Sir Gordon Richard Conway (born 6 July 1938) is an agricultural ecologist and former President of the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...

and the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He is currently Professor of International Development at Imperial College, London and Director of Agriculture for Impact, a grant funded by the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, which focuses on European support of agricultural development in Africa.

Education

Conway was educated at the

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

Career

In the early 1960s, working in

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

, North Borneo, he became one of the pioneers of

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

and integrated pest management. From 1970 to 1986, he was Professor of Environmental Technology at the

Imperial College of Science and Technology Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

in London. He then directed the sustainable agriculture program of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London before becoming Representative of the Ford Foundation in New Delhi from 1988 to 1992. He was Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

and Chair of the

Institute of Development Studies The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is a think tank affiliated with the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and based on its campus in Falmer, East Sussex. It delivers research and teaching in the area of development studies, ...

. He was elected the eleventh President of The Rockefeller Foundation in April 1998, a position he held until 2004. From 2004 to 2009 he was also

President of the Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He took up his appointment as the UK

Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

's Chief Scientific Adviser in January 2005, serving until 2009. Conway now works at Imperial College London and headed the Bill & Melinda Gates-funded project Agriculture for Impact looking into ways to increase and enhance agricultural development for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was an independent advocacy initiative, and was based at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and was supported through the Agriculture for Impact

. According to the organization's website, the initiative ran until the summer of 2016. Agriculture for Impact also convened the Montpellier Panel, a group of international experts from the fields of agriculture, trade, policy, ecology and global development. He is a Deputy Lieutenant for East Sussex.

Honours and awards

*June 2004 awarded an honorary degree from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

as Doctor of the University. *2004: elected a Fellow of the Royal Society *2005: invested Knight Commander of the

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) *2005: listed on The 2005 Global Intellectuals Poll *2008: elected an Honorary Fellow 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 ...

*2017: awarded the Founder's Medal of the

Books

He has authored: * ''Unwelcome Harvest: agriculture and pollution'' (Earthscan, Island Press) * ''The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for all in the 21st century'' (Penguin and University Press, Cornell) * ''Islamophobia: a challenge for us all'' (The Runnymede Trust) . He co-authored:
''Science and Innovation for Development''
(UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS))
''One Billion Hungry: Can we Feed the World?'
was published in October 2012.

References

External links

Prof Sir Gordon Conway, KCMG, DL, FRS
at Debrett's ''People of Today'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Gordon 1938 births Living people Alumni of Bangor University Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of California, Davis alumni English ecologists British agriculturalists Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Royal Society People associated with the University of Sussex Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Deputy Lieutenants of East Sussex Presidents of the Rockefeller Foundation Recipients of the Royal Geographical Society Founder's Medal