Sir Mark Edward Welland, (born 18 October 1955) is a British physicist who is a professor of

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

at the

University of Cambridge , 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 head of the Nanoscience Centre. He has been a fellow of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, since 1986 and started his career in

IBM Research IBM Research is the research and development division for IBM, an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, with operations in over 170 countries. IBM Research is the largest industrial research org ...

, where he was part of the team that developed one of the first

scanning tunnelling microscope A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. ...

s. He was elected as the master of

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

and took up office on 1 October 2016.

Early life and education

Welland was born on 18 October 1955. He completed a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in physics from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1979 and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in physics from the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1984 for research on

grain boundaries In materials science, a grain boundary is the interface between two grains, or crystallites, in a polycrystalline material. Grain boundaries are two-dimensional crystallographic defect, defects in the crystal structure, and tend to decrease the ...

Career

Welland moved to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1987 and set up the first tunnelling microscopy group in the UK in collaboration with

John Pethica Sir John Bernard Pethica, (born 1953) is Science Foundation Ireland (S.F.I.) professor of material science at Trinity College, Dublin, Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK's National Physical Laboratory, and a visiting professor at Oxford Unive ...

. Currently at the Nanoscience Centre at the University of Cambridge researches into a number of aspects of nanotechnology ranging from sensors for medical applications to understanding and controlling the properties of nanoscale structures and devices. In a recent award by the

UK Research Councils Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body which coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils t ...

, Welland has been made Director of an Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in nanotechnology that, along with a purpose-built facility, represents an investment of $28 million for nanotechnology research at Cambridge. Until 2008, he was Editor-in-Chief 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 ...

journal ''Nanotechnology'', established in 1990, and, along with many other contributions at an international level, co-chairs the recently established Co-operative Research Initiative in Nanotechnology (CORINT) between the UK and Japan with Hiroyuki Sakaki of the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. He is also a Member of Council of the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

. Welland is also on the advisory board of Seraphima Ventures – a venture capital firm focusing mainly on nanotechnology startup companies. In April 2008 he was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Welland's research has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). In 2016 he was appointed Master of

, where he took office in September 2016.

Personal life

Welland is married to Esme Lynora Otun. Together they have four children: two sons and two daughters.

Awards and honours

Welland 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

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

. In 2002, his contributions to nanotechnology research were recognised through his election to Fellowships of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and

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 ...

. His nomination for the

reads: In 2014, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welland, Mark Living people British physicists British nanotechnologists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Institute of Physics IBM employees Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Bristol Chief Scientific Advisers to the Ministry of Defence Knights Bachelor 1955 births Masters of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Engineering professors at the University of Cambridge