Sir James McDonald is a British engineer and educator, serving as Principal and

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

since 2009. He is the current President of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

and is also a visiting professor at

NYU Tandon School of Engineering The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...

. After seven years of work within the UK Electricity Supply Industry, McDonald joined Strathclyde University in 1984 and became Professor of Electrical Power Systems in 1993. In 2001 he was invited to deliver the MacMillan Memorial Lecture to the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interes ...

. He chose the subject "Electric Propulsion in Marine Applications: An Electrical Engineer's Viewpoint". In 2006 he was appointed Deputy Principal responsible for Research. McDonald is a Fellow of the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871, and ...

and of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

. He has co-authored over 600 papers and three books. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2012 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom. on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand, On 15 February 2019 the Royal Academy of Engineering announced that its Trustee Board had nominated Professor McDonald as its presidential candidate for election by Fellows at the September 2019 AGM. Following his election, Sir Jim will serve a term of five years and has become the Academy's first Scottish President. On 2 October 2021 Sir Jim McDonald delivered his first

TEDx Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

at the Resilience Reignited 2021 TEDxUniversityofStrathclyde Annual Ideas Conference. Sir Jim McDonald delivered an inspiring and motivational TEDx talk at the 2021 Annual Ideas Conference organised by TEDxUniversity of Strathclyde under the theme "Resilience Reignited". The timing of the conference and the deliverance of Sir Jim McDonald's TED talk were especially fitting as they took place shortly before COP26 - the United Nations Climate Change' Conference which saw policymakers from across the globe come together in Glasgow to collectively brainstorm and share ideas on how to effectively address climate change During his TED talk, Sir Jim McDonald discussed a systems engineering approach to achieving net zero by 2050 which includes the use of steam reforming. "Net Zero" means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - achieving this means reducing emissions as much as possible as well as balancing out those that remain by an equivalent amount He highlighted the factors in energy which need to be taken in consideration if we are to achieve a decarbonised future - factors such as affordability, reliability, economic opportunity and public engagement. He also spoke about the importance of leadership, policy making and resilient infrastructure in the goal towards creating a sustainable future He ended his talk with a particularly poignant quote "''Think systems and don't be overwhelmed by them because you're apart of them"''

References

Living people Knights Bachelor Presidents of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People associated with the University of Strathclyde Polytechnic Institute of New York University faculty Fellows of the Institute of Physics British electrical engineers 1957 births {{UK-engineer-stub