John Loughhead

John Loughhead was appointed as chief scientific adviser for the Department of Energy and Climate Change in October 2014. He replaces previous chief scientific adviser Professor David MacKay, who was in the role for five years.

Loughhead starts at 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 adviser 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.

Career

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.

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.

Affiliations

Loughhead is 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.