Science and the Parliament 2021

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for Scotland in June 2021. This is a part-time position. Julie also remains Scientific Director of Moredun Research Institute and CEO of The Moredun Foundation. She also holds a Chair in Food Security at the University of Glasgow’s College of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences.
As the CSA Scotland, Julie champions the use of science to inform policy development. She works closely with the Scottish Science Advisory Council, of which she is an ex-officio member, to help ensure access to the best scientific advice to inform Scottish Government work across all policy areas. The CSA is also a keen advocate, across Scotland and further afield, of our world-leading science base and its potential to benefit our economy, people and environment.

Michael Matheson was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport in May 2021. Prior to becoming an MSP, Mr Matheson practised as a Community Occupational Therapist with Stirling Council, Central Regional Council, and Highland Regional Council.
He was elected as the MSP for Falkirk West following the May 2007 elections. Prior to this, he was a Regional MSP for Central Scotland from 1999 to 2007. Before being appointed Minister for Public Health and Sport, Mr Matheson was Vice Convenor of the European and External Relations Committee. He also sat on the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee, and previously served on the Justice and Enterprise and Culture Committees. Michael Matheson was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Justice in November 2014 and reappointed in May 2016. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity in June 2018.

Fiona has served as an MSP since 1999 and is one of the longest serving members in the history of the Scottish Government having served from 2007 until standing down as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture in May 2021. Fiona sits on the Economy Committee in the Scottish Parliament and is the Deputy Convenor of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.
Fiona graduated from Glasgow University with an MA (Hons) in Economic History and sociology before completing a post graduate Diploma in Industrial Administration at the Scottish College of Textiles. Prior to entering politics she worked for the financial services company Standard Life where she held various positions in sales and marketing, latterly as Brand Development Manager.

First elected in 2016 and re-elected in May 2021, Liam served the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice within the Scottish Conservatives before being appointed as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport.
Liam is an Accredited Specialist employment lawyer of some 16 years standing, acting for household name companies whilst employed by two of the World’s largest law firms. Prior to his election, Liam operated his own practice.

Mark was first elected in 2003, then again in 2016 and 2021. Previously he served as a local councillor in Stirling and has worked in the renewables sector. He currently serves as a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. He is the Scottish Greens spokesperson on Environment, Climate, transport and Culture. He lives near Doune with his young family.

Raffaella graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Università di Napoli, Italy and obtained her MA and PhD from Princeton University, USA. She holds the Chair of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University since 1999 and she is the Guest Professor of Multiphase Multiscale Systems at RUHR Universität, Bochum, Germany. At RUHR Universität she was awarded the first “Caroline Herschel Visiting Professor” in Engineering (July-November 2017) in recognition of her work in ethics in engineering.  In 2007 she was appointed Cavaliere of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by the President of the Italian Republic and in 2019 was named as one of the top 100 Most Influential Women in the Engineering Sector. 
 
Raffaella’s main research interests concern with the hydrodynamics and reactive behaviour of complex systems. She has taken the lead in the teaching of engineering ethics and the role of responsible technologies for the energy transition. Raffaella’s current work is aimed at analysing the difference between technologies that are already developed and technologies that are emerging.

Having somehow escaped academia with a law degree, he started in journalism as a cub reporter on local newspapers in Fife and got his first broadcasting experience as a newsman for radio stations in Ayr and Dundee. Among the stories he has covered in his BBC career are Piper Alpha, Dunblane and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. He has also reported on major political events such as the general election landslide of 1997, four US Presidential elections and the opening of the Scottish Parliament. His proudest Newsnight Scotland moment was exclusively predicting problems with the Holyrood election in 2007 and winning a Scottish BAFTA for the coverage which followed the fiasco. Amongst other roles Ken was the BBC Scotland Science Correspondent until late 2020.
 
 In such spare time as he has, Ken enjoys music, reading and theatre. He suffers from St Mirren FC

Clare Adamson was elected as the Constituency MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw in May 2016, having previously represented the Central Scotland region from 2011 to 2016. Clare is Convener of the Education and Skills Committee at the Scottish Parliament and is also Convener of the Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness, and the Cross Party Group on Science and Technology.
 
Before being elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, Clare previously served as a Councillor for the Wishaw ward on North Lanarkshire Council from 2007 to 2012. Previously, Clare was the Campaigns Project Manager at SNP HQ. Prior to her career in politics, Clare had a 15 year career in IT, previously graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with a BSc in Computer Information Systems. Clare lives locally with her husband, son, and her dog Coco. Outside of politics, she has interests in folk music and reading.

Iain is Dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies and Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Stirling. Iain’s research and teaching addresses the interconnecting issues of public administration, institutional change and city and regional competitiveness, with particular emphasis on the structures and processes of local and regional governance, policies for delivering improved economic performance and environmental sustainability, and the development and implementation of strategic planning and transport policies. His total research and consultancy awards exceed £2.5 million. Iain has worked with and advised a range of private sector, governmental and other organisations including governments and public agencies in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands and Sweden, and the OECD. In 2015 he was appointed by the ESRC and Innovate UK as one of five Thought Leaders working to integrate scientific innovation and social science research across the UK, and subsequently as one of the Co-Investigators and Infrastructure Theme Lead of the £1.2m ESRC Productivity Insights Network bringing together leading social science academics to help address the UK economy’s resilient productivity gap. He is currently one of three senior researchers leading the EPSRC-funded project on the transport and mobility implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. His other current roles include Scottish Ministers’ appointee on the governance boards overseeing the revised National Transport Strategy, Strategic Transport Projects Review and Scottish Climate Assembly.

Russell Morris was born and raised in north Wales and completed his education at the University of Oxford. He is now Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of St Andrews.
 
His research interests lie in the synthesis, characterisation and application of porous and layered materials including zeolites and metal-organic frameworks. He developed ionothermal synthesis – the use of ionic liquids as reactive media for the preparation of solids – a method that has had impact across a wide range of chemistry. His recent work on developing the ADOR approach to the preparation of zeolites offers routes to exciting materials that would not be possible using standard techniques.
 
Morris is also recognized as a pioneer in the use of porous materials for the storage and delivery of biologically active gases for medical applications. His applications- and commercially-focused work in this area led to the Royal Society’s Brian Mercer Award for Innovation. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh (where he is Vice-president for Physical Sciences and Engineering) and the Learned Society of Wales.

As the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair, Professor Andrew Tyler provides the leadership to forge the collaborative relationships across the Scottish water sector to deliver the solutions for sustainable water management in Scotland, including going beyond net zero. Andrew is also the academic Director for Scotland’s International Environment Centre, with a mission to drive inclusive growth and support the net zero carbon agenda by bringing the environment to the heart of decision making. Andrew and his team are pioneering in transforming the use of Earth observation technologies for quantifying water quality and quantity at local and global scales. He leads the UK’s input into the Pan-European Research Infrastructure on River-Sea systems (DANUBIUS-RI). Andrew also built the ISO 17025 accredited Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, which supports the activities UK environment regulators and industry.

Martin grew up in Gosforth, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. After graduating in Business Law from Huddersfield University he worked as a solicitor until 2001, before leaving the legal profession to retrain as a teacher at Edinburgh University.  Martin moved to East Lothian and taught at Prestonpans Primary School from 2007 to 2017 and was a local EIS representative, as well as a council member of the General Teaching Council for Scotland. 
 
In June 2017 Martin was chosen as Labour’s candidate for the general election and subsequently elected as East Lothian’s Member of Parliament, serving until the December 2019 general election. 
 
In Parliament, he was a backbencher, sitting on the Commons' Science and Technology Committee. He was involved in various all-party parliamentary groups with a constituency interest, including serving as Chair of both the Timber Industries APPG and the Any Disability APPG, which he was instrumental in establishing. He also served as one of the UK Parliament’s representatives to the Council of Europe. 
 
Following his election to the Scottish Parliament on 6 May as one of the Members for South Scotland. Martin was appointed Scottish Labour’s shadow minister for children and young people, lifelong learning and youth unemployment. He has also become the Convenor of Holyrood’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.

Dr Hermione Cockburn began her working life in environmental research before embarking on a career in science communication. Over the past 20 years she has worked across various engagement formats including television and radio prior to taking up her current role as Scientific Director at Dynamic Earth in 2014. She was awarded an OBE for services to public engagement with science in 2020; she is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Hermione is particularly interested in facilitating engagement between the environmental science research community and diverse public audiences to ensure science is accessible and its relevance is clear to all.