New DfT Chief Scientific Adviser brings decades of clean-transport and energy expertise

Professor Patricia Thornley has been appointed as the new Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for the Department for Transport. She will join the DfT early next year, taking over from the Professor Sarah Sharples who on completing her CSA term was recently appointed as Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester.

image: DfT

Professor Thornley currently leads the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute at Aston University, and is recognised for more than 30 years of research and leadership in sustainable energy, bio-energy, clean transport and negative emissions technologies.

She has headed major national initiatives – including the Supergen Bioenergy Hub and the Clean Maritime Policy Unit – demonstrating her ability to translate academic research into real-world impact.

In her new role she will oversee the integration of high-quality science and engineering evidence into transport policy, helping to shape the UK’s approach to decarbonisation, clean mobility and infrastructure innovation.

DfT’s Permanent Secretary Jo Shanmugalingam welcomed the appointment, noting that “science, innovation and technology are at the heart of how we’re modernising transport for today’s world.”

On her appointment, Professor Thornley said, “Transport touches on the lives of practically everyone and so it is a huge honour and privilege to be appointed as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Transport.”

According to DfT, this appointment reinforces the government’s commitment to embedding rigorous, evidence-based scientific advice at the core of decision-making as the UK moves towards its net-zero and clean-transport ambitions.