Professor Sir Jim McDonald BSc MSc PhD DSc CEng GBE FREng FRSE is a non-executive director at NPL.
Jim joined Strathclyde University in 1984, following seven years in the power industry, and was appointed to the Rolls-Royce Chair in Electrical Power Systems in 1993. He became Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde in March 2009.
He chairs two of the pan-Scotland research pools in Engineering and Energy. He co-chairs - with the First Minister - the Energy Advisory Board. He is Chairman of the Independent Glasgow Economic Leadership Board and the Board of the Glasgow Science Centre. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Board, an Independent Director of Scottish Power Energy Networks Holdings and a Non-Executive Director of the Weir Group.
In the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours List on 16 June 2012, Professor McDonald was awarded a Knighthood for services to education, energy and the economy. In September 2013 Professor McDonald received the 'Outstanding Contribution as a Business Leader', recognition at The Herald's Inaugural Inspiring City Awards event. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Institute of Physics.
Sir Jim was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 King’s New Year’s Honours list. The award is for his Services to Engineering, to Education and to Energy.