IEE Fellows honoured with top appointments

Three IEE Fellows (FIEEs) have been appointed to the UK Government's top science advisory body.

Three IEE Fellows (FIEEs) have been appointed to the UK Government's top science advisory body.

Prime Minister Tony Blair announced this month that Professor Wendy Hall, Dr Raj Rajagopal and Professor Michael Sterling would form part of the 16-member Council of Science and Technology.

During their three-year terms, they will advise the Prime Minister and the First Ministers for Scotland and Wales on issues of strategic importance in science, engineering and technology (SET).

The council is designed to help develop SET in the UK and abroad, promote excellence in science education and champion the use of science in government and the private sector.

FIEEs hold the most senior category of IEE membership for their demonstrated, outstanding service to the engineering profession.

Professor Hall is Head of the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science.

A founding Head of the School's Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Research Group, she is also President of the British Computer Society, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers and a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute.

Awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000, her research interests include web technology development, open hypermedia systems and link services, advanced knowledge technologies, digital libraries, multimedia information management, agent-based systems and human computer interaction.

Dr Rajagopal is Chief Executive of BOC Edwards and Executive Director of the BOC Group.

He has more than 20 years' experience in manufacturing technology and product development and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

He was awarded the IEE Sir Eric Mensforth International Manufacturing Gold Medal in 2003 for outstanding contribution to manufacturing technology and management, and currently chairs the IEE's Manufacturing Sector Panel.

Professor Sterling, who was the 2002-3 IEE President, is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.

One of the UK's longest-serving university vice-chancellors, he previously held senior academic posts at several universities and operated successfully as a consultant and entrepreneur in the private sector.

He currently chairs the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, the Board of the Higher Education Statistics Agency and OCEPS.

He is also a board member of the Universities and Colleges Admission Service and Advantage West Midlands (Regional Development Agency), and has been appointed Chair of the IEE Research Policy Group.

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