Prof John Wood CBE

Principal of the Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London; Chair of the European Research Area Board

John graduated from Sheffield University in 1971 in metallurgy and undertook research at Cambridge University for his PhD.  He remained at Cambridge until 1978 when he took up a lectureship at the Open University. In 1989 he became Cripps Professor of Materials Engineering at Nottingham University and Head of Department and subsequently became Dean of Engineering in 1998 and became Chief Executive of the Council for the Central Laboratories of the Research Councils (CCLRC) from 2001 to 2007 on leave from Nottingham University. His research has been in the area of materials processing of non-equilibrium structures where he has over 240 publications and 14 patents. 

John Wood has received many awards and prizes including the Citizen of Honour of Cluj-Napoca (the capital of Transylvania) for his "help in restructuring materials engineering education in Romania". He has held a number of directorships and consultancies within industry and acted as an adviser on materials issues to governments. He has chaired a number of key national and European science and technology panels. He is on the Advisory Board of the British Library and he is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr Mike Clifford

Associate Professor School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nottingham

Dr Michael Clifford has lectured at the University of Nottingham since 1998. He has taught a wide range of subjects including professional Studies, Computational and Numerical Techniques, Further Mathematical Techniques in Design and Production and Fibre Reinforced Composites and Design. He has over seventy academic publications, including teaching case studies on the use of appropriate technology in further education. He also coordinates the Royal Academy of Engineering's Headstart programme at the University. He co-authored the undergraduate text book Introduction to Mechanical Engineering (part 1) earlier this year. He is well known for making his lectures more interesting for students in unusual ways including getting dressed into costume.

His research includes developing the use of banana skins and leaves as a fuel source! Since this uses minimal tools and technology, it could be used in communities all over Africa. Mike is working on a number of sustainable materials and technologies including yak wool, recycled banknotes, waste cardboard and vernonia oil — a naturally occurring resin found in Ethiopian plants.

Prof John Wibberley

Royal Agricultural College, RURCON Africa

Professor E John Wibberley is an agriculturalist and resource management consultant with a portfolio role in agriculture and rural development working internationally. He holds degrees of the University of Reading, England in agriculture and soil microbiology and his PhD is in agronomy.

He is Visiting Professor at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, and University of Guelph, Canada, and Visiting Fellow in International & Rural Development at the University of Reading. John also serves as Facilitator/Coordinator for the Communications Unit of in RURCON, an otherwise all-African team of Christian Development leaders and practitioners in sub-Saharan Africa. He is Honorary Secretary of the Council for Awards of Royal Agricultural Societies and a member of the RASE Council. As well as being an international Nuffield Farming Scholar John has worked with Farmers’ Groups for 30 years, especially in Africa and the UK, where he was Chairman of the UK Farm Crisis Network (FCN) for five years. John Wibberley - was Professor of Agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester until 1989 and since 1994 is Visiting Professor in International and Rural Development, Reading University

Professor Chris Lavy OBE

Visiting professor of orthopaedic surgery Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Oxford

Chris Lavy qualified at St Bartholomews Medical College in 1982 after a BSc in Anthropology at University College London. He trained in orthopaedic surgery on the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital rotation and in 1992 became a consultant at the Middlesex and UCH. In 1996 he left to work with the Christian medical charity CBM International and was given a personal professorship at the University of Malawi College of Medicine. There he overssw the setting up of an orthopaedic teaching hospital and research centre in Malawi with Cure International and a regional international training scheme in orthopaedic surgety with the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa. He remains of the council of the college and is a chairman of the orthopaedic fellowship exam. 

In 2006 he returned to the UK and is visiting professor and honorary consultant at the Nuffied Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences. He also has an honorary chair ath the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Malawi. His clinical interests include surgery of the spine hip and knee, and his research interests are focused around Africa and the Tropics.

Dr. Elaine Storkey

President of Tearfund UK

Dr Elaine Storkey is a well known and respected author, conference speaker and broadcaster especially in the realm of theology and sociology. In addition to speaking on the BBC World Service and Radio 4 Thought for the Day, she has been a columnist for The Independent and associate editor of Third Way. Since 1987 Elaine has been a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and is chair of Fulcrum (an Anglican evangelical think tank). Past posts include the Executive Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, lecturer in Theology at Kings College London and more recently Oxford University. Dr. Storkey is currently Vice President of the University of Gloucestershire.

Elaine has visited Tearfund projects in numerous countries including South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Mexico.