About

A traveller kneels at the edge of the earth and puts his head through the sphere of the fixed stars, revealing the machinery of the heavens beyond. — The Flammarion engraving, 1888

Hi, I'm Will.

I'm a Founding Researcher at Science Works. I spend my working life writing about and implementing ideas to speed up scientific breakthroughs.

Before Science Works, I looked after science and innovation in HM Treasury's Growth Unit. I did things like

Allocate £107 billion for research and development
Promote the use of advance market commitments as an industrial policy, e.g. quantum and AI hardware
Brief the Chancellor on how to reinvest £2 billion headroom from the UK's time outside Horizon Europe.

I haven't always been in science policy. I also spent a year helping to reform EU rules to let insurers invest £100bn into productive UK assets. That came after a busy 18 months working on Foreign Office spending, from the merger and aid cuts through to Ukraine.

I am a Civic Future Fellow and I enjoy reading, chess (2168 blitz peak), and rugby. In my youth, I held athletics records, debated in national competitions, and led a society that hosted speakers including PMs.