MagGrow is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Anthony Furness, as Chief Scientific Officer, MagGrow UK, following three years’ service to the company as MagGrow Research Consultant. A Chartered Engineer and Doctoral-qualified practitioner in research, he engaged with MagGrow on a consultancy basis to help establish the company’s research framework and associated strategy, and assist in researching and formulating the mechanistic foundations for MagGrow’s magnetic-assisted sprayer technology.
Having pursued an earlier career in academe, principally within the Department of Physics, Keele University, he moved from a primarily medical engineering focus to a more general, industry-oriented, technological focus and in 1998 took early retirement to concentrate on technical consultancy. During this period, Anthony developed an eclectic mix of consultancy activities, gained through experience obtained in a wide range of industrial projects, embracing research, development, engineering design, corporate development and project management, Deming Total Quality and quality assurance of measurement, automatic identification, industrial-facing European framework projects and continued links with academe through Visiting professorships.
The combination of European involvement and academic links led to a project on Precision Livestock Farming (Bright Animal), which in turn led to an invitation to become a Visiting Professor at Harper Adams University, a position he has now held for over six years. This engagement has cultivated a strong interest in electromagnetic interactions in biological systems, engineering applied to precision agriculture and the link with MagGrow on foundational studies. The consultancy base has also helped develop a strong focus on strategic thought-leadership with abilities to generate, analyze and evaluate concepts, research models and polices.
Anthony was instrumental is establishing MagGrow’s partnership with Professor Mike Coey and his team within the AMBER facility at Trinity College, Dublin.
Having established a keen interest in, and a keen commitment to, MagGrow and its objectives, Anthony has contributed to the scientific and technological foundational development of the company which will now be extended in assisting the CEO and the Executive team of Agricultural Magnetics Ltd (MagGrow) in developing the company’s corporate strategy with regard to research, corporate vision, product and business development, and exercise leadership in progressing the scientific and technological standing of the company.
Anthony and his team based in Dublin and in the UK at MagGrow’s new Agricultural Research Centre will continue to develop intellectual property (IP) and associated technology. In that regard, they will work closely with the Crop Science team.
