06 June 2011
Poliakoff becomes foreign secretary
IChemE council member Martyn Poliakoff has been named as the new foreign secretary of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science.
Poliakoff, an IChemE Fellow and a chemist by qualification, heads the DICE (Driving Innovation in Chemistry and Engineering) project at the University of Nottingham, UK which promotes research and collaboration within engineering and chemistry.
The role of foreign secretary involves representing the British scientific community abroad and overseeing the society’s international business.
Poliakoff said: “I am honoured and delighted by my nomination. I feel that the post will be a wonderful opportunity to promote UK science overseas and will catalyse UK collaboration with leading scientists across the world."
The post of foreign secretary of the Royal Society dates back to 1723, predating the post of foreign secretary in the UK government by 60 years.
Poliakoff was elected to the Royal Society by his peers in 2002, joining a prestigious fellowship of scientists that has included Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein among its ranks.
Notes to editors
For further media information, interviews or supporting photography, please contact:
Matt Stalker, Communications manager, IChemE
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email: mstalker@icheme.org
Jo Sharp, Communications officer, IChemE
tel: +44 (0)1788 534433/ +44(0)7825 266815
email: jsharp@icheme.org
Trish Dwyer, Communications officer, IChemE
tel:+61 (0)3 9642 4494
email: tdwyer@icheme.org
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