strategies. He has held senior leadership roles at Booz & Company including UK Managing Partner from 2007-2010 and he was a member of the team which created Booz & Company from the organisation Booz Allen & Hamilton in 2008.

Mr Muir holds an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining Booz Allen & Hamilton he worked in manufacturing engineering for the international automotive components company T&N PLC.

Read the full press release here

Read New Chief Financial Officer appointed in full

The College is operating as normal, but is monitoring closely the impact and reports of violent outbreaks in areas of London.

Advice for staff and students who may be affected can be found at this link.

Read Violent outbreaks in London in full

Over the past few weeks there have several reports of two people posing as plain clothes police officers in the local area.

They will approach members of the public and state they are plain clothes officers and need to search them. Without the victim realising, they will hand back purses and wallets emptied of cash and credit cards.

Staff and students should be aware that police officers are not allowed to take any personal belongings, and if anybody is stopped by people posing as police officers they are to do the following:

• Ask to see their warrant card. When on duty either in uniform or plain clothes police officers must at all time carry their warrant card
• Ask what station they are attached to and then call “101” from any phone to confirm the identity of the officer
• Once the identity has been confirmed, then and only then allow the officer to carry out a search.
• Any person who has been unfortunate enough to have been challenged by these two posing as officers are to contact the police immediately.

See a sample of the police warrant card officers are required to carry at all times here

If staff have any queries regarding this issue, please contact Darren Barrow, Senior Security Officer

Read Warning about thieves posing as plain clothes police officers in South Kensington area in full