As of 1 July 2019, Dr. Bryan Wells (UK) serves as NATO’s Chief Scientist. In this role, he chairs the NATO Science and Technology Board (STB), representing the Board to the Secretary General and the North Atlantic Council and coordinating NATO’s Science and Technology (S&T) program. He also serves as senior scientific advisor to NATO leadership, ensuring timely S&T advice to senior decision makers, and leads the Office of the Chief Scientist at NATO Headquarters.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Wells was Head of S&T Policy, Strategic Research, and International Engagement at the UK Ministry of Defence, providing strategic policy advice on international and research aspects of the Ministry’s S&T program. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Chair of the European Defence Agency’s Research & Technology Steering Board.
Dr. Wells joined the UK Ministry of Defence in 1988. He was Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence from 1989 to 1992 and held posts including Deputy Director of NATO Policy (1997–1999), Director of Counter-Proliferation and Arms Control (2002–2008), and Head of Administrative Justice on secondment to the Lord Chancellor’s Department (1999–2002).
He was educated at St Catherine’s College, Oxford (1978–1985) and Merton College, Oxford (1985–1988), earning a BA (Hons) in Chemistry in 1982 and a DPhil in 1985. He conducted postdoctoral research at Oxford University as a Junior Research Fellow at Merton College for three years.