Director General for Science and Research - Professor Adrian Smith
Professor Adrian Smith is Director General for Science and Research in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Prior to his current post he was Principal of Queen Mary, University of London for 10 years. Prior to being Principal of Queen Mary, Professor Smith was at Imperial College, London, where he held a number of posts over an eight-year period. These included: Professor of Statistics, Head of Department of Mathematics, Member of the Management and Planning Group and Company Director of ICON (Imperial Consultancy). From 1977-1990 he was Professor of Statistics at Nottingham, Head of Department of Mathematics and a member of the University Council. He has also held posts at the University of Oxford and University College, London. He read undergraduate mathematics at Cambridge University.
Professor Smith has recently been the Treasurer of Universities UK, a member of the governing body of the London Business School and a past Chair of London Higher, the regional umbrella body representing London’s 42 HEI’s. He served on the Advisory Committee to the UK Government Office for National Statistics from 1996-1998, worked for the UK Government Department of the Environment from 1991-1998 as a Statistical Advisor to the Nuclear Waste Inspectorate and for the Ministry of Defence from 1982 to 1987 as adviser on Operational Analysis. Professor Smith has also worked with the UK Higher Education Funding and Research Councils.
Professor Smith has held numerous statistical consultancies in the private sector, in business and finance, the pharmaceutical industry and communications and power industries.
Professor Smith is a past President of the Royal Statistical Society and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001 in recognition of his contribution to statistics. He is currently a member of the Council of the Royal Society. In 2003-04 he undertook an Inquiry into Post-14 Mathematics Education for the UK Secretary of State for Education and Skills. In 2006 he completed a report for the UK Home Secretary on the issue of public trust in Crime Statistics