Announcements

Professor Nelson Phillips, currently Chair in Strategy and Organisational Behaviour, has accepted appointment as Associate Dean of Faculty and Research of Imperial College Business School for three years, with effect from 17 November 2014. He succeeds Professor Gerry George, who is leaving the School to become Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University from 1 January 2015.

Professor Phillips was the Group Head of Organisation and Management at Imperial from 2005 to 2012. Prior to joining the College, Professor Phillips was the Beckwith Professor of Management Studies at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School from 2002 to 2005 and was an Associate Professor in the Strategy and Organisation Area at McGill University in Montreal, Canada from 1993 to 2002.

The Business School’s Groups have become Departments. To reflect this change, three Heads of Department have been appointed.

Professor Richard Green, currently the Alan and Sabine Howard Professor of Sustainable Energy Business, has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Management. He was appointed as Management Group Head in January 2013 for a three-year term. He was previously Professor of Energy Economics and Director of the Institute for Energy Research and Policy at the University of Birmingham, and Professor of Economics at the University of Hull. He started his career at the Department of Applied Economics and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Professor Alex Michaelides, currently Professor of Finance, has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Finance. He was appointed as Head of the Finance Department in October 2014 for a three-year term. He is Research Fellow at CEPR (International Macroeconomics and Financial Economics Programmes), at CFS (Frankfurt) and NETSPAR (The Netherlands). He was previously a lecturer (2001-2006) and associate professor (2006-2010) at the Department of Economics, London School of Economics, and a professor of finance at the Department of Public and Business Administration, University of Cyprus in 2010-2014. 2014/15 – 07 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

Professor Mike Wright, currently Professor of Entrepreneurship, has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He became Innovation & Entrepreneurship Group Head in March 2013 for a three-year term. He is Director of the Centre for Management Buy-out Research, the first centre to be established devoted to the study of private equity and buyouts, which was founded in 1986 at the Nottingham University Business School. Previously he was Professor of Financial Studies at Nottingham University Business School since 1989.

John Neilson

College Secretary & Registrar

Read Appointments in Business School in full

The post of Vice President (Health) will be elevated to a College-wide role and will become the sole focus of Professor Dermot Kelleher FMedSci, who currently also serves as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Professor Kelleher’s new remit as Vice President (Health) will be to support and grow the multidisciplinary approach to improving health across all of the College’s academic disciplines, and to develop strong external support and relationships for these efforts, with both international and domestic institutions. He will engage with healthcare partners in identifying new models of health care with particular emphasis on using data sciences in new and innovative ways. He will report directly to the President and will become a member of the Executive Group of the President’s Board.

As a result of the elevated role of Vice President (Health), a new Dean of the Faculty of Medicine will be appointed to lead the Faculty’s management and academic processes. The Dean shall report to Imperial’s Provost, Professor James Stirling CBE FRS, and will join the President’s Board, the Provost’s Board and the College Council. The changes will become effective upon the appointment of the new Dean.

 

John Neilson
College Secretary & Registrar

Read Vice President (Health) in full

Notification of UCU industrial action from 6 November

The message below was sent to members of USS on 31 October 2014 following notification from University and College Union (UCU) of plans for continuous action short of a strike.

Dear Colleagues,

Notification of UCU industrial action from 6 November

The University and College Union (UCU) has given notice of plans for continuous action short of a strike, intended to halt all actions necessary for, or associated with, student learning outcomes. We have been advised that the industrial action will start on Thursday 6 November and will include a comprehensive boycott of all student work submitted for assessment, including coursework and assignments.   Imperial is committed to providing our talented students with an outstanding education and any action having a detrimental impact on their experience is neither an appropriate nor effective route to resolve a dispute about staff pension benefits.

The industrial action follows a ballot over reforms being considered by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) to address the scheme’s significant deficit.   As I noted in my message of 1 October, the College regarded the ballot as premature while proposals for potential USS benefit changes are not yet agreed.

Imperial’s position on pension reform

We recognise that pension provision is very important to our staff.  Because we participate in a collective pension scheme we are actively contributing to discussions through the national Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC).   The JNC consists of an equal number of employer and UCU representatives with an independent chair and is the forum for consideration of proposals and alternative options.

The College has submitted our views to the forum via the employers’ representatives.   We believe that reform is necessary.   We have made clear our priority is to maintain the best scheme possible for our staff on a financially sustainable basis.  Our preference is for USS to maintain a defined benefit scheme, based on career average earnings (CARE). Compared to the hybrid option proposed, this would enhance recruitment and retention packages, but we recognise that our preference would not be sustainable within the current range of contributions.  Any reform package must meet the requirements for funding sustainability set by the independent Pensions Regulator.

The CARE scheme carries a higher risk that the employer contribution will increase compared to the other options being considered.   The College is willing to accept that risk in return for improved employee benefits but the UUK proposals are, understandably, based on the majority view of participating employers.   We note that employers and employees will both incur increased contribution costs as a result of Government changes to the state pension and the impact this will have on the ‘contracted out’ status of occupational pension schemes – this, no doubt, has an impact on the ability of both employees and employers to increase their contributions.   The College is willing to fund a further modest increase in employer contributions to maintain career average benefits for all but we recognise that not all HEIs are in a position to do this.   We understand that employee contributions would also need to rise to maintain career average benefits for all.  We are therefore interested in seeing a development of the proposals that might offer choice to members, for example making it optional for members to pay more for defined benefit top-up.

While these discussions are ongoing, and options still being explored, we are disappointed that UCU is advocating action which could disadvantage students.

For further information about the USS reforms, and to register for a pensions briefing even on 5 November covering all of the schemes (occupational and state), please visit the following link:

Information on the USS reform proposals and to register for the pensions briefing

Imperial’s response to the industrial action

The College cannot condone industrial action that will impact on the quality of our students’ education.  If a member of staff decides to take part in the UCU action short of a strike, they will be undertaking some of their contractual duties but refusing to carry out all work associated with student learning outcomes and the setting and assessment of student work. This is partial performance of the member of staff’s employment contract.  The College is legally entitled to reject partial performance and will do so for this industrial action.   In these circumstances, the College is entitled to withhold pay, in full, for those who do not comply with their employment contract.

UCU has targeted actions related to student learning outcomes. It has also declared this action to be continuous i.e. without a stated end date.   Imperial places students at the centre of the university and will do everything it can to reassure them that their experience and education will not be affected by any action.

On an ex-gratia basis, and for those staff who carry out all their other duties and responsibilities (including student support and teaching), the College will continue to make partial payment of salary during the period of industrial action.    The refusal to set out and carry out assessments will result in the College withholding 25% of the member of staff’s contractual pay during the period of partial performance.    The College will not reimburse pay that has been withheld once the dispute is concluded.

There would be no obligation on the member of staff to attend work for the 25% period of the contract that they are not being paid where this relates to time that would have been spent on assessment activities.   The College’s discretionary payment of 75% of the contract is conditional on all other contractual responsibilities and attendance commitments being met in full.

The College values the wide-ranging contributions of staff to Imperial’s activities and our decision to withhold a proportion of pay for partial performance, rather than full pay as we are entitled to do, recognises that staff will continue to perform many of their other responsibilities if they take action short of a strike.

This is a voluntary action by the College and without prejudice to its legal rights.   The College reserves its rights to review the impact of the action and to increase the level of pay being withheld, or to withhold pay in full, at any time during the industrial action.

Impact of industrial action on pension benefits

Industrial action automatically suspends a member of staff’s employment contract, impacting on the accrual of pension and other benefits including death in service/life cover.  Where salary is withheld in full, pension benefits are suspended although a member of staff may apply to maintain life cover.    USS rules require advance notification, before industrial action commences, if a member of staff wishes to maintain protection of life cover.

For partial performance the employer may withhold pay and withhold pension contributions or withhold pay but maintain pension contributions.   The College is willing to maintain full pension contributions during the period of partial performance.   In order to maintain full pensions contributions a member of staff must (a) notify the College three days in advance of the commencement of action short of a strike (b) be prepared to fund their own employee contributions at the level of full pay.

For those members of staff who do not wish to maintain their own employee contributions in full, or do not notify the College in advance of commencing action, then the pension contributions will accrue at 75% of service during the period of industrial action – as if their contract of employment were part-time.

Informing the College

If you are a member of staff taking industrial action, in order to maintain your pension benefits in full, you should notify the College of your intention by emailing me, Louise Lindsay, Director of HR, via directorofhr@imperial.ac.uk, copied to your Head of Department, at least three working days in advance of the first day of action.

Please state:

–       Your name, CID and department

–       When you intend to commence action (from the first occasion when you do not set or mark coursework or fail to carry out any other assessment activity)

–       Which courses will be affected by the industrial action

–       If you wish to have your pension benefits maintained at full salary

Upon receipt of the notification, I will reply to confirm the impact on your pay and pension benefits during the industrial action.

Minimising disruption
We are an educational institution and our priority is to provide for our students. We are working with Heads of Department to minimise the impact on Imperial students of any action taken by UCU members.  We hope that most staff will continue to work as normal.  Where staff take on additional work as a result of the dispute then we will ensure this additional responsibility is recognised appropriately.   Local HR teams will liaise with Heads of Department to advise on this further.

We are liaising with the Imperial Students’ Union and will be communicating directly with students about the situation once we understand the likely impact of the industrial action. We will assure them that the College does not condone the UCU action and is exploring all options to keep any disruption to student learning outcomes at a minimum.

This advice has been published to the College’s website and will be updated as required.

If you have any questions about any of the guidance please do not hesitate to contact me via directorofhr@imperial.ac.uk.

Kind regards,

Louise

Louise Lindsay

Director of Human Resources

 

 

Read Notification of UCU industrial action from 6 November in full

Corporate Partnerships has been renamed as Enterprise. It will be led by Dr Simon Hepworth as Director of Enterprise and will comprise the following four groups:

1. A Programme Management Office, which from 1 August combines the Project Management team from Imperial Consultants (ICON) and the Major Projects team from Corporate Partnerships. The new group is led by Dr Simon Philbin and provides programme, project and consortium management services for academic-led initiatives.

2. The Corporate Partnerships group, delivering research funds from industry, now led by Nik Pishavadia;

3. The Enterprise Ventures group, supporting delivery of complex projects and new College initiatives, including Imperial Business Partners and Tech Foresight;

4. The Enterprise Strategy group, supporting the growth of the College’s enterprise community.

ICON will remain a separate entity to continue to facilitate staff consultancy work.

Read Enterprise at Imperial in full

Important background to UCU ballot on dispute regarding USS

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are being balloted between 1 October and 20 October on industrial action over reforms being considered to address the significant deficit in the scheme.

The Employers Pensions Forum for Higher Education has said that “UCU’s ballot material includes misinformation over employers’ proposals for reform that are not yet finalised”. The information below, provided by the Universities and College Employers Association, sets out the background to this statement and the current position with discussions about the future of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

Key points

• The USS has a sizeable and persistent yet volatile deficit. In March 2013, this deficit (the difference between the scheme’s assets and the value of the benefits for which it is liable) was £11.5 billion. In March 2014 the deficit is expected to be around £8billion. Reform of USS members’ future benefit structure is necessary to address the deficit and ensure that the USS remains viable.
• The employers are working with the UCU and the USS Trustees to consider what approach is needed to address the deficit, including considering the necessary changes to the scheme’s future benefit structure. The employers’ objective is for the USS to remain affordable, attractive and sustainable for both employees and employers, while addressing the deficit and reducing the risk of future contribution increases.
• The UCU modelling that is provided as supporting evidence for the ballot for industrial action is premature and ill-informed. By disregarding the modelling being considered jointly by UCU and UUK, UCU has provided misinformation to its members even though the employers’ proposals for reform have not yet been finalised and are the subject of continuing discussion between UUK and UCU.
• UUK has just concluded consultations with USS employers on the possible options to address the deficit. The employers’ position will then be developed further in the coming weeks and USS will provide high quality modelling to enable understanding of any impact on future benefit accrual.
• The benefits a member has built up before the date that any changes are implemented will be protected and will be calculated based on their service and pensionable salary at the date of change.
• Institutions will receive a report on the outcome of the employer consultation following the EPF USS Group meeting and the employers’ proposals for reform will be publicly circulated once they are finalised later this autumn. UUK will also share modelling on the implications of the proposed reform for different categories of USS members in terms of their future benefit structure.
• The employers’ proposals will be shared with UCU through the USS Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) in October. The JNC consists of an equal number of employer and UCU representatives and an independent chair. We also expect the UCU to put forward their proposals for reform to the JNC.
• Following the negotiations during the autumn and a decision by the JNC, a formal consultation with all affected employees and representative bodies on any proposed reforms to USS will take place in early 2015. Employees’ views must be taken into account by the JNC and USS Trustees before a decision to implement any changes is made.

Timeline of key forthcoming dates
7 October
Employers’ representatives in the Employers Pensions Forum (EPF) USS Group meet to discuss the responses received from scheme employers following the recent UUK employer consultation, and decide on the proposals for future scheme design and contributions which will then be taken forward to negotiation with UCU.

22 October
USS JNC meeting where member representatives (UCU) will meet employer representatives (UUK) to consider initial proposals from the employers – and if UCU wishes, from UCU – for future benefit reform.

13 November
Further USS JNC meeting aiming to conclude discussions between the parties on potential benefit reforms and decide on the proposed changes that will be the subject of the statutory consultation by employers with affected employees.

Early 2015
The USS Trustee Board considers the JNC decision and asks scheme employers to commence the statutory employee consultation with affected employees on proposed USS benefit reforms which will last for at least 60 days. All active members of USS as well as employees who have opted out of USS or other USS eligible non-members should by law be included in the consultation as well as certain representative bodies. This consultation must be undertaken by each scheme employer with their own employees. The JNC and USS Trustees will then receive feedback from the consultation before making final decisions by June 2015.

For more information, visit the HR webpages about this story.

Read Background to UCU ballot on dispute regarding USS in full

Professor Tom Welton, FRSC, currently the Head of Department of Chemistry and Professor in Sustainable Chemistry, has accepted appointment as the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences with effect from 1 January 2015.

Professor Welton joined the Department of Chemistry at the College in 1993 as Lloyds of London Tercentenary Fellow.  He became a Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry in 1995 and, subsequently, was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2000 and Reader in 2002, before being promoted to Professor in 2004. His research interests are focused on sustainable and ‘green’ chemistry, making chemicals, and related industries, both environmentally and economically sustainable. He has held departmental positions of Examinations Officer and Director of Undergraduate Studies and has been a member of a wide range of strategic College Committees and Boards.

Beyond the College, he is Chair-elect of the Heads of Chemistry UK and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Council, as well as a member of the steering group for the Royal Society’s diversity programme.

Professor Welton will succeed Professor Maggie Dallman, who has led the Faculty since 2008, and who will take up appointment as Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships).  Professor Alan Armstrong will succeed Professor Welton as Head of the Department of Chemistry.

Read Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences in full

The College is pleased to announce that the following academic staff were successful in the 2014 promotions round. Promotions took effect from 1 August 2014.

Faculty of Engineering

 

Last Name	First Name	Department	Title
Beyrau	Frank	Mechanical Engineering	Reader in Combustion Diagnostics
Bruce	Paul	Aeronautics	Senior Lecturer
Buytaert	Wouter	Civil and Environmental Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Cabral	Joao	Chemical Engineering	Reader in Soft Matter
Cegla	Frederic	Mechanical Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Collins	Gareth	Earth Science & Engineering	Reader in Planetary Science
Constandinou	Timothy	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Donaldson	Alastair	Computing	Senior Lecturer
Dragotti	Pier Luigi	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Professor of Signal Processing
Ellis	Thomas	Bioengineering	Senior Lecturer
Faisal	Aldo	Computing (Joint with Bioengineering)	Senior Lecturer
Fennell	Paul	Chemical Engineering	Reader in Clean Energy
Gourlay	Christopher	Materials	Senior Lecturer
Hawkes	Adam D	Chemical Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Hellgardt	Klaus	Chemical Engineering	Professor of Chemical Engineering
Heutz	Sandrine	Materials	Reader in Functional Molecular Materials
Jeffers	Jonathan	Mechanical Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Jones	Julian R	Materials	Professor of Biomaterials
Kerrigan	Eric	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Reader in Control Engineering and Optimization
Kontoe	Stavroula	Civil and Environmental Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Kontoravdi	Kleio	Chemical Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Krishnan	Jawahar	Chemical Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Markides	Christos	Chemical Engineering	Senior Lecturer
McCann	Julie A	Computing	Professor of Computer Systems
Millan-Agorio	Marcos	Chemical Engineering	Reader in Chemical Engineering
Mitcheson	Paul	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Reader in Electrical Energy Conversion
Morgans	Aimee	Aeronautics	Reader in Aeronautical Engineering
Mostofi	Arash	Materials	Reader in Theory and Simulation of Materials
Palacios Nieto	Rafael	Aeronautics	Reader in Aeronautics
Pietzuch	Peter	Computing	Reader in Computing
Skinner	Stephen J	Materials	Professor of Materials Chemistry
Stan	Guy-Bart	Bioengineering	Reader in Engineering Design for Synthetic Biology
Stingelin	Natalie	Materials	Professor of Functional Organic Materials
van de Flierdt	Tina	Earth Science & Engineering	Reader in Isotope Geochemistry
Vincent	Peter	Aeronautics	Senior Lecturer
Whittaker	Alexander	Earth Science & Engineering	Senior Lecturer
Wong	Hong	Civil and Environmental Engineering	Senior Lecturer

 

Business School

 

Last Name	First Name	Department	Title
Criscuolo	Paola	Business School	Associate Professor
Della Corte	Pasquale	Business School	Associate Professor of Finance
Gawer	Annabelle	Business School	Associate Professor
Kennedy	Mark	Business School	Associate Professor
Malhotra	Namrata	Business School	Associate Professor

 

Faculty of Natural Sciences

 

Last Name	First Name	Department	Title
Adams	Niall	Mathematics	Professor of Statistics
Albrecht	Tim	Chemistry	Reader in Physical Chemistry
Barter	Laura MC	Chemistry	Senior Lecturer
Branford	William R	Physics	Senior Lecturer
Bresme	Fernando	Chemistry	Professor of Chemical Physics
Brindley	Helen E	Physics	Senior Lecturer
Buchmueller	Oliver	Physics	Reader in Physics
Cascini	Paolo	Mathematics	Reader in Pure Mathematics
Colijn	Caroline	Mathematics	Reader in Biomathematics
Cota Segura	Ernesto	Life Sciences	Senior Lecturer
Edel	Joshua B	Chemistry	Reader in (Bio)Sensing & Analytical Sciences
Gandy	Axel	Mathematics	Reader in Statistics
Gross	Robert	Centre for Environmental Policy	Reader in Energy Policy and Technology
Heeney	Martin	Chemistry	Professor of Organic Materials
Holzegel	Gustav	Mathematics	Reader in Pure Mathematics
Hunt	Patricia	Chemistry	Reader in Computational and Theoretical Chemistry
Kim	Ji-Seon	Physics	Reader in Physics
McCoy	Emma	Mathematics	Professor of Statistics
Pavliotis	Grigorios	Mathematics	Professor of Applied Mathematics
Shahrezaei	Vahid	Mathematics	Senior Lecturer
Spanu	Pietro	Life Sciences	Professor of Molecular Plant Pathology
Tate	Edward	Chemistry	Professor of Chemical Biology
Unruh	Yvonne C	Physics	Reader in Astrophysics
Veraart	Almut	Mathematics	Reader in Statistics
Woscholski	Rudiger	Chemistry	Reader in Chemical Biology

 

Faculty of Medicine

 

Last Name	First Name	Department	Title
Aanensen	David	School of Public Health	Senior Lecturer
Aylin	Paul	School of Public Health	Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health
Bevan	Charlotte	Surgery and Cancer	Professor of Cancer Biology
Boffito	Marta	Medicine	Reader in HIV Medicine
Boily	Marie-Claude	School of Public Health	Professor of Mathematical Epidemiology (Infectious Diseases)
Brown	Gina	Surgery and Cancer	Professor of Gastrointestinal Cancer Imaging
Car	Josip	School of Public Health	Reader in Primary Care and eHealth
De Paola	Vincenzo	Clinical Sciences	Senior Lecturer
Evans	Carlton	Medicine	Reader in Global Health
Gorelik	Julia	National Heart and Lung Institute	Professor of Cellular Biophysics
Griesenbach	Uta	National Heart and Lung Institute	Professor of Molecular Medicine
Jiao	Long R	Surgery and Cancer	Professor of Surgery
Lenhard	Boris	Clinical Sciences	Professor of Computational Biology
Lightstone	Elizabeth	Medicine	Professor of Renal Medicine
Miguel-Aliaga	Irene	Clinical Sciences	Reader in Genetics and Physiology
Randi	Anna	National Heart and Lung Institute	Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine
Rodriguez	Tristan	National Heart and Lung Institute	Senior Lecturer
Sevdalis	Nick	Surgery and Cancer	Reader in Patient Safety
Skinner	Michael	Medicine	Reader in Virology
Takats	Zoltan	Surgery and Cancer	Professor of Analytical Chemistry
Teare	Julian P	Surgery and Cancer	Professor of Gastroenterology
Terracciano	Cesare	National Heart and Lung Institute	Professor of Cardiac Electrophysiology
Tregoning	John	Medicine	Senior Lecturer
Tzoulaki	Ioanna	School of Public Health	Senior Lecturer
Want	Elizabeth	Surgery and Cancer	Senior Lecturer

 

 

 

Read 2014 Academic Promotions Round in full

Dr Eulian Roberts has accepted appointment as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Imperial West Enterprises from 15 September 2014.

Building upon current initiatives, the CEO of Imperial West Enterprises is a new role with responsibility for leading, developing and growing activities at Imperial West.  In conjunction with a wide range of colleagues, Dr Roberts will play a significant role in the College’s creation of a dynamic, profitable and productive innovation district for world-leading academics, innovative companies and entrepreneurs.

Dr Roberts was most recently Chief Executive of the Dhahran Techno Valley Company in Saudi Arabia and, prior to this, he held the position of Managing Director of the Qatar Science & Technology Park. He is an Imperial alumnus having obtained both his BSc and PhD at the College and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University.

Dr Roberts will report to Professor David Gann, Vice-President (Development and Innovation).

Read CEO of Imperial West Enterprises in full