Chris Llewellyn Smith, Director of Energy Research 2011-17, University of Oxford, will give a guided tour of the ‘Oxford Energy wheel’and describe some research highlights. He will then outline initiatives taken to strengthen the impact of Oxford’s energy work, and open a discussion of possible future opportunities.

Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith FRS, who is a theoretical physicist, has just stepped down after nearly seven years as Oxford’s Director of Energy Research, and eight and a half years as President of the Council of SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East). He is interested in all aspects of energy supply, demand and systems. He has been Chair of the Council of ITER, Director of the UK’s fusion programme, Provost and President of University College London, Director General of CERN (1994-1998, when the Large Hadron Collider was approved and construction started), and Chairman of Oxford Physics. He has written and spoken widely on science funding, international scientific collaboration and energy issues, and served on many advisory bodies nationally and internationally, including the UK Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology (1989-92). His scientific contributions and leadership have been recognised by awards and honours world-wide, including election to the Royal Society in 1984, and most recently the award of the Society’s Gold Medal in 2015.