Honorary Secretary: Dr Alison McMillan CEng CPhys FInstP FIMechE FHEA

Alison has been a member of the Institute of Physics since the early 1990s and, during that time, has been actively involved in various Groups, Nations and Branches, and served on Council as the Vice-President for Business from 2012-16. She is also a Fellow and active member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Alison’s career has spanned the academic and industrial sector. As an industrialist, she was a stress and impact engineering specialist, led research consortia on new manufacturing processes, and was the business unit lead on export control and intellectual property management.

As an academic, she has worked in the fringes between physics, mechanical engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, and innovation leadership. Much of this work has been to develop better understanding of materials. More recently she has extended her interests into the history and philosophy of science.

Alison’s current goal is to address the big challenge we face today: the human civilisation trajectory being incompatible with its own sustainment. She believes the way forward is to plot a course of sustainable transition and society must have the confidence to accept it, which will require true innovation and a great deal of education and outreach work.

Alison is a member of the Nominations Committee, the Remuneration Committee, and the Honorary Fellows Committee.