Alison McLeod
Director – Photonics Scotland
Technology Scotland
Kirsty Annand
Head of PGR Enhancement and Development
University of Strathclyde
Matthew Wasley
Head of Emerging and Enabling Technologies
Innovate UK Business Connect
Alison McLure
Head of IOP Scotland
Alison McLeod
Alison is Technology Scotland’s Photonics Scotland Director. Alison is responsible for the Photonics Scotland network; connecting members with the support they need, fostering cross-collaboration, representing the interests of the network and sector to Government and other stakeholders, as well as planning and running specific events and activities for the Photonics Scotland network and beyond.
Alison has over 20 years of experience working in academic, industrial and consultancy roles. After achieving her PhD in Photonics she worked as a Research Associate before leaving academia and joining industry in the role of technical sales/account manager in the health physics and photonics sectors. Alison then moved to a role dedicated to project management and proposal writing for EU funded projects, gaining extensive experience across a wide variety of collaborative research topics.
Kirsty Annand
Kirsty graduated in 2018 with a PhD in Materials and Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Glasgow and is currently Head of Postgraduate (PGR) Enhancement and Development at the University of Strathclyde.
Kirsty has over 10 years of experience in supporting delivery of Higher Education Institution (HEI) programmes of Government national importance, via for example management of vibrant Centres for Doctoral Training, and leadership of a UK-wide National Quantum Hub in Quantum Enhanced Imaging (QuantIC). These roles have had a particular focus on supporting the people agenda, and on developing a pipeline of PGR talent needed to support successful UK economic growth, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to do so.
Kirsty is passionate about enthusing and educating young people about photonics and quantum technologies, and championing young women and girls in this field. She is excited to play some small part in developing the future photonics workforce, addressing the skills gap between current educational provision and future needs of the sector.
Matthew Wasley
Mat is Head of Emerging and Enabling Technologies at Innovate UK Business Connect. The team drives innovation and connections across technologies including photonics, semiconductors, bacteriophage, neuromorphic computing, neurotechnology, quantum, sensors, and more. Mat began his career in defence science with the Defence Research Agency (now QinetiQ), moving from applied research to project management and business development in a variety of roles in industry and academia.
Alison McLure
As a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, Alison worked for the Meteorological Office for ten years, after graduating in physics from the University of Aberdeen. Her variety of jobs included researching and developing instruments for the tops of mountains and forecasting the weather for the RAF, the BBC and British Antarctic Survey.
She built her business skills by running a yacht marina in the West Coast of Scotland, before returning to the city to join the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department to work in farming policy. She also worked for the Scottish Leadership Foundation as their People Exchange Manager, before joining the Institute of Physics.
She has a postgraduate Diploma in Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education and in her spare time can be found doing citizen science surveys of birds, bumblebees and butterflies. She also has a love of cold places and in her holidays has led young people on expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic.
