Professor Sheng Dai to lead School of Chemical and Process Engineering from January

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences is pleased to welcome Professor Sheng Dai as the new Head of the School of Chemical and Process Engineering from January 2022.

Professor Sheng Dai will join the University of Leeds following his work at Brunel University London, where he was the founding Head of the new Department of Chemical Engineering.

As a chemical engineer, Professor Sheng Dai’s research interests include advanced materials for healthcare, clean energy, water treatment and separation processes. His career has seen him working with McMaster University, University of Alberta, University of Toronto and University of Adelaide before moving to the UK in 2017. He then became Chair of Chemical Engineering at Newcastle University before moving to Brunel University London in 2018.

Welcoming the appointment, Executive Dean of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Professor Nora de Leeuw, said: “I am very pleased that Sheng Dai has accepted the position and I would like to warmly welcome him to the University and our Faculty.

“Sheng’s extensive leadership experience in higher education institutions in the UK and abroad will be hugely valuable to the School of Chemical and Process Engineering as we emerge from the pandemic and work together towards achieving the new University strategy. I look forward very much to working with Sheng in the future.”

Professor Sheng Dai said: “The University of Leeds is a well-known global leading institution on research, teaching and knowledge exchange, and it is my great pleasure to join Leeds in January 2022. I will work closely with all colleagues at the School of Chemical and Process Engineering and others to shape a better future for everyone.”

The current Head of School, Professor Elaine Martin (OBE), is due to step down from the role at the end of this year. She has held the position since 2015, leading the School of Chemical and Process Engineering through numerous research successes and transition to the combined Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. 

Originally training as a civil engineer at the University of Glasgow, Professor Martin’s expertise lies in the area of transforming data available from processes and products into knowledge that can be used to characterise complex systems with the goal of aiding decision making. Her multidisciplinary approach to chemical engineering has helped support the School’s world-leading analytical infrastructure.

Sheng Dai will join the University of Leeds on 1st January 2022.