Ken Parsons (born 1953) was born and spent his early life in the North East of England. His early academic promise was evident in his primary school and he gained a place at grammar school where in 1971 he achieved grades for a place at Loughborough University from where he graduated with a degree in Ergonomics in 1974. After a year at Hughes Hall, Cambridge University in 1980 he was awarded a PhD from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at Southampton University He returned to Loughborough University and founded the in 1981. He went on to gain international renown in the field of Human Thermal Environments and to be an authority in the field. He has published a number of definitive texts.