Board

Neville Chamberlain, CBE - Chairman
After obtaining a degree and MSc in Physics from Durham University, Neville joined the nuclear industry in 1962 as a Health Physicist. His subsequent career embraced experience in research, operations and commercial management leading to his appointment as Chief Executive of BNFL in 1986. After 10 successful years in that role, he became Deputy Chairman before retiring from BNFL in 1999.

Neville has received numerous honours and awards throughout his career. He was awarded a CBE in 1990, an Honorary DSc from Salford University in 1989 and the Melchett Medal from the Institute of Energy in 1989. He is an honorary Fellow of the European Nuclear Society, an honorary member of the French Nuclear Society and was the 1996 Chairman of the European Nuclear Council. He is also a member of the International Nuclear Energy Academy, serving as its Chairman from 2001 to 2004 and serves on the Board of AMEC Nuclear Holdings Ltd. He is a Companion of the Institute of Management, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Freeman of the City of London (Fuellers’ Company).

Dr David Knight - Managing Director
David has over 20 years experience in Software Engineering, Project Management and Business Development in Computer Graphics and Visualisation. Prior to joining Structure Vision, David was European Sales Manager for Quantum3D, European Project Manager for Advanced Visual Systems and a Software Engineer for the Numerical Algorithms Group. He has a DPhil from the University of Oxford in Computer Graphics and a BEng in Engineering Science from the University of Liverpool.

Dr Xiaodong Jia, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder
Xiaodong is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering in the University of Leeds and is currently seconded to SVL for the majority of his time. He has more than 20 years’ experience in computer simulations of various particulate systems (including colloids, fine powders, granules and large rocks) having published more than 50 papers and presented his work at numerous international conferences. His interests also include tomographic measurements, particularly electrical and X–ray tomography. He previously held research positions at UMIST and the University of Exeter.

Prof Richard Williams OBE, FREng, Director and Co-Founder
Richard holds a Chair in Mineral and Process Engineering and is the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Enterprise, Knowledge Transfer and International Strategy at the University of Leeds.  His research areas include nanoparticle engineering, particle aggregation and emulsification. He holds editorial positions with 7 academic journals and has published over 300 papers along with 10 books and several patents. Richard has also made a major contribution to the commercialisation of research and was a founding Director of Industrial Tomography Systems PLC, Optomo PLC and Dispersia Ltd. He is also a Director of the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund, Medilink Ltd and the Leeds, York " North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. He has received numerous personal awards in connection with his work including The Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal in 2003 for work in "commercialisation that has had major societal impact".  He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was awarded an OBE in 2009.

Dr Peter Watson OBE, FREng, Non-Executive Director
Peter was until 2005 the Chairman and Chief Executive of AEA Technology PLC, one of Britain’s largest science and engineering services businesses with a staff of around 3000 and a turnover of £300m. Peter had previously held board positions within GKN Group and British Rail. He also has extensive city experience having participated in an MBO and subsequent trade sale (of Porterbrook Leasing Company) and an IPO (as CEO of AEA Technology). He is currently Chairman of Lontra Ltd (a start-up technology company) and NED at HSL Ltd (a health & safety consultancy). He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Chartered Institute of Management and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. He has been a member of numerous government advisory committees and is now a Visiting Professor at Imperial College. He was awarded an OBE 1988.

Dr Alison Fielding, Non-Executive Director
Alison is the Chief Technology Officer for IP Group PLC (the UK’s leading company for the commercialisation of intellectual property from Universities) and was co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for Techtran Group Ltd before its acquisition by IP Group in 2005. Previously, she had spent 5 years as a consultant with McKinsey (working primarily in the pharma and health care sectors) and 4 years as a development chemist with Zeneca. Alison holds a first-class degree and PhD in Chemistry from Glasgow University and an MBA from Manchester Business School.