Christopher Snowden facts for kids

Sir Christopher Maxwell Snowden (born in 1956) is a British electronic engineer and a university leader. He was the Vice-Chancellor (which is like the head) of Surrey University from 2005 to 2015. After that, he led the University of Southampton from 2015 to 2019.

Sir Christopher also served as the president of Universities UK, a group that represents many universities in the UK. He is currently the chairman of the ERA Foundation. He has been recognized for his important contributions to engineering.

Sir Christopher's Life and Work

Starting His Career

Sir Christopher Snowden studied electronic and electrical engineering at the University of Leeds. He earned his first degree in 1977. Later, he completed his Master's and PhD degrees in 1982. His PhD research focused on special electronic devices called microwave oscillators, which are used in radar.

He worked at different places early in his career. He was an engineer at Mullard Applications Laboratory from 1977 to 1978. Then, he taught at the University of York for a year.

From 1983 to 2005, Sir Christopher worked at his old university, the University of Leeds. He became a professor of microwave engineering in 1992. He also spent time working in the US at a company called M/A-COM. In 1998, he joined Filtronic, a technology company, as a director. He also taught as a visiting professor at other universities.

Leading the University of Surrey

Sir Christopher was the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey for ten years, from 2005 to 2015. This role meant he was in charge of the whole university.

During his time, the University of Surrey became very successful. It climbed to 4th place in Guardian University League Table in 2016. It was also named "University of the Year" in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016. The university was recognized for having the "Best Teaching" and "Best Student Experience."

Leading Universities UK

From 2013 to 2015, Sir Christopher was the president of Universities UK (UUK). This is a large group that includes 134 universities in the UK. As president, he helped guide the policies and direction for higher education across the country. Before becoming president, he was a vice-president for the group.

Leading the University of Southampton

In 2015, Sir Christopher became the new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton. He took on this role after Professor Don Nutbeam retired.

In 2017, he started a huge plan to invest over £600 million into the university. This was the biggest investment in the university's 155-year history. The money was raised to improve the university over the next ten years.

Sir Christopher also spoke about the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). This framework rates how well universities teach. In 2017, Southampton University received a Bronze rating. Sir Christopher said the system was "flawed." However, in 2018, the university was awarded a Silver rating. He thanked everyone who helped achieve this, saying it showed students would have excellent results after graduating.

Sir Christopher retired from the University of Southampton in 2019.

His Engineering Research

Sir Christopher Snowden's research focuses on very small electronic devices and circuits. These devices work with microwaves, which are like the radio waves used in mobile phones and radar.

He was a pioneer in using computer models to understand how electrons move inside tiny transistors. Transistors are like tiny switches that control electronic signals. His work helped engineers design much better transistors. This research was so important that he became a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the IEEE.

His early work looked at how "hot electrons" behave in transistors. He showed that these high-energy electrons were very important for how transistors work. He also helped create new models for laser diodes, which are used in fast communication systems.

In the mid-1980s, he helped develop a new type of computer model called the "quasi-two-dimensional" (Q2D) approach. This model was great for designing transistors like the MESFET. His models could accurately predict how these transistors would perform. The Q2D model was also much faster than older models. This made it very useful for engineers designing new devices. Many companies used these models to create high-performance microwave transistors. These transistors were then used in many products.

Later, he applied these Q2D models to other advanced transistors called HEMTs. These are used in things like mobile phones, radar, and satellite receivers. His work helped design powerful HEMTs that could handle a lot of power while still working well. More recently, he has used these models for LDMOS transistors, which are used in powerful amplifiers for communication systems.

Sir Christopher also developed a special model for heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). These are used in power amplifiers, like those in mobile phones. For this work, he received the IEEE Microwave Prize in 1999. He continued to develop models that included how heat affects electronic devices. This was important for designing strong power transistors and amplifiers.

He also worked on combining different types of electronic and optical circuits. While at M/A-COM, he helped create a way to embed light guides into circuits. This allowed light signals to be used alongside electronic signals. This idea was later used in high-speed communication networks.

Sir Christopher has written eight books about semiconductor device modeling. He also created one of the first interactive software programs for circuit analysis. He has been an editor for several journals and chaired major international conferences.

Important Groups and Awards

Sir Christopher has been a member or leader of many important engineering and science organizations.

• He was the president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) from 2009 to 2010.
• He was also a vice-president of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
• In 2014, he was asked to be a judge for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize), which is a very important award. He is now the chair of the judging panel.
• The Prime Minister appointed him to the Council for Science and Technology (CST) in 2011. This council advises the government on science and technology.
• He was a member of the UK's Innovate UK board, which helps new technologies grow.
• He is a Fellow of the Royal Society (since 2005), the Royal Academy of Engineering (since 2000), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (since 1993), and the IEEE (since 1996). Being a Fellow means he is recognized as a top expert in his field.

He has also been involved in committees that advise the government on communications and technology. He was chairman of the Daphne Jackson Trust, which helps scientists return to research after a break. He also served on the boards of several companies.

Honours and Awards

Sir Christopher has received many awards for his work:

• In 1999, he was given the IEEE Microwave Prize for his research on microwave power transistors.
• In 2004, the Royal Academy of Engineering awarded him their Silver Medal for his outstanding contributions to the UK microwave semiconductor industry.
• In 2009, he received the IEEE MTT Distinguished Educator Award. This award recognized his excellent work as a teacher and mentor for young engineers.
• Sir Christopher was knighted in 2012. This means he received the title "Sir" for his services to engineering and higher education.