Michael Sterling

Sir Michael John Howard Sterling FREng (born 9 February 1946) is a British professor, and a former Vice-Chancellor of the Brunel University (1990 to 2001) and the University of Birmingham (2001 to 2009).

In 1964, Sterling joined Associated Electrical Industries (later General Electric Company plc) as a student apprentice. He was awarded a scholarship to the University of Sheffield to read electronic and electrical engineering. He graduated with a 1st class honours degree and subsequently a PhD degree in computer control in 1971.

He joined Sheffield as a lecturer and was promoted to senior lecturer in 1978. He then moved to the University of Durham as a professor of Engineering in 1980, before being appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Brunel University in 1990. He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1991. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham from October 2001 to April 2009. In July 2009 he was appointed chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the agency responsible for funding big science in the United Kingdom.