New Year Honours

Newcastle University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Chris Day said: "I am delighted to see that the outstanding work of colleagues at Newcastle University has been recognised in this way. This is well deserved and testament to their talents and expertise."

Professor Phil Blythe

Phil Blythe is Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems, Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, Vice President IET and former Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport (2015-2021).

He has been appointed a CBE for services to Science and Engineering in Transport and Government.

Professor Blythe is a distinguished engineer who has made an outstanding contribution to the transport sector. Phil’s academic focus has been the development of Intelligent Transport Systems – the use of information, communications and computing technology applied to transport.

He plays a leading role in optimising the relationship between technology and policy in the transport field, as recognised by his appointment as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Transport. He was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, in recognition of his exceptional and continuing contribution.

Phil has devoted his academic career to the development of the research area of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), which is essentially the use of Information, communications and computing technology applied to transport. He established the first MSc level module in the UK in the field of ITS in 1997 and this has proved to be highly popular with the MSc and undergraduate students and CPD (Continuing Professional Development) delegates.

Over the years at Newcastle University, Phil’s research portfolio covers an extensive range of areas where ITS has been applied to transport, including road to vehicle communications, electromobility and future intelligent infrastructure - all reflected in his research-led teaching in ITS and e-Services. His primary research is forward looking and attempts to bridge the technology-policy gap in terms of what technologies may evolve to meet future policy objectives or indeed influence policy thinking to meet the three main challenges currently facing transport - congestion, climate change and future energy vectors.