Five St Andrews appointees to Scottish Science Advisory Council

Five academics from the University of St Andrews have joined the Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC),strengthening the expert panel that supports the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland in her work with Scottish Ministers.

The new Members from St Andrews are Professor Simon Dobson from the School of Computer Science, Professor Russell Morris from the School of Chemistry, Professor Ifor Samuel from the School of Physics and Astronomy, and Professor Deborah Williamson from the School of Medicine. Dr Alex Browne, from the School of Chemistry, will join as an Associate Member.

The St Andrews cohort make up half of the new appointees across Scotland. The new Members will serve for three years, until February 2028, and the new Associate Members – who are early career researchers – are appointed for an initial one-year term, until February 2026.

The SSAC is Scotland’s highest level science advisory body. It provides independent advice, through its Chair, to the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for Scotland, Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, to inform policy development and delivery across all areas of the Scottish Government’s work.

Commenting on the new appointments, SSAC Chair Professor Julian Jones said: “Our new members and associates bring a range of expertise and experience to the SSAC, complementing that of our existing members. This will broaden our range of specialist skills as we continue to provide expert scientific advice in subjects of critical importance to the Scottish Government in their development of strategy and policy.”

Minister for Business, Richard Lochhead welcomed the appointments: “New developments in science and technology have a huge impact on our economy, environment and public services. Making sure the Scottish Government has access to the latest science advice and evidence to inform our policies is therefore critical to Scotland’s future success. The SSAC plays a key role here, and I look forward to hearing more from the members of the Council as their work progresses.”

The next meeting of the SSAC will be on Tuesday 25 March 2025.