Former Council member Ian Kenyon and Professor Philip Dickens have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours, securing a CBE and MBE respectively.

Ian’s connection with the University of Nottingham began in his undergraduate days, studying Civil Engineering before going on to qualify as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse.

Following a twenty-year career in the retail sector, Ian took his expertise into the charity sector as CFO of Cancer Research UK.

He then joined the Higher Education sector as the first CFO and Deputy CEO of UK Research & Innovation which brought together the seven UK Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England.

Ian was appointed Treasurer and Chair of Finance Committee for the university’s Council in January 2020, contributing his considerable understanding of the relationships between the Higher Education sector and the research funding organisations.

In this voluntary role, Ian’s expertise proved invaluable in helping Council provide senior oversight and strategy for the university and he acted as a keen ambassador for our role in education and the community.

He provided insight into a range of significant financial and broader university decisions, ranging from multi-million-pound investments in new IT systems, to international partnerships, to the acquisition of a new campus in Nottingham city centre.

Ian has continued his relationship with the university throughout his career, sponsoring scholarships to give disadvantaged students the opportunity of study at Nottingham that he so enjoyed.

Whether as CFO, Treasurer, volunteer or provider of wise counsel, Ian was an inspiration to all who work with him on University Council.

Meanwhile, Professor Philip Michael Dickens retired from the university in 2020, and is one of the founders of of Added Scientific – a Faculty of Engineering spin-out.

The 66-year-old is considered the first true expert by the UK’s Additive Manufacturing (AM) community. Commonly referred to in the popular media as 3D printing, it is his research that has helped demonstrate that AM is a must have technology for the UK manufacturing sector to survive, compete and flourish on a global basis.

He is credited by his peers as providing the foundations for the adoption of this technology and instrumental in ensuring that the UK has grasped the potential of and maximised the benefits it offers.

He was the first academic worldwide to investigate multi-pass welding to make 3D metal shapes and the first to show the technical feasibility of injection moulding into stereolithography tool cavities.

His work led to a patent for its build style that is now used worldwide to make patterns for investment casting, a key industry underpinning aerospace and other high technology products.