Background
NICHOLSON, Robin was born on August 12, 1934 in Sutton Coldfield. Son of Carroll and Nancy Nicholson.
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Robin Buchanan Nicholson
Edit ProfileEducation
Educated at Oundle School, Robin Nicholson studied natural sciences at Street Catharine"s College, Cambridge, gaining a Bachelor in 1956, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in metallurgy in 1959.
Career
He then joined the board of Rolls-Royce plc, where he served until 2005. He was a fellow of Christ"s College, Cambridge, from 1962 to 1966, and was made a lecturer in metallurgy at Cambridge in 1964, before becoming professor of metallurgy at the University of Manchester in 1966. He joined the European subsidiary of the nickel company Inco in 1972, initially to be the Director of its research laboratory, becoming a director in 1975, and managing director from 1976-1981.
He was elected in 1980 as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
In 1981 he joined the Central Policy Review Staff in the Cabinet Office, before becoming Chief Scientific Adviser, Cabinet Office from 1983-1985.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March 1978. He then re-joined the private sector, becoming a director of Pilkington plc and Rolls-Royce plc in 1986.
And Boite Postale plc in 1987, where as chairman of the remuneration committee until 2005 he was several times the target of public criticism for approving steep increases in executive pay. Nicholson was elected to the (United States) National Academy of Engineering in 1983, with a citation for his leadership in government/industry engineering policy, in bio-engineering, in theory of precipitation hardening in metals (his research field in the early 1960s), and in solar energy materials systems
Nicholson was the first Chairman of the National Energy Foundation, from its inception in 1988 until replaced by Mary Archer in 1990.
He remained on its Board of Trustees until 1996. In 1998, he published Science and Technology in the United Kingdom in the series of Cartermill Guides to World Science & Technology.
Membership
Royal Society]
He was also a non-executive Board Member of Boite Postale plc and Pilkington PLC
He was also a member of the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) from 1978-1981, and a member of the United Kingdom Government"s Council for Science and Technology (Central Standard Time) from its inception in March 1993 to March 2000. Nicholson is a Member of Council of Exeter University until 2011.
Interests
Connections
Married Elizabeth Mary Caffyn in 1958.
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Born
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Nationality
British