Deputy Director, Institute for Security Science and Technology, Imperial College London

Dr Deeph Chana joined Imperial College in July 2012 as a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Security Science and Technology and he currently splits his time between the Institute and consulting on technology development and strategy – particularly with SMEs. His recent experience in the private sector has seen him involved with developing innovative products ranging from real-time gas analyser devices, for explosives detection at airports, to crowd analytics software solutions for smart cities.

Prior to this, Deeph worked as a senior UK government science policy adviser on critical infrastructure security in Whitehall. He was responsible for strategizing and delivering the Department for Transport’s security and resilience research programme, coordinating key technical aspects of the UK’s cross-Whitehall CONTEST strategy, and for setting national security policy. He delivered advice to four Secretaries of State – covering incidents including the 2005 London Tube bombings and the liquid explosives aviation plot of 2006 – and served as chairman on key national and international security technology policy working groups and committees. Deeph has led numerous multi-lateral negotiations and technical policy engagements with senior foreign delegations and has been invited to speak on a broad range of security science topics in the UK and abroad. He has initiated national research calls in security science and technology and has acted as a board member and bid reviewer for programmes in the Home Office, the US Department of Homeland Security and the EU’s Framework Programme for Research.

Deeph trained as a Physicist at King’s College London, obtaining his PhD in 2001. He has worked on a broad range of applied and theoretical research topics including, inverse problems, image processing, optical data storage, antenna design, diabetic retinopathy and the computational modelling of space debris. He maintains an interest in a broad range of topics associated with security science and technology.