Defra CSA Professor Sir Ian Boyd marks his last day
Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers has today thanked Professor Sir Ian Boyd on his last day as Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Sir Ian, who has been in the post for seven years, has been responsible for ensuring the department’s policies – on everything from air quality to plant health – have been underpinned by sound, scientific advice.
Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said:
Some of Sir Ian’s key accomplishments while in post include leading the scientific input into key government strategies like the 25 Year Environment Plan, Resources and Waste Strategy and the Clean Air Strategy.
Sir Ian also dealt directly with the threat of ash dieback, driving the use of underpinning research into operational practice, and chaired the Decontamination Science Assurance Group in response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack in 2018.
Commenting on his time in post, Sir Ian Boyd said:
In terms of science, he has championed innovation in the department, leading to the use of satellite Earth Observation and the creation of the Defra Earth Observation Centre of Excellence. Most recently, he was responsible for establishing the Systems Research Programme, an initiative putting Defra in the lead in using systems approaches to inform policy decisions.
Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at Defra said:
Sir Ian has BSc and DSc degrees for the University of Aberdeen, a PhD from Cambridge University and has received prizes for his research including the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London, the Bruce Medal for Polar Science from the Royal Society of Edinburgh and The Polar Medal awarded by Her Majesty The Queen. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
He is expected to continue in his role as Professor in Biology at the University of St Andrews. He is also Chair of the UK Research Integrity Office and will also be pursuing research extending from his experiences as CSA at Defra.
Sir Patrick Vallance, Government Chief Scientific Adviser said:
The CSA sits on Defra’s Board and is responsible for overseeing the quality of evidence that the department relies on for policy decisions. They also provide Ministers with scientific advice and sets the priorities for scientific research and evidence-gathering.
Professor Gideon Henderson is due to take over the post in October.