George Hazel is the Director of City Development at the City of Edinburgh Council and has worked in Local Government for 13 years. He has also spent 11 years in academia where, under his guidance, the Department of Civil Engineering at Napier grew from one of the smallest to one of the most influential in the University.

He became Head of the Department of Civil and Transportation Engineering at Napier University in 1986 and became the first Professor of Transportation in Scotland in 1989.

He then moved to the private sector when he was appointed Director of TPA, now Oscar Faber TPA. Under his direction the business grew from almost nothing to a million pounds per annum fee income turnover in 3 years.

In August 1993 he became Director of Highways with Lothian Regional Council. The Department then became known as the Transportation Department. He now heads up the City Development Department of the City of Edinburgh Council. The Department has around 1200 staff and includes the functions of Planning, Building Control, Economic Development, Transportation and Property Management and Development.

He has also completed a PhD on Traffic Impact of Large Retail Developments and a MSc in Transportation.

He is a Visiting Professor at both Napier and Heriot-Watt Universities. The latter post is one of a limited number of professorships awarded nationally to "eminent" British Engineers by the Royal Academy of Engineers.

From 1 August 1999, Dr Hazel takes up a professorship at the Robert Gordon University. He will also be responsible for managing and directing the new commercial arm of the Centre for Transport Policy. The Centre, part of the University, is to open a new office in Edinburgh at which Dr Hazel will be based. Professor David Begg will continue to manage and direct the research and conference arm of the Centre.