Alan Wilson (academic) facts for kids

Sir Alan Geoffrey Wilson (born January 8, 1939) is a British mathematician and social scientist. He is known for his work in understanding cities and how people live in them. Sir Alan was once the leader (called a Vice-Chancellor) of the University of Leeds. He is also a professor at University College London. He has received many honors for his important contributions to science and society.

Early Life and Education

Sir Alan Wilson was born in Bradford, England, on January 8, 1939. He went to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Darlington. Later, he studied at the University of Cambridge. He was a student at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. There, he focused on advanced mathematics, graduating in 1960.

Career and Research

Sir Alan started his career in theoretical physics. But in the 1960s, he switched to social sciences. He began studying how cities work using mathematical models. This new field helped him understand urban areas better.

Early Career Steps

• From 1961 to 1964, he worked at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. He was a Scientific Officer in the Theoretical Physics Group.
• Then, from 1964 to 1966, he was a Research Officer at the University of Oxford. He worked at the Institute of Economics and Statistics.
• He also led the Mathematical Advisory Group at the Ministry of Transport from 1966 to 1968.
• From 1968 to 1970, he was an assistant director at the Centre for Environmental Studies in London.

Leading the University of Leeds

In 1970, Sir Alan became a professor at the University of Leeds. He taught about urban and regional geography. He later became the Vice-Chancellor of the university in 1991. This is like being the president of a university. He held this important role for 13 years. During his time, the university grew a lot.

• The number of students went from 12,000 to 31,500.
• The university's income also increased greatly.
• Money for research went up by more than 400%.

Sir Alan retired from this role in May 2004.

Work with the UK Government

After leaving Leeds, Sir Alan took on a new role. He became the first Director General for Higher Education. This was for the UK Government at the Department for Education and Skills. He started this job in February 2004. He advised important government officials. He helped make sure more people could go to higher education. He also worked to keep the education system world-class.

Other Important Roles

In May 2006, he was appointed Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. This is another leadership role at a university college. He held this position for about seven months.

Later, in September 2007, he joined University College London. He became a professor there. He also chaired the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) from 2007 to 2013. This council supports research in arts and humanities.

Since 2013, he has been involved in important government projects. He chaired the Home Office Science Advisory Council. He also led a project on the Future of Cities.

In 2016, he helped start the Alan Turing Institute. This institute focuses on artificial intelligence. He was its Interim CEO. He later became director of special projects there.

He also helped develop the Ada Lovelace Institute. This organization works on the ethical use of artificial intelligence. He retired from this role in February 2020.

In 2022, Sir Alan took on a new position. He became the Director of Research at the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS). He uses his vast experience to support new ways of learning and research there.

Publications

Sir Alan has written important books. One well-known book is "Entropy in urban and regional modelling." It explains how to use mathematical ideas to understand cities.

Awards and Honours

Sir Alan has received many awards for his work.

• In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists.
• He also received the Laureat d'Honneur from the International Geographical Union.
• In 2004, he won the Prize in Regional Science. This award came from the European Regional Science Association.

Personal Life

Sir Alan Wilson is married to Sarah.