Alice Petry Gast FREng (born May 25, 1958) is an American researcher, was the 16th president of Imperial College London, and sits on the board of directors of Chevron.
[3] She completed her postgraduate work at Princeton University, receiving an MA (1981) and PhD (1984) in chemical engineering,[3] with thesis on Polymer-Induced Phase Transitions in Colloidal Suspensions and was a Hertz Fellow.
As president, Gast led the college's strategy, including the development of its new 25-acre campus, Imperial West, and its links to government, industry, philanthropists and alumni.
In April 2012 Imperial's governing council agreed to separate into two the role of the rector (the head of the university), and create the senior positions of president and provost.
The role of president gives emphasis to Imperial's relationships with government, industry, philanthropists and alumni and enhances the college's ability to influence in the UK and overseas.
[3] During Gast's tenure, Lehigh completed a campus-wide strategic planning and implementation process, concluded a $500-million capital campaign and raised an additional $225 million in new resources for the university.
In 2011 the automotive executive Lee Iacocca, an alumnus of Lehigh University, gave $5 million in endowment to support the creation of a new international internship program.
Gast commented that the gift would "provide opportunities for our students to gain a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that exist in an interdependent and highly connected global society".
In mid-April, 2009, Gast moved forward on a commitment to the environment by pledging to make environmental sustainability and climate change an institutional priority at the university.
In February 2011, a 16-member panel of scientists led by Gast released a report after reviewing the scientific evidence related to the FBI investigation of the anthrax letters mailed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Panelists whose expertise included microbiology, medicine, physical chemistry, biochemistry and forensic science were not asked to judge the law enforcement investigation.
[3][10] Gast serves on a number of national advisory committees and boards, including the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), is a member of the Academic Research Council for the Singapore Ministry of Education and the National Research Council Committee for Science, Technology, and the Law.
In October 2012, Gast was elected to the board of directors of the Chevron Corporation, one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide.
John Watson, chairman of Chevron Corporation, said "Dr. Gast has tremendous technical and industry expertise that will be a valuable addition to our board discussions.
[3] In 2012, the Council on Competitiveness held a two-day conference at Lehigh University, titled "Leveraging the Talent Development Process to Drive Innovation."
[12] Gast and Gansler co-authored an op-ed in the July 11, 2008 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, citing a concern that the unintended effects of restrictive federal government policies on scientific research include impeding the nation's ability to be economically competitive and defend itself against potential threats.
"[13] In March 2009, Gast authored an op-ed that appeared in Science magazine, in which she sounded a note of caution in the way that the short-term funding for scientific research contained in the U.S. economic stimulus package will be spent.
[22] In 2020 Gast was involved in an investigation of alleged workplace bullying and misconduct directed at junior members of Imperial College staff.
[2] She has faced criticism for this role, due to the perceived disconnect between the fossil fuel policies of the company and the scientific mission of Imperial College London of which she was president.
The student-led campaign has the aim to divest Imperial College resources from arms, tobacco and fossil fuels, and to craft a new investment policy as a community.