Science and the Senedd/Gwyddoniaeth a’r Senedd 2024

Dr Jane Atkinson CBE joined enfinium as Chief Operating Officer in November 2022. Jane has over 30 years of experience at Bilfinger, Sembcorp and British Steel. Jane is a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers, a Fellow and Trustee of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Board Member of the West Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Professor Jas Pal Badyal FRS was awarded BA/MA and PhD degrees from Cambridge University; where he subsequently held a King’s College Fellowship and the Oppenheimer Fellowship.  He then moved to Durham University to take up a lectureship and currently holds a professorship.  His research has led to 3 successful surface technology companies.  In 2023, he was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales.  He provides scientific advice to the First Minister, Cabinet, and the wider Welsh Government.  He is also the head of profession for science and technology across Wales and the Welsh Government.

Dr Jenifer Baxter is the Chief Executive Officer at Industry Wales, the Deputy Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission Wales, and a Board member of Industry Wales and Newport City Homes. In her day job. Jen was previously the Engineering Director for Protium Green Solutions and Chief Engineer at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Jen is an expert engineer advising the media and government covering all mechanical engineering subjects and specialises in energy, transport and the environment. 

Jenifer has written several reports for IMechE, including recent reports on decarbonising transport, train engines and fuels, hydrogen trains, fashion waste and gas use in the energy sector, with further short reports on Leaving the EU: Euratom Treaty as well as academic papers covering subjects as diverse as engineering out food waste, to perceptions of hydrogen futures and technological innovation systems.

Jenifer has a PhD from Cardiff University examining hydrogen from waste technologies, an MSc in Sustainability, Planning and Environmental Policy and a BEng in Environmental Engineering also from Cardiff University.

Jenifer is a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IOM3 and is a Chartered Engineer and Scientist.

Luca is Professor of Ecology and Evolution, Head of Department of Biosciences, and co-Director of the Centre for Biomathematics at Swansea University. He joined Swansea University in 2013 after working at the CNRS and INRA in France (2010-2013) and the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada (2006-2010). He obtained his PhD in Zoology (2006) at the University of Cambridge, spending also two years at the Centre for Population Biology at Silwood Park, Imperial College, and his MSc in Ecological Biosciences (2002) at the University of Pisa, Italy. His research focusses on quantifying and understanding biodiversity dynamics under environmental change, working at individual, community and macroecological scales and involves interdisciplinary work, to develop predictive models and derive policies for sustainable life on earth. He combines empirical field studies with statistical and mathematical modelling, using a range of tropical and temperate study systems, including terrestrial and marine mammals, birds, reptiles and plants. Recent projects include quantifying and predicting how animals cope with a warming climate, the ecology of sleep in wild animals, the spatial ecology of animals in human-dominated landscapes, stream fragmentation and adaptive management of rivers across Europe, and predicting global effects of landuse on local terrestrial biodiversity. Luca is Chair of the Movement Ecology Special Interest Group and Member of the Publications Committee of the British Ecological Society (BES), Executive Board Member of the National Centre for Ecological Statistics (NCSE), and Editor of Ecological Reviews (BES). Before doing science, he obtained a BMus in Performance (French horn) and worked as professional orchestra musician for over 10 years.

Paul Davies was born in 1969 and grew up in Pontsian just outside Llandysul in the County of Ceredigion. He attended Tregroes Primary School, Llandysul Grammar School and after studying his A Levels at Newcastle Emlyn Comprehensive School, he joined Lloyds Bank in 1987. Up until being elected, he continued to be employed by Lloyds Bank and his last role with the company was as a Business Manager based in Haverfordwest helping to support small businesses. 

Paul was elected as the Welsh Conservative Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire in May 2007, with 38.6% of the vote and a majority of 3,205.

After his initial election in 2007, Paul held the position of Shadow Minister for Culture, the Welsh Language and Sport, before in March 2009 being appointed Shadow Minister for Education and the Welsh Language.

The National Assembly Elections held on 5th May 2011 saw Paul re-elected as the Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire, increasing his share of the vote to 42.4%. Shortly after the election, Paul was appointed as Interim Leader of the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group, a position he held until the appointment of Andrew RT Davies AM on 14th July 2011. One of Andrew’s first decisions as Leader was to appoint Paul as Deputy Leader of the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group, and in addition to make him Shadow Minister for Finance.

Paul was re-elected as the Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire on 5th May 2016, increasing his majority to 3,930. Paul continued as Deputy Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group, Business Manager and Chief Whip. In addition, Paul was appointed as Welsh Conservative spokesperson on Rural Affairs.

In September 2018, Paul was elected as the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, a position he held until 2021. At the Senedd elections in 2021, Paul was again re-elected with a majority of 1,400.

In June 2021, he was elected Chair of the Senedd's Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Commitee.

Jenny obtained her PhD in 2007 from Cardiff University and was appointed lecturer in October 2019, then senior lecturer in 2022.  Her research focusses on the synthesis and applications of sustainable heterogeneous catalysts, and how these can be used to solve complex issues related to health. She is currently investigating how photocatalysts can provide a solution to global period poverty. Her contributions to precious metal research was recognised by the International Precious Metals Institute USA, June 2011 when she was awarded the Carol Tyler Award. She was recognised for advances in the direct synthesis of H2O2 and awarded the Clara Immerwhar award in 2013. She was awarded the Dillwyn Medal in STEM in 2020 by the Learned Society of Wales.

Dr Garrad has been involved in wind energy for 45 years.  In 1984 he co-founded the Garrad Hassan Group  which grew to become the world’s largest renewable energy consultancy.  From 2013 to 2015 he was President of the European Wind Energy Association.
 
In 2024 he was appointed Chair of the Independent Commission on  the Severn Estuary and was awarded the global Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering together with Henrik Stiesdal of Denmark.
 
He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an Honorary Fellow of New College, Oxford. He is a Visiting Professor of Engineering Mathematics at Bristol University.

Peredur Owen Griffiths is a Plaid Cymru Senedd Member for South Wales East.

As a son of a church minister, Peredur has lived in a number of different areas of Wales including Denbigh in the Vale of Clwyd, Pumsaint in Carmarthenshire, Moelfre in Ynys Môn, Lixwm in Flintshire.

Upon leaving school he attended Sheffield University to study for a Control Systems Engineering Masters Degree. Whilst studying, Peredur became an employee of Abbey National. After graduating, Peredur was fast-tracked into being a Bank Manager for Santander, and was able to move back to Wales to complete his training. He worked in branches across south Wales, including Newport, Monmouth, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Blackwood, Cwmbran, Barry, Tonypandy, and Cardiff.

After Santander, came Principality Building Society, where Peredur worked as a Business Development Manager for the residential mortgage arm of the business. Peredur left his career in banking to work in the third sector, initially for Christian Aid and then CYTUN (Churches Together in Wales). Prior to his election to the Senedd in 2021, Peredur was a community councillor within his region.

Peredur chairs the Finance Committee and sits on a number of other committees including Petitions and Standards.

In his spare time, Peredur enjoy choral singing and is a member of the award-winning CF1 mixed choir.

Mark was first elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 2003, before being re-elected in 2007, 2011, 2016 and 2021.

In the Second and Third Assemblies he was the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister in a range of areas, including Finance, Education, Social Justice, Equality and Housing, as well as being the member of a number of Assembly committees and chairing the Assembly’s Legislation Committee No. 5. He also chaired Cross-Party Groups on Fuel Poverty, Neurosciences, and Funerals and Bereavement.

In the Fourth Assembly he was the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Communities, Housing, Policing and North Wales, as well as sitting on the Assembly’s Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee and the Assembly’s Standards Committee.

Currently, he is the Shadow Minister for Social Justice and Shadow Counsel General. He is also the Chair of the Senedd’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee as well as Chair of Cross-Party Groups on Autism, Neurological Conditions, Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, Hospices and Palliative Care, and Funerals and Bereavement.

Paul Lewis is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) providing leadership to cross-organisational activities in support of the delivery of our strategy and business plans. Paul leads our international STM journals, books and data publishing business with supporting technology and, sales & marketing teams as well as overseeing our global operations. Paul has a wider organisational leadership role, developing RSC strategy and capabilities as well as representing the RSC in the UK and internationally. A qualified teacher with an MBA, he has substantial senior leadership experience in the educational assessment, adult training and, STM sectors with specialist government-to-government consulting and, international operating expertise. Paul is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and, Institute of Leadership & Management in the UK. He was born and lives in Cardiff.

Professor Gareth Owen currently holds the position of Professor of Sustainable Chemistry within the Faculty of Computing, Science and Engineering, at the University of South Wales (USW). He joined USW in 2013 after working at University of Bristol (2004- 2013) and University of Erlangen, Germany (2003 – 2004). He obtained his PhD and MSci degrees from Imperial College London (1995 -2003). He has previously been awarded a Sêr Cymru Capacity Builder Award, a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship, an American Chemical Society Organometallics Fellowship, a Centenary British Ramsay Memorial Research Fellowship and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship. Prof. Owen leads a sustainable chemistry research group that comprises a multinational team of postdoctoral research fellows and postgraduate students focused around organometallic chemistry, synthesis and homogenous catalysis. The research activities within the group are focused on addressing crucial aspects of sustainability utilising chemical strategies. These are centred around three themes, i) the conversion of carbon dioxide into new value-added molecules; ii) hydrogen activation and hydrogen storage and iii) sustainable solutions for industry. He is also a member of the Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC) at USW. This is a multidisciplinary team of like-minded researchers focused on addressing major energy and sustainability challenges. Prof. Owen has been involved in strategic roles at USW including as co-chair in the development of USW’s 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy together with the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research, Prof. Martin Steggall.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and former member of the Senedd, Eluned leads the IOP’s strategy and activities within Wales. She has more than 25 years’ experience of working in educational strategy and public engagement for organisations such as Techniquest, National Youth Arts Wales and Cardiff University.  
Eluned is particularly interested in how policy development in Wales can help to create a diverse and supportive STEM ecosystem for the future, encourage research and development to boost the economy and engage citizens in meaningful conversations about how science impacts on their lives.
In addition to her work with the IOP, Eluned is an Infrastructure Commissioner for Wales and Chair of the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services.

Gill is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Southampton and served as Head of School between 2016 and 2020.
 
Born and raised in Central 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. She became professor in 2006.
 
Her group’s research focuses on synthetic coordination and organometallic chemistry and is motivated by both fundamental studies of new ligand types that explore the influence of metal-ligand combinations on properties and reactivity, as well as more application driven targets. Particular areas of interest are developing reagents for use in chemical vapour deposition and electrodeposition for the controlled growth of functional semiconducting thin film and nanostructured materials. Metal chalcogenides, in particular, have important technological applications, such as solid-state memory, thermoelectric energy harvesting and battery materials. She also works on the development of metal-chelate scaffolds for binding the fluorine-18 radioisotope towards new positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents and has published over 350 research papers.
 
She is currently President of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2022 - 2024). She previously served as an elected Trustee of the Society (2011-15) and chaired the Outreach Working Group until 2018.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and recipient of the IUPAC 2023 Distinguished Women in Chemistry.

Jack Sargeant is the Welsh Labour Member of the Senedd for Alyn and Deeside. Jack was born in Bodelwyddan and has always lived in Connah’s Quay. He attended Connah's Quay High School and went on to study for an engineering apprenticeship at Coleg Cambria before completing a degree course at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham, whilst working at a local engineering firm in Deeside.

Jack was elected as MS for Alyn and Deeside at a by-election held on 6 February 2018. At 23 years of age, Jack Sargeant became the youngest ever Member when he was elected to Welsh Parliament.

Jack is the current Chair of Petitions Committee at the Senedd and is a passionate advocate for Welsh manufacturing and engineering.

James is a Senior Lecturer in Materials Engineering at the Open University. Prior to this he studied chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham, followed by a PhD in chemistry, and postdoctoral research exploring the adhesive and rheological properties of liquid nanofilms for hair care formulations. He also designed and managed the ERDF-funded Science City Advanced Materials Laboratory, supporting industry to solve technical challenges. James’ research interests include complex fluids, soft matter, biointerfaces, and nanomaterials. He currently leads cross-disciplinary collaborative efforts to develop solutions to societal challenges relating to sustainability, heritage and conservation, and materials for lunar and Martian habitat construction.