• Annual conference
• Forthcoming conference
  • Programme
  • Register here
  • Conference speakers
  • Poster session
• Past conferences
• Conference presentations
• Sponsorship

Conference Speakers

We are delighted to be able to confirm our plenary speakers as Professor David Delpy, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Will Hutton, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford and Chair of the Big Innovation Centre, Professor Philip Nelson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Southampton, Maggie Philbin, Co-founder and Director, TeenTech CIC and Tim Smit KBE, Chief Executive & Co-founder of the Eden Project.

Click here to see biographies for conference speakers.

Professor David Delpy, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Professor Delpy is a world-renowned researcher specialising in the development of techniques for the physiological monitoring of patients and especially the imaging of neonatal brain function.

He is one of only a handful of UK researchers to be appointed as a Fellow to the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Medical Sciences.  He has worked closely with many companies who have marketed the devices developed by him and his team. Most notably, he collaborated for more than twenty years with Hamamatsu Photonics, who have developed market-leading monitoring and imaging technology based on his work.

Prior to becoming EPSRC Chief Executive in 2007, he was Vice-Provost for Research at University College London.

Will Hutton, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford and Chair of the Big Innovation Centre

Will Hutton is the Principal of Hertford College, Oxford University. He is also the Chair of the Big Innovation Centre at The Work Foundation – the most influential voice on work, employment and organisation issues in the UK. Regularly called on to advise senior political and business figures and comment in the national and international media, Will is today one of the pre-eminent economics commentators in the country. He began his career in the City, as a stockbroker and investment analyst, before moving to the BBC, where he worked both on radio, as a producer and reporter, and on TV as economics correspondent for Newsnight. Prior to joining The Work Foundation, Will spent four years as Editor-in-Chief of the Observer, for which he continues to write a weekly column. He also regularly contributes to the Guardian and the Financial Times.

Professor Philip Nelson, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton

Philip Nelson is Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, England, with particular  responsibility for Research and Enterprise. He previously served as Director of the University’s Institute of Sound and Vibration Research and holds the post of Professor of Acoustics. He has personal research interests in the fields of acoustics, vibrations, fluid dynamics and signal processing, and is the author or co-author of 2 books, over 100 papers in refereed journals, 30 granted patents, and over 200 other technical publications. Professor Nelson is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics, a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a Member of the Audio Engineering Society. He is the recipient of both the Tyndall and Rayleigh Medals of the Institute of Acoustics, and served as President of the International Commission for Acoustics from 2004-2007.

Maggie Philbin, Co-founder and Director, TeenTech CIC

Maggie Philbin has worked in radio and television for 30 years on a wide range of science, medical and technology programmes. Currently providing analysis and comment on technology and a regular reporter on BBC 1’s Inside Out, she has a unique resonance with audiences, having grown up with them on much loved shows like Swap Shop and Tomorrow’s World. 

Maggie is keen to help improve the visibility of successful scientists and engineers, both to encourage young people and women to pursue careers and reach top positions in these areas.  In November 2008, Maggie pioneered TeenTech a lively interactive one day event which brought 400 young teenagers, scientists and technology companies together.  In 2011 TeenTech piloted a national roll-out of the event in Berkshire, Humber and Kent and has now been set up by Maggie as a Community Interest Company. TeenTech will run ten events across the UK for teenagers and their teachers in 2012.

Tim Smit KBE, Chief Executive & Co-founder of the Eden Project

Tim is Chief Executive and co-founder of the Award winning Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall. Eden began as a dream in 1995 and opened its doors to the public in 2000, since when around 13 million people have come to see what was once a sterile pit turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic of human endeavour.  Eden has contributed over £1 billion into the Cornish economy. Eden is proud of its success in changing people’s perception of the potential for and the application of science, by communicating and interpreting scientific concepts through the use of art, drama and storytelling as well as living up to its mission to take a pivotal role in local regeneration. It demonstrates once and for all that sustainability is not about sandals and nut cutlets, it is about good business practice and the citizenship values of the future.

Conference Sponsors