Professor Judith Petts is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth (2016-). Prior to this she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise at the University of Southampton and at the University of Birmingham.

Currently she is a Director of the Heart of the South-West LEP and the Great South West Pan Regional Partnership Board, a Trustee of the Marine Biological Association and of the National Centre for Universities and Business.  She chairs UUK’s Climate Action Steering Group and was the UUK Commissioner on the Climate Commission for Higher and Further Education. Previous appointments have included as a member of the Councils of BBSRC and of NERC; Defra’s Science Advisory Council; and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

Over some 40 years, her research has examined the interface between science, policy-making, and the public. She was appointed CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours, 2012, for services to Scientific Research.