ESA appoints a new Director of Science
The British Professor David Southwood will take over from Professor Roger-Maurice Bonnet as Director of Science at the European Space Agency on 1 May next year. Professor Southwood was born in 1945 and holds a BA in Mathematics and a Ph.D in Physics from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London. He has spent most of his career at Imperial College apart from two periods at UCLA as Postdoctoral Fellow and later as Visiting Professor. In 1997, he joined ESA as its Earth observation Future programme strategy manager. He is currently Imperial College's Pro Rector responsible for external academic affairs. The Professor has been active over the years, both in Europe and in the United States, in public outreach on space science. He has around 200 publications and 100 invited papers to his name and his most recent project has been as principal investigator for the Cassini Saturn Magnetometer. 'David Southwood ranks among the most prominent space science experts in Europe,' said ESA's Director General Antonio Rodotà, welcoming Professor Southwood's appointment, 'and I am sure that he, like his predecessor, Professor Bonnet, will do a first rate job for the excellent scientific community in our member states.'