Keith Mason is the Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council

Science and Technology Facilities Council

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...

 (STFC) of the United Kingdom. He assumed the post on 1 April 2007 after the merger of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils

Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils

The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils was a UK government body that carried out civil research in science and engineering.- Activities :...

 (CCLRC) and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council was one of a number of Research Councils in the United Kingdom. It directed, coordinated and funded research in particle physics and astronomy for the people of the UK...

 (PPARC), having previously been chief executive of PPARC.

After a farming childhood on the Llyn Peninsula

Llyn Peninsula

The Llŷn Peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from north west Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the modern county and historic region of Gwynedd. The name is thought to be of Irish origin, and to have the same root Laigin in Irish as the word Leinster...

, Mason initially trained as an astronomer, studying for a BSc

BSC

BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...

 and PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in Physics at University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

, and was a candidate astronaut. He subsequently worked on X-ray astronomy at UC Berkeley before returning to the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory

Mullard Space Science Laboratory

The UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory is the United Kingdom's largest university space research group. MSSL is the Department of Space and Climate Physics of the University College London. UCL was one of the first universities in the world to conduct space research...

, eventually becoming a professor at UCL and director of the Mullard Laboratory in 2003.