1. Alice Petry Gast was born on May 25,1958 and is an American researcher, was the 16th president of Imperial College London, and sits on the board of directors of Chevron.
36 Facts About Alice Gast
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Alice Gast completed her postgraduate work at Princeton University, receiving an MA and PhD in chemical engineering, with thesis on Polymer-Induced Phase Transitions in Colloidal Suspensions and was a Hertz Fellow.
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Alice Gast is the co-author of Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, a classic textbook on colloid and surface phenomena, and has presented named lectures at several of the nation's leading research institutions.
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Alice Gast was named president of Imperial College London on 3 January 2014, taking up post on 1 September 2014.
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From August 2006 to August 2014, Alice Gast was the 13th president of Lehigh University.
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Alice Gast is not the first Lehigh president recruited from MIT.
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Alice Gast expanded the university's work in and with the City of Bethlehem, increased the size of the university's footprint with the addition of the 750-acre Stabler Campus, increased the university's international presence and has perpetuated and expanded innovative new approaches to student-directed learning with the launch of Lehigh's Mountaintop Campus initiative.
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Alice Gast commented that the gift would "provide opportunities for our students to gain a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that exist in an interdependent and highly connected global society".
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In mid-April, 2009, Alice Gast moved forward on a commitment to the environment by pledging to make environmental sustainability and climate change an institutional priority at the university.
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Alice Gast signed the Lehigh University Climate Commitment at an Earth Day celebration.
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In signing the Climate Commitment, Alice Gast said that safeguarding the environment is an issue the Lehigh community aggressively embraces.
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In 2010, Alice Gast shared her educational expertise at the Lord Dearing Memorial Conference, a forum for accomplished educators to shape the debate on the future of education.
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Alice Gast presented in a session discussing the global economic crisis and higher education.
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In 2010, Alice Gast was selected as one of three new science envoys by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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Alice Gast was charged with encouraging US global engagement in science and technology.
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Alice Gast has traveled to the Central Asian and Caucasus regions, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan.
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Alice Gast has advised the White House, the State Department and the US scientific community about the knowledge and insights she has gained from her travels and interactions.
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In February 2011, a 16-member panel of scientists led by Alice Gast released a report after reviewing the scientific evidence related to the FBI investigation of the anthrax letters mailed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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Alice Gast stated in a news conference that "We find the scientific evidence to be consistent with their conclusions but not as definitive as stated".
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Alice Gast emphasized that this case rested on the complex interface between science and the law enforcement investigation.
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Alice Gast serves on a number of national advisory committees and boards, including the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is a member of the Academic Research Council for the Singapore Ministry of Education and the National Research Council Committee for Science, Technology, and the Law.
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In October 2012, Alice Gast was elected to the board of directors of the Chevron Corporation, one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide.
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Alice Gast is a member of the US Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative Steering Committee, and in 2011, she joined other national leaders in Washington, DC for the 25th anniversary of the Council on Competitiveness, a day marked by the public release of the council's long-awaited strategy to improve American competitiveness and spur economic recovery through increased manufacturing.
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Professor Alice Gast is Chair of the World Economic Forum Global University Leaders' Forum and is a member of the advisory board for the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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In 2006, Gast co-chaired a non-partisan committee that produced an extensive report on "Science and Security in a Post 911 World: A Report Based on Regional Discussions Between the Science and Security Communities Committee on a New Government" that was published by the National Academy of Sciences.
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In March 2009, Alice Gast authored an op-ed that appeared in Science magazine, in which she sounded a note of caution in the way that the short-term funding for scientific research contained in the US economic stimulus package will be spent.
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In recognition of her achievements, Alice Gast has received numerous awards and honors including the NAS Award for Initiatives in Research, the Colburn Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
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Alice Gast was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 for contributions to the understanding of the structure of complex fluids, especially polymeric and electro-rheological fluids, and to engineering education.
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Alice Gast was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.
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In October, 2008, Alice Gast was named one of the top 100 "Modern Era" engineers in the country, under the category of "Leadership" by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
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In June 2010, Alice Gast received an honorary degree from the University of Western Ontario at their 295th Convocation.
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Alice Gast has received honorary degrees from Notre Dame, the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie.
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In 2019 Alice Gast was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
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In 2020 Alice Gast was involved in an investigation of alleged workplace bullying and misconduct directed at junior members of Imperial College staff.
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Alice Gast has faced criticism for this role, due to the perceived disconnect between the fossil fuel policies of the company and the scientific mission of Imperial College London of which she was president.
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In protests, parts of the student body have requested that Alice Gast either resign from her position at Chevron or that at Imperial College.