Sir Adrian took up post on 1 September 2012 for a three-year term, in succession to Lord Rowe-Beddoe of Kilgetty. He previously served on the Board of the UK Statistics Authority during 2008 as Deputy Chair (Statistical System) until his appointment to a senior role in the Civil Service.
Professor Sir Adrian Smith is Director of the Alan Turing Institute. Between 2008 and 2012 Sir Adrian was Director General, Knowledge and Innovation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and previously Director General, Science and Research at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Between 2012 and 2018 Sir Adrian was Vice-Chancellor of the University of London.
Sir Adrian Smith was Principal of Queen Mary, University of London between 1998 and 2008, and before that held a number of senior academic and management posts at Imperial College. Sir Adrian was President of the Royal Statistical Society between 1995 and 1997, and won the Society’s Guy Medal in Bronze (1977) and Guy Medal in Silver (1993). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001 in recognition of his contribution to statistics. Sir Adrian was knighted in the 2011 New Year Honours.
Professor Smith chaired the UK Government’s Inquiry into post-14 Mathematics education and published its report Making Mathematics Count in 2004. He also led the independent review of crime statistics, commissioned by the then Home Secretary, which reported in 2006.
Sir Adrian was educated at Teignmouth Grammar School, Selwyn College, Cambridge, and University College, London. He holds honorary doctorates from City University, the University of Loughborough, Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Plymouth.
Professor Smith was re-appointed for a term of three years ending on 31 August 2018, and further re-appointed for a third term ending on 31 March 2020.