Ian White was Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bath until August 2024, and was previously Master of Jesus College, van Eck Professor of Engineering, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He gained his BA and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge in 1980 and 1984, and was then appointed a Research Fellow and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Cambridge before becoming Professor of Physics at the University of Bath in 1990. He moved in 1996 to the University of Bristol, before returning to the University of Cambridge in October 2001. At Cambridge Ian White has also previously held the roles of Head of the School of Technology and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Affairs.
Ian White is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is an Editor-in-Chief of Electronics Letters.