NERC Executive Chair
Professor Louise Heathwaite
Professor Louise Heathwaite CBE FRS is the Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Professor Heathwaite is a Distinguished Professor in the Lancaster Environment Centre and was previously Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise at Lancaster University.
She is a hydrochemist who combines field and modelling research to understand the environmental impact of land use on freshwater quality. Her work on nutrient runoff from agricultural land informs our understanding of eutrophication in rivers and underpins diffuse pollution models worldwide.
She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023 and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to scientific research and scientific advice to government.
Louise was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish Government for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment from 2012 to 2017. She was a member of UK Research and Innovation NERC Council from 2018 to 2021 and NERC Council from 2012 to 2018.
She served as chair of the Science Advisory Council of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2021 to 2024, stepping down as her term concluded.
Louise is currently an independent commissioner for the Geospatial Commission in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. She became the Executive Chair of NERC in March 2024.
Last updated: 22 July 2024