Luke is Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Manchester and Professor of Science and Technology Policy and Management in the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research at Manchester Business School. He has been on the staff of its precursor institute, PREST, since 1977 and was its Executive Director from 1990-2004.

He is responsible for the University’s research strategy and its implementation and for business engagement and commercialisation activities. He continues to be active in research and policy advice to governments and business. In 2011 he was elected to the Academia Europaea. He has chaired several national and international panels examining research and innovation issues. He has published extensively and is on the editorial board of eight journals.