Non-executive Director

Professor Sir Ian Chapman

Biography

Ian Chapman was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the UK Atomic Energy Authority on 1 October 2016. His career highlights:

  • he was appointed Head of Tokamak Science at Culham in 2014.
  • he has held a number of international roles in fusion including a Task Force Leader for JET from 2012 to 2014 and a member of US experiment NSTX-U programme advisory committee.
  • he has published over 110 journal papers and given 30 invited lead-author presentations at international conferences.
  • his has won a number of international awards, including the European Physical Society Early Career Prize in 2014, the Institute of Physics Paterson Medal in 2013, the IUPAP Plasma Physics Young Scientist Prize in 2012 and the Cavendish Medal for Best early-career UK physicist awarded by SET for Britain in 2011.
  • he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2013 and became a visiting Professor at Durham University in 2015.

In February 2025, it was announced Ian Chapman was leaving UKAEA in the summer to become CEO of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Sir Ian will lead the team at UKRI, backing thousands of researchers and innovators in developing solutions which improve people鈥檚 lives and help grow the economy.

Non-executive Director

UK Industrial Fusion Solutions

Previous roles in government

  • Chief Executive Officer
    • 2016 to 2025