Arts Global

Lord Alec Broers is a microelectronics engineer who grew up in Australia. He obtained a physics degree at Melbourne University before gaining entrance to Cambridge University as a choral scholar. At Cambridge he completed a PhD in engineering.

After Cambridge Lord Broers worked for nineteen years in the research and development laboratories of IBM in the US, where his research concentrated on the miniaturisation of electronics. The work eventually led to the ability to make components with nanometre dimensions. He became an IBM Fellow and ultimately held responsibility for the advanced development of IBM's electronic chips.

Lord Broers returned to Cambridge as Professor of Electrical Engineering in 1984, and continued his work on nanotechnology. He became Master of Churchill College in 1990 and Head of the Department of Engineering in 1996, and was Vice-Chancellor of the University from 1996 until 2003.

Lord Broers was a non-executive director of Lucas Industries and Vodafone for many years and has served on the Boards of several high technology start-up companies. He was knighted in 1998 and became President of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2000. He was made a Life Peer for his contributions to engineering and higher education in 2004, and was Chairman of the House of Lord Select Committee for Science and Technology from 2004 until 2007.

Throughout his career he has maintained a close interest in music.