Daresbury gets a new director

Professor Colin Whitehouse took over the Directorship of the Daresbury Laboratory on 1 May 2004, after joining CCLRC as Director of Engineering in May 2003. Prior to joining CCLRC, he was Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Research Exploitation at the University of Sheffield since 1999. He had joined the University as Professor of Electronic Materials in 1993 where he became Director of the University's EPSRC National Centre for III-V Semiconductor Technologies and Head of its Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department in 1994. His interest in semiconductor research has its origins from his PhD which he undertook at GEC Hirst Research Centre during 1974–1977. Colin has authored over 290 journal papers and conference presentations relating to his research. For many years he has been involved with synchrotron radiation research and has used SRS and ESRF extensively.

Colin also chaired the `White Rose' Research Committee during 1994–1997, which facilitated numerous new and highly successful research collaborations between Sheffield, Leeds and York Universities, and also contributed significantly to the Regional Development Agency (Yorkshire Forward) strategic planning processes to stimulate regional economic development. This experience appeared to have helped him in rapidly becoming very active in the north-west region driving forward major new ambitious plans for the Daresbury campus. These activities will also closely involve the new University of Manchester, along with Liverpool and Lancaster Universities, and also a full range of other key regional and national commercial and government stake-holders. As part of this process, Colin has already become a full member of the North West Science Council and is working very closely with the North West Development Agency with regard to driving forward much wider regional initiatives. His dynamic and pro-active style has already being noticed by both the laboratory staff and HEI colleagues.

Figure 1 Colin Whitehouse in front of one of the new buildings on the Daresbury campus.

Colin became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1994, and was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in 2002. He is now also a Visiting Professor in the Department of Materials at the University of Oxford and a long-standing member of the MOD/DTI National Advisory Committee for Electronic Materials and Devices, and of the IEE International Technical Advisory Panel for Electronic Materials and Devices. He has served on many key UK government and Research Council Committees.