New IChemE president to redraw strategy
31 May 2016
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) will undergo a thorough review of governance and strategic direction according to its new president, Jonathan Seville.
Seville, who is executive dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Surrey, recently succeeded Andrew Jamieson as president of the Institution.
In his presidential address, Seville outlined his thoughts on the need for professional engineering institutions to work much harder to remain relevant, both to their members and to the public at large.
Major shocks such as the fall in the oil price make the discipline of chemical engineering more – not less – relevant to society
Jonathan Seville, new IChemE president
“Major shocks such as the fall in the oil price make the discipline of chemical engineering more – not less – relevant to society, since chemical engineers have exactly the skills that are needed to achieve sustainable ways of living,” said Seville.
“But we have to demonstrate those skills in new ways and in new applications.”
He said relevance must remain at the top of the agenda.
“I will use my presidential term to lead a thorough review of the Institution’s governance and strategic direction,” he said.
“Chemical engineering matters as much today as it did when we were founded. Let’s work together to shape an Institution that is relevant to its members, to our partners in industry and academia, and most importantly of all, to the community at large whose interests we are duty bound to protect.”
John McGagh, chief digital officer at Australia energy supplier Snowy Hydro, has been named as IChemE’s deputy president and will take over the presidency at the completion of Seville’s 12-month term, in May 2017.
