Professor James Ron Leigh (C Eng., C Math., FIET, FIMA) studied Electrical Engineering at Sheffield College of Technology, winning the Freshgate Scholarship. He has an MSc in Maths and a PhD in Control Engineering. He worked as a Systems Engineer at United Steel Companies and as Head of Control Systems Development at British Steels Corporate Labs. As Post-Above-Reader at the University of Westminster, he set up university-wide interdisciplinary research projects and was Founder/Director of the Industrial Control Centre and the Government/Industry funded Advanced Control Club. His specialisation continues to be assisting the transfer of useful technology from academia to industry. He has served the IET in several capacities, particularly in relation to control applied to biotechnology.