Sir Paul James Curran (born 17 May 1955) was president of

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

between August 2010 and June 2021. Sir Paul is now professor emeritus. Following a period of significant progress, City joined the University of London Federation in September 2016. He served previously as vice-chancellor of

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The universi ...

(2005–10) and deputy vice-chancellor at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, where he is currently a visiting professor. As a member of the senior management team at Southampton, progressing from head of geography to dean of science, Curran was credited with high-profile leadership as head of the

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History Winchester School of Art (WSA) was founded in 1 ...

, part of the

Biography

A former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

research scientist and advisor to the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

, Curran's research interests include investigations into global environmental change, in particular the movement of carbon between the atmosphere and forests. His award-winning work in Earth observation, involving the use of satellite sensors to monitor the environment at local to global scales, is widely published and he is the youngest recipient of the Remote Sensing Society's gold medal. He is chair of the MS Society, NHS National Joint Registry and NERC Advisory Committee on Scientific Leadership; non-executive director and trustee of the Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd.; president o
the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society
and patron o
The Conversation UK
He was chair of the national Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB), where his 2015 report on hospital doctors' contracts sparked controversy in a stated attempt to the move to seven-day-a-week healthcare services; founding chair of the board of trustees for The Conversation UK; Chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) Board and led the employers' negotiating team in the national pay negotiations; a Member of the

Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British Research Councils UK, research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. History NERC began in 1965 when several envir ...

(NERC) and its remuneration committee and the chair of its Audit & Risk Assurance Committee; the chair of the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engl ...

(HEFCE), Higher Education Workforce Steering Group; a Member of the

Quality Assurance Agency The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (usually referred to simply as the Quality Assurance Agency or QAA) is the United Kingdom higher education sector's independent expert quality body. It has a remit to maintain and enhance the qu ...

(QAA) Board and its Remuneration and Audit Committees; a member of the board of trustees fo
London Higher
and a member of Universities UK and its Research Policy and Innovation & Growth Policy Committees. Curran received a BSc from the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

in 1976, an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

in 1998 and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

and

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

degrees from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1979 and 1991 respectively. He is a Chartered Geographer and a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society
and

Chartered Management Institute The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

. His PhD was followed by academic appointments at the universities of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

before moving to

NASA Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

in 1988. He held established chairs in physical geography at the University of Wales, Swansea, from 1990 and the

from 1993.

Personal life

Curran is married, with one daughter. His leisure interests include boating and middle-distance running.

Honours

In 2007, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

approved the award of the

Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...

of the

for his 'international development of geographical science through remote sensing and Earth observation'. Curran holds honorary doctorates from Grand École ESCP, Paris (2017), and Peter the Great University St Petersburg, Russia (2019), and is a Freeman of the City of London (2017). Curran was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to higher education.

Select works

*Phenology of Vegetation (2011) *Evaluation of

Envisat Envisat ("Environmental Satellite") is a large Earth-observing satellite which has been inactive since 2012. It is still in orbit and considered space debris. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), it was the world's largest civilian Ear ...

(2011) *Validating the MERIS (2010) *Indian Ocean Tsunami (2007) *Landcover Classification (2007) *Evaluation of the MERIS (2007) *Relating SAR Image Texture (2005) *The MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (2004) *A Comparison of Texture Measures (2004) *The Slope of the Playing Field (1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Paul Living people 1955 births British geographers Place of birth missing (living people) Presidents of City, University of London Academics of the University of Southampton NASA people Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of the University of Bristol Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Academics of Bournemouth University Academics of the University of Reading Academics of the University of Sheffield Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Royal Geographical Society Patron's Medal