Sir John Alexander David Aston is a British statistician, Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) at the Home Office (2018–2020), and Professor of Statistics, Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge. From 2021 he is the Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life.[1] And from July 2021 he has also served as a non-executive director on the board of the UK Statistics Authority.

Aston earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in statistics from Imperial College London and McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.[2] He was an academic at the University of Warwick and at Academia Sinica in Taiwan, before becoming a professor at the University of Cambridge.[3]

Aston was one of the 23 attendees of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) during the early stage of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic owing to his CSA role at the time.[4]

Personal life

He and his wife, Karri, have three children.[2]

Honours

He was knighted in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to statistics and public policymaking.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Elections" (PDF). Cambridge University Reporter.
  2. ^ a b "John Aston". National Institute of Statistical Sciences. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Professor John Aston". Centre for Science and Policy. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ Sample, Ian (24 April 2020). "Who's who on secret scientific group advising UK government?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. ^ "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B2.
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