Roland Clift is a

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

professor widely known for his work and media contributions on the topic of

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

Career

Clift was born 19 November 1942Debrett's People of Today
Roland Clift and studied Chemical Engineering at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, achieving first class honours in 1964. He received a PhD from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1970 for work on particle-fluid interactions, and this was his main research area (at McGill and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

then Surrey University) in subsequent years. He became Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Surrey in 1981. His growing interest in the application of engineering principles to environmental issues led him in 1992 to establish the Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES) at the University of Surrey, a multidisciplinary group of engineers, scientists and social scientists. In this Centre he was an advocate of

Clean Technology Clean technology, also called cleantech or climate tech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant Efficient energy use, energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, o ...

Life Cycle Assessment Life cycle assessment (LCA), also known as life cycle analysis, is a methodology for assessing the impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. For instance, in the case of a manufact ...

and

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. He is presently professor emeritus at the CES. He has made a number of criticisms of government policy with respect to energy and the environment. He moved to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 2018. He is an adjunct professor at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

Positions

Member,

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the monarch, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues. It was closed on 1 April 2011, as part of the Co ...

(1996–2005). Visiting Professor in Environmental systems analysis at Chalmers University, Sweden. Expert Adviser to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Science and Technology Committee enquiry into Energy Efficiency (2004–05). Member of the Science Advisory Council of the UK

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

(Defra) (2006–). Vice-President of Environmental Protection UK. President of the International Society for

Industrial Ecology Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resource ...

2009–10.''The Chemical Engineer'' issue 810 Dec 2008/Jan 2009, page 62 Visiting Professor at Chalmers University of Technology since 2000.

Honours

He is a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Institution of Chemical Engineers The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. The Institution has offices in Rugby, Warwickshire, ...

, the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

and the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. In 1994 he was made an OBE for his initiative in promoting research in

,Royal Academy of Engineering
Press Release 2 June 2003 and a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 2006 for services to the environment. He received the Sir Frank Whittle Medal of the

for 2003, for 'an outstanding and sustained engineering achievement contributing to the well-being of the nation'. He received the 2007 Hanson Medal and the 2016 George E. Davis Medal of the

Selected publications

*Clift, R., Grace, J. R., and Weber, M. E., (1978) ''Bubbles, Drops and Particles'' Academic Press *Davidson, J. F., Clift, R., and Harrison, D., (eds) (1985) ''Fluidization'', 2nd ed Academic Press *Clift, R., and Seville, J. P. K., (eds)(1993) ''Gas Cleaning at High Temperatures'' Blackie *Clift, R. (1993) ''Journal of Cleaner Production'', 1, 3–4, pp 155–159 "Life Cycle Assessment and Ecolabelling" *Clift, R., & Wright, L., (2000) ''Technological Forecasting and Social Change'', 65, 3, pp 281–295 "Relationships Between Environmental Impacts and Added Value Along the Supply Chain" *Azapagic, A., Perdan, S., and Clift, R., (eds) (2004) ''Sustainable Development in Practice – case studies for engineers and scientists'', John Wiley & Sons *Wilson, K.C., Addie, G. R., Sellgren, A. and Clift, R. (2006) Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps (3rd ed.). Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. New York. *Clift, R. (2006) ''Energy'', 32, pp. 262–268 "Climate Change and Energy Policy: The Importance of Sustainability Arguments" *Clift, R. (2006) ''Chemical Engineering Science'', 61, pp 4179–4187 "Sustainable development and its implications for chemical engineering" *Clift, R. and Mulugetta, Y. (2007) ''The Chemical Engineer'', October, pp. 24–26 "A Plea for Common Sense (and Biomass)"

References

External links

Centre for Environmental Strategy
University of Surrey * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clift, Roland British chemical engineers Engineering academics British sustainability advocates Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Surrey Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people English environmentalists Industrial ecology Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)