Science and the Parliament 2022

Julie Fitzpatrick was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for Scotland in June 2021.
 
This is a part-time position within the Scottish Government.  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 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 that the Scottish Government has access to the best scientific advice to inform its 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.

Tony joined IOP in January 2020 and leads IOP's policy work, the IOP's work in Ireland, Scotland and Wales and is executive lead for IOP's Productivity Programme.
 
As well as overseeing IOP's policy work he helped to develop a new five-year strategy for the organisation. Tony has worked in the UK non-governmental sector for more than 20 years and has first-hand experience of designing and implementing successful strategies for influencing national and international decision-makers. Prior to joining the IOP, Tony set up and ran Futura Consulting Ltd to work hand-in-hand with leaders in the charity and non-governmental sector to develop and deploy their organisations’ powers of influence. Futura was founded in the belief that well-run charities and NGOs contribute significantly to the public good and have the potential to shape society.
 
Tony has previously been director of the Science Policy Centre at the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, and a senior policy advisor at the CBI, the UK’s leading business organisation. He also held positions at Charities Aid Foundation, YoungMinds and the Haemophilia Society.

Gill Reid is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Southampton and was Head of School between 2016 and 2020.
 
Born and raised in Grangemouth, Scotland, Gill obtained both her BSc and PhD at the University of Edinburgh, before being appointed to a lectureship in Chemistry at Southampton in 1991.
 
Her research focuses on synthetic coordination and organometallic chemistry and their use in chemical vapour deposition and electrodeposition for the controlled growth of functional semiconducting thin film and nanostructured materials. These have important applications, such as solid-state memory, thermoelectric energy harvesting and battery materials. She also works on the development of metal-chelate binders for fluorine-18 towards positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and is the author of over 350 research papers.
 
She previously served as an RSC Trustee (2011-15) and chaired the Outreach Working Group until 2018.
 

Chris Moule is the Head Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Robert Gordon University and recent TEDx speaker.  He joined RGU in 2010 as a Business Development Manager focusing on developing commercial relationships and progressed to Head of Commercial Operations in 2017. In his current role he leads RGU’s award winning Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group (EIG), the RGU Start up accelerator programmes and the ONETechHub digital incubator.   He actively works with students, staff and graduates, partners, and donors to support innovation and actively engages with the regional innovation eco-system. 

He is a former Enterprise Manager at the University of Strathclyde before becoming the Commercial Director of a digital media company in Forres. He has a wealth of entrepreneurial experience having started three of his own businesses - Stir Ltd, One Stadium Ltd, a web design company and a training and development consultancy called Green Envelope.
In summer 2021 Chris spoke at TEDx Aberdeen on the subject of Recombinant Innovation.
 

Susie came to Glasgow in 1996 to undertake a PhD in cancer research at the University of Glasgow’s Beatson Institute for Cancer Research where she was awarded the John Paul Award for research excellence. She would then become an R&D manager within the NHS, a public policy practitioner for local and national government, and Accessibility and Inclusion lead for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. She is a champion of diversity in STEM and in 2016 was recognised by Equate Scotland as a Leading Woman of Scotland for her contributions to STEM and Scotland’s advancement. In 2013, Susie became Programme Director for Glasgow City of Science and Innovation – a regional innovation partnership that influences regional innovation strategy and delivers impact through a range of pioneering projects and programmes that support greater innovation in business to benefit people, productivity and planet. Susie is a proud member of the Glasgow International Jazz Festival Board and outside work, is a session musician and a presenter and contributor for the BBC.

Daniel joined CaSE in January 2019 as Assistant Director. In this role he is head of policy for CaSE, shaping its policy agenda with the support of the Executive Director. Daniel has a background across the physical sciences and completed his PhD at Imperial College London, developing computer simulations of the behaviour of powders and grains. He has previously worked for the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee and the House of Commons Library.
 

Maggie Chapman is the Scottish Greens MSP for North East Scotland. She is the party spokesperson for Justice, Equality, Human Rights and Economy. In Parliament she sits on the Economy and Fair Work Committee as well as the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
 
Before entering Parliament Maggie was a local councillor and more recently worked for Rape Crisis Scotland. She was also previously Rector of Aberdeen University.
 
She studied Zoology at the University of Edinburgh before completing a masters in Environmental Management at the University of Stirling. Originally from Zimbabwe, Maggie delivered her affirmation in the Shona language.

Clare is the MSP for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency and first entered Parliament in 2011. She is currently Convenor of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee and is also Convenor of the Cross-Party Group on Science and Technology.
 
Clare is passionate about education and STEM subjects; particularly women’s representation in these sectors. Away from parliament she is a Vice-Chair of the Scottish Schools Education Resource Centre (SSERC)
 
Clare was born in Motherwell and raised in Wishaw. She studied Computer Information Systems at Glasgow Caledonian University, graduating with a BSc (with distinction), before entering the IT industry where she latterly worked as a European Development Manager at a Glasgow document management firm. 

Michael was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an MSP for the North East Scotland Region. He is Labour spokesperson for Education and Skills and is a member of the Education, Children and Young People Committee.
 
Born and raised in Dundee. He is 41 years old, is married to Melanie and they have three children. He joined the Labour Party as a teenager and has been a committed activist ever since.  Michael was educated at St John’s High School, the University of Glasgow and the London School of Economics. 
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Prior to his election as an MSP Michael worked full time at the University of Dundee where, for the last ten years, he has led major national and international research projects. He specialised in working with companies to create jobs. In 2020 alone he secured £15m of investment to create jobs in Dundee and Angus.

Pam was elected as an MSP for West Scotland Region in May 2021 and made history being the first Indian Sikh MSP and one of the first woman of colour elected to the Scottish Parliament. She is the Shadow Minister for Further and Higher Education, Youth Employment and Training, and sits on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.
 
Pam has built up a wealth of knowledge and experience over thirty years across public, private and voluntary sectors, working on economic development, inward investment, business, cultural, legal, and regulatory policies both in Scotland and England. Pam’s work has been instrumental in supporting businesses and delivering significant inward investment projects; retaining and creating thousands of jobs. From her early teenage years, she learned the value of entrepreneurship from her late father and understands the importance of creating an environment that allows ambition and aspiration to thrive.
 
Pam works with many charities, both local and national, and provides volunteer time mentoring individuals from the BAME community.

Willie was first elected to Parliament in 2011 and is MSP for the North East Fife constituency. He is the Lib Dem spokesperson for communities, economy and education and sits on the Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People committee. He previously served as an MP from 2006 to 2010 following a by-election victory in the Dunfermline and West Fife constituency.
 
Willie went to college in Paisley and before his election worked for a small Scottish communications firm, helping advise the Royal Society of Chemistry and Asthma UK. While a student, he was Depute President of the Student Union and after graduating with a degree in biology went on to work for the party in Cornwall. Willie was Chief Executive of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Party's Chief of Staff at the Scottish Parliament between 1997 and 2001. When in Parliament he was a member of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, Shadow Defence Minister and Chairman of the Lib Dems’ Campaigns and Communications Committee.

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.

As Head of Place, I lead on the development of this strategic priority, delivering on Innovate UK KTN’s commitment to connect national and regional innovation to encourage the distribution of economic and societal well-being across the UK. My focus is on doing activity in places for the benefit of those places.

I have worked in innovation commercialisation for 15 years, both within and across sectors. I have significant experience of developing programmes to enable companies to innovate. Specialising in business innovation and development through access to funding, I have facilitated numerous collaborations and helped companies and consortia across the UK to secure innovation funding.

I sponsor or lead on a range of projects, including Net Zero Places Innovation Network, Innovate Local event programme, Women in Digital Innovation (pilot in NE England), Digital Tools for Urban Optimisation, and Cluster development and support.