Chair of the Nuffield Foundation, Sir Keith Burnett CBE FRS CPhys FInstP has become President-elect of the Institute of Physics (IOP).
An eminent physicist specialising in ultra-cold atomic physics, he has been the Chair of the Nuffield Foundation Board of the Trustees since September 2018.
Prior to this, Sir Keith worked as a physicist in the United States and at Imperial College London before spending almost twenty years at the University of Oxford, where he served as Head of the Division of Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences and also as Chairman of Physics. In 2007, he joined the University of Sheffield where he was President and Vice-Chancellor, retiring in 2018.
He is also well-known as an advocate for international students and is widely published in the UK and globally on issues relating to science, innovation, the economy, and global cooperation in assessing major societal challenges.
Born in Llwynypia in the Rhondda Valley, he studied physics at Jesus College, Oxford, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in 1975 and a DPhil in 1979.
In 2004, he received a CBE for contributions to the scientific community, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001, and awarded a knighthood in the 2013 New Year’s honours list for Services to Science and Higher Education.
Sir Keith Burnett said:
“I was delighted to be elected President-elect of the Institute of Physics and look forward to being an active member of the IOP Council for the coming two years, and taking up the reigns as President in 2023. I would also like to wish the new President, Professor Sheila Rowan, all the very best for her tenure.”
