Steven Kenneth Chapman (born 1959) is a British chemist and academic. He served as

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, between 2015 and 2024. Before that, he was Principal and Vice-Chancellor of

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Early life

Steve Chapman was born on 12 May 1959. Chapman studied at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

, where he received a First Class BSc (Hons) degree in

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

(1980) and completed a

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 ...

in Chemistry (1983). Steve Chapman carried out his postdoctoral studies at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

on a NATO Research Fellowship from 1983 to 1985.

Career

Chapman returned to the UK in 1985 and was a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

from 1985 to 1995, and Professor of Biological Chemistry from 1996. In 2000, he became Head of the University's School of Chemistry, and in August 2006, was appointed as Vice-Principal of Planning, Resources and Research Policy at the University. Externally, Chapman's roles have included the

HEFCE 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 ...

TRAC(T) Steering Group, the Research and Knowledge Transfer Committee of the

Scottish Funding Council The Scottish Funding Council (Scottish Gaelic: '; SFC), formally the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, is the non-departmental public body charged with funding Scotland's further and higher education institutions, inclu ...

, and as a representative on

LERU The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a consortium of European research universities. History and overview The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 20 ...

and

Universitas 21 Universitas 21 (U21) is an international network of research-intensive universities. Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1997 with 11 members, it has grown to include twenty-nine member universities in nineteen countries and territories. The uni ...

. He was a member of the Board of UCEA and was a previous member of the Board of Directors of Edinburgh Research and Innovation Limited. He has published over 200 research publications and in 2001 received the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

Interdisciplinary Award for major contributions to science at the Chemistry/Biology interface. In 2005 Chapman became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Chapman was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(CBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to higher education as Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt. In April 2015, Chapman commenced his role as Vice-Chancellor and President of

, Western Australia. After 17 years as a Vice-Chancellor in the United Kingdom and Australia, he retired on 31 July 2024.

References

: : : : : : : {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Stephen 1959 births Living people Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of Newcastle University Academics of Heriot-Watt University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English expatriates in Australia Academic staff of Edith Cowan University