Sir John Rex Beddington, HonFREng, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Federal Reserve System is Senior Adviser at the Oxford Martin School, and was previously Professor of Applied Population Biology at Imperial College London, and the United Kingdom Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2008 until 2013.
Education
Beddington was educated at Monmouth School in south-east Wales, close to the English border. He then attended the London School of Economics, gaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, and later a Master of Science degree. In 1973 he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Edinburgh.
Career
Beddington"s research is in population biology and the sustainable management of non-renewable and renewable resources. From 1968 to 1971 Beddington was a research assistant at the University of Edinburgh. From 1971 to 1984 he was a lecturer in Population Biology at the University of New York
Oxford Martin School
Beddington joined the Oxford Martin School in May 2013.
He serves as the senior advisor to Professor Ian Goldin, the School"s Director. The Oxford Martin School is made up of a community of more than 200 researchers, working to address the most pressing global challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Imperial College London
Beddington joined Imperial in 1984, was promoted to Reader in 1987 and was appointed Professor of Applied Population Biology there in 1991. Beddington has been a specialist in the economics and biology of sustainable management of renewable resources, and has previously advised United Kingdom ministers on scientific and environmental issues.
He has also advised the European Commission and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Chief Scientific Officer
On 1 October 2007, it was announced by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown that Beddington would succeed Professor Sir David King as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the United Kingdom Government with effect from 1 January 2008. His annual remuneration for this role was £165,000. Beddington was closely involved in helping the British government formulate its response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes and ash dieback disease in the United Kingdom. In April 2013 Beddington was succeeded by Mark Walport.
Membership
Royal Society]
He has chaired the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ science advisory panel and the Defence Scientific Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Natural Environmental Council.