Professor Ian White

Professor Ian White has been Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bath since 2019. He joined the University from the University of Cambridge where he had been Master of Jesus College, van Eck Professor of Engineering, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of Photonics Research in the Electrical Division of the Department of Engineering.

Professor White gained his BA and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge and was then appointed a Research Fellow and Assistant Lecturer at the University before becoming Professor of Physics at the University of Bath.

Professor White’s previous posts include Professor of Optical Communications and Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol, and Head of the School of Technology at the University of Cambridge.

Professor White has carried out substantial research in the field of optoelectronics and optical communications. Highlights of this include the invention of new techniques for transmitting signals at low cost over optical fibre links for data and wireless communication systems. He is a co-founder of Zinwave Ltd, a company providing wireless coverage solutions, and PervasID Ltd which develops ultra-high-frequency RFID readers. He has published in excess of 1,000 papers and associated patents. Professor White is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He was a Member of the Board of Governors of the Global IEEE Photonics Society (2008-2011) and is Editor-in-Chief of Electronics Letters and Nature Microsystems and Nanoengineering.