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Sir David King Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Government Office of Science

Sir David King KB ScD FRS

Sir David King was appointed as the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Office of Science and Technology in October 2000 (now the Government Office for Science – GO-Science, within the Department of Universities, Innovation and Skills). Born in South Africa in 1939, and after an early career at the University of Witwatersrand, Imperial College and the University of East Anglia, he became the Brunner Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Liverpool in 1974. In 1988, he was appointed 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and subsequently became Master of Downing College (1995-2000), and Head of the University Chemistry Department (1993-2000). He retains his position as Director of Research in the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University

Energy Institute Presentation

Download a copy of the article produced by the Energy Institute (EI) following Sir David's talk at its summer lunch on 12 July 2005 here. We are grateful to the EI for permission to use the article which is © Petroleum Review, Energy Institute, 2005.

"The Scientific Impact of Nations" Article

In July 2004 Sir David King published "The Scientific Impact of Nations" in the journal Nature (ref: D A King, Nature 430 (2004) 311-316 (15 July 2004). 

Greenpeace Business lecture

On 12 October 2004 Sir David delivered the 3rd Greenpeace Business lecture - Global Warming, the science of climate change - the imperatives for action.