My background is as a Research Chemist and University Lecturer initially at Oxford, and subsequently at Newcastle University as Professor of Physical Chemistry. My main research interests were in spectroscopy and electrochemistry, learning how to combine the techniques to allow a closer understanding of the processes taking place in electrochemical systems such as batteries, fuel cells, photoelectrochemical devices and other technologically important systems.
At Newcastle I was recruited into Senior Management and became the Pro-Vice-Chancellor looking after research and university-industrial interactions. I headed up Universities for the North-East and help found Knowledge House. In the year 2000 I was invited by Strathclyde University to become its fourth Principal, a post I held until 2009. I helped develop the Business School and the interaction between the historic strengths of the university in physical sciences and engineering with the rapidly rising field of medical physics and medical engineering. On retirement in 2009 I completed a degree in Mathematics and Statistics at the Open University and I joined C and G as a Trustee in 2023. I am married to Revd Suzanne Hamnett and enjoy model building, philately and have a keen interest in languages.