Professor Phil Sutton, Director General, Science and Technology Strategy, Ministry of Defence presents the 2009 Reeves Lecture on; “Innovation in Defence Research: Why we need it and how to get it.”
Tea and coffee will be served in the Gabor Room at 17.00
For more information please contact Clare Drysdale
Abstract: The defence and security threats and challenges faced by the UK are greater than ever before. Whilst the old Cold War has long since ended, tensions remain and the threat from global terrorism continues to present major operational demands to the UK Armed Services. Furthermore there are potentially destabilising pressures associated with resource shortages as a result of climate change that could lead to a range of regional conflicts or even interstate wars affecting the UK and her allies. All this is against a background of growing public spending pressures to which research is not immune.
The lecture addresses the science, engineering and technology (SET) challenges faced by MOD, and shows why innovation, in various forms, is critical for success. In particular, attention is given to MOD’s need for new SET research, addressing defence challenges in the short and longer timeframe, and to the role of universities in meeting this need.
Biography: Phil Sutton became UK MoD’s Director for Science and Technology Strategy in January 2008 following his appointment to the Civilian 2* post of Director General Research and Technology in June 2004.He is a member of the Management Board of the MoD Science Innovation Technology organisation as well as the MoD Joint capability Board (the customer for delivery of military capability and the equipment and support programme). As UK Principal, he leads international Research Collaboration with all of UK’s major allies. His current role places special emphasis on defining MoD’s Defence Technology Strategy and Defence Technology Plan relating to both research and development.
Prior to these appointments, from 2002 (July) Phil was MoD’s Head of Technology Development and of the Research Acquisition Organisation, responsible for the Science and Technology axis of the whole of the MoD non-nuclear research programme. From 1998 to 2002 he was Head of Corporate Research (appointed as a Senior Civil Service 1*) responsible for all MoD’s non-nuclear long term research programme including long term speculative research and combined MoD/Research council grants to Universities.
Another important aspect of this post was to lead on Science and Technology aspects of MoD policy making.
From 1996 to 1998 Phil was Head of the Battlefield and Vehicle systems Department at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. From 1992 to 1996 he was Chief Scientist of the Above Water Sector of the Defence Research Agency covering topics such as Electronic Warfare, combat systems, signature control, platform technology, systems integration and human sciences.
Phil Sutton graduated with an Honours Bachelor degree in Physics from Southampton University in 1975 and then joined the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE) in MoD. He obtained a PhD in Electronics under MoD sponsorship also from Southampton in 1982. Returning to ASWE, he was promoted to Individual Merit Senior Principal Scientific Officer in 1989.
Phil Sutton was awarded a visiting Professorship at Cranfield University at the Defence College of Management and Technology, Shrivenham on Emerging Technologies in 1990, another at Loughborough University, Mechanical Engineering Department in signal processing in 1992 and the most recently in 2006 with the Department of electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London.
Phil Sutton is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.