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Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA serves as Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (South Antrim, Ulster Unionist Party) in 2016. Formerly Chair of the Committee for Finance, Steve now sits on the Windsor Framework Committee and Committee for Finance, and is Chair of the All Party Group for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Chair of the All Party Group for Aerospace, Defence, Space and Security; Vice Chair of the All Party Group for Climate Action and Member of the All Party Group for Ethnic Minorities. He served as Party Leader from 2019-2021. Steve is a member of the Steering Committees for the British Irish Parliamentary Association and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and a board member of Christian Aid Ireland. 
 
Steve comes from a diverse background of business and government service. Following a thirty-two year career in the Royal Navy where he served in many senior operational roles, including commanding two nuclear-powered submarines, Steve was the founding Chief Executive of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and a CEO at a major University. Steve holds a PhD and MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and a MA from King’s College London in Defence Studies. 

Alastair Carson is the Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Stormont. In this role, he helps to shape and advise Northern Ireland’s strategy and policies across agriculture, the environment, fisheries, forestry and rural development.  

Dr Marie Cowan MRIA MIoD PGeo is the Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, a senior leadership team member at the British Geological Survey (BGS), this includes providing strategic advice to BGS in Wales, chairing its People, Culture and Skills Working Group and sitting on its research ethics committee. Marie is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, elected member of its council and VP for Membership and Sustainability. She is a board member of the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences at UCD and advisory board member to Geosolutions Leeds at University of Leeds. Marie is a founding member of the new UK Geoscience Strategic Alliance which is focussed on fulfilling the security of future skills supply for this £50BN+ sector currently with 150k jobs.
 
Marie chairs Northern Ireland’s Geothermal Advisory Committee for the DfE; in 2023 Marie was awarded the Geological Society of London Energy Group medal. She co-established a 15-member partnership to successfully bid for the current £17M PEACEPLUS GEMINI geothermal energy momentum project on the island of Ireland. Marie is also a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and holds an IoD diploma in Company Direction. Marie is a Professional Geologist with the Institute of Geologists of Ireland, holds a 1st Class Hons. B.Sc. Geology and Ph.D. in Geology from QUB. 

Karen Kerr (BEd Hons, PhD, SFHEA, FRSB) is a Senior Lecturer (Education) at Queen’s University Belfast to include Programme Director for the PGCE and co-ordinator for secondary-level science programme. Karen started her career as a Science teacher, both in primary and secondary schools. Science (Biology) education is her research focus, having run projects and published in the areas of outdoor, environmental education and Education for Sustainability. Karen is a board member for Northern Ireland Environment Link. She is a co-founder of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland’s (ESAI) Biology Education Special Interest Group (SIG). Dr Kerr has been awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and is on their Teaching Policy Advisory Group. 

Dr Kirstin Lemon is the Science Programme Manager at the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, part of the British Geological Survey. Kirstin’s role focuses on the use of geoscience as an enabler for sustainable development, especially in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Kirstin is a nominated member of the Royal Irish Academy’s Climate Change and Environmental Sciences multidisciplinary committee. She is a nominated member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council and an expert adviser to the UK National Commission on UNESCO on climate action and the role of the UN Sustainable Development Goals within UNESCO Global Geoparks.

Dr Rupert Lewis is the Deputy Executive Chair at the Natural Environment Research Council - UKRI, a position held since April 2025. Tasked with securing the scientific resilience of NERC to support our environmental science community and government, business and industry stakeholders that underpins NERC as a scientifically credible funder and resilient organisation within UKRI.
Before joining NERC, Rupert was the Chief Science Policy Officer at The Royal Society from November 2019 to April 2025, where responsibilities included supporting scientific excellence and its application for societal benefit. Rupert has extensive experience in government, notably as Director of the Government Office for Science from February 2016 to November 2019, which supports the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, in providing advice to the Prime Minister and to the Cabinet.  His previous roles include head of Automotive policy, deputy Chief Scientific Adviser (Business Department), and head of Climate Adaptation policy. He also set up the Prime Minister’s ‘Business Council for Britain’ during the financial crisis. Rupert has a BSc in Marine Biology, a PhD in genetics, and worked on aquaculture development and start-ups in SE Asia, South Africa, and Europe prior to joining Government in 2002. 

Andrew joined the Physiological Society in 2016 as Head of Policy and Communications and now leads on developing and delivering the engagement strategy with policy makers and key stakeholders as Associate Director of Strategy and External Relations. Prior to joining The Physiological Society, Andrew delivered in policy and research roles and worked directly in Westminster, Holyrood and in party politics.  He has a Masters of Chemistry with Advanced Chemistry from the University of St Andrews . He brings a wealth of experience across science, parliamentary activity, and public affairs. 

Stephanie Metzger is a Policy Adviser at the Â鶹AV. After working in government in the United States, she moved to the UK to complete a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Cambridge. Her background in policy and economics helps bridge the gap between science and policy on complex questions about chemicals, waste, and pollution. Her current work is focused on PFAS risk management, UK chemicals strategy, and international action on pollution at the UN.  

Prof Mokaya OBE FÂ鶹AV FRS received his BSc in Chemistry from the University of Nairobi in 1988 and was awarded his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1992. Following a Research Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was awarded an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship in 1996. Mokaya joined the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham as a lecturer in Materials Chemistry in 2000 where he is now Professor of Materials Chemistry and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Global Engagement. He joined the University of Sheffield as Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in June 2024. He is a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder (2017-2022). He was awarded OBE in 2022 for services to the Chemical Sciences and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023.
His research interests are on the design, synthesis and characterisation of new forms of sustainable porous materials and the study of their structure-property relations. The research involves exploring fundamentally new synthesis methods that are simpler, cheaper, and more efficient and offer valorisation routes to materials with optimised properties for targeted sustainable energy applications. Robert will succeed Dr Annette Doherty as President of the Â鶹AV in 2026 having won election to the role in 2024.

Alex is Head of Policy for Infrastructures and Resilience at the Royal Academy of Engineering. In her eight years at the Academy Alex has been involved in a range of policy areas including leading the external review of the government’s National Security Risk Assessment methodology and the Academy’s COVID-19 response programme. She currently oversees influential policy programmes on engineering responsible AI and maintaining safe, healthy, resilient infrastructure. 

Hanagh Winter (BSc Hons, PGCE, PhD) coordinates STEM Ambassadors Northern Ireland from Armagh Observatory & Planetarium, supporting a network of more than 1,400 volunteers who inspire and engage young people through STEM outreach. With a background in secondary science education, medical research into circadian biology, and partnership development in the clinical research sector, she focuses on widening participation and connecting schools with the skills needed for Northern Ireland’s future.