Professor Sir William Wakeham has been the Chair of SEPnet since 2009, when he retired as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton. He has Physics degrees from the University of Exeter and was a Professor of Chemical Physics in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, where he became Deputy Rector. He is also currently Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and its Honorary International Secretary.
He is a Trustee of the Royal Anniversary Trust and Rank Prizes Trust, Senior Independent Director of Ilika (a material discovery company) and Chairman of Exeter Science Park. He has conducted, at the invitation of the government, reviews of Physics, of research costing in Universities and, currently, the provision of STEM degrees and employability of graduates in English Universities. He has also been a member of EPSRC Council and chaired the University and Colleges Employers Association.
His research work on Thermophysics, where he has collaborated with NPL, PTB and NIST, has been recognised by the award of several international prizes.