President Gast to chair Newton Prize in drive for international collaboration

Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London

Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial, has been appointed Newton Prize Committee Chair.

I firmly believe that collaborations are important not only across disciplines, but also across cultures. Professor Alice Gast President

The annual £1m Newton Prize celebrates pioneering partnerships between the UK and Newton Fund partner countries, and encourages new international collaborations to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

This year the prize will be awarded in China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

As Chair, Professor Gast will lead an independent Newton Prize committee, which will include experts in the development sector, the 2019 eligible countries as well as science and innovation. The committee will review the shortlisted applications, along with feedback from expert peer reviewers, and choose the winners.

Professor Gast takes over the role from President of the Royal Society and Nobel Prize winner Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who has chaired the prize since its launch in 2016.

The prize was awarded in 2017 to outstanding research and innovation in India and South East Asia and in 2018 in Latin America. Last year’s winners include a team developing technology to turn environmentally damaging coffee waste into electricity, and a project to grow new drought resistant beans for sustainable food supply in Mexico.

Nurturing scientific collaboration

The news came ahead of Professor Gast’s annual address to the Imperial community on Wednesday 13 March. In her address, she makes the case for international collaboration and mobility of students and academics.

Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial, said: “I firmly believe that collaborations are important not only across disciplines, but also across cultures. They bring new insights, lead to new approaches and result in new discoveries.

“Scientific collaboration needs nurturing. I am pleased to help with this important mission to recognise excellent science, research and innovation in support of economic development and social welfare in Newton Fund partner countries.”

About the Newton Fund

The Newton Prize, launched in 2016, is part of the broader Newton Fund. The Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with 17 active partner countries to support their economic development and social welfare, and to develop their research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth. The Fund is part of the UK’s official development assistance.

The Newton Fund is managed by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and delivered through seven UK delivery partners, UK Research and Innovation (which comprises seven Research Councils and Innovate UK), the UK Academies, the British Council and the Met Office.