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ESF announces Science Advisory Board’s line-up for European research

In a further push to secure its position to be Europe’s leading science policy organisation, the newly established Science Advisory Board (SAB) of the European Science Foundation (ESF) has scheduled its first meeting on 26 September in Copenhagen. The Board is designed to cope with the demands of increasing interdisciplinarity within science, as well as to play a key role in overseeing the quality of the 33-year-old organisation’s activities.

Following the review of ESF Governance in 2006, the ESF Annual Assembly approved revisions to the governing structure of the Foundation. This also included the creation of a Science Advisory Board to ensure ESF’s status as a high-level policy interaction platform for its Member Organisations.

The SAB is composed of high level researchers covering the whole research spectrum and appointed from nominations made by the ESF Member Organisations. It consists of the five Chairs of the ESF Scientific Standing Committees plus six independent members. Raimo Väyrynen, President and Director General of the Academy of Finland was chosen to be the SAB Chair which also represents the Board at ESF’s Governing Council.  

Specifically the Science Advisory Board will advise the Chief Executive on the following areas:
-        Overall science quality control of ESF’s activities,
-        Scientific advice with regard to the key instruments (such as Forward Looks, EUROCORES and Conferences)
-        Advice on broader science issues, including analyses of the evolving European and global science and science policy context.

During its first meeting in Copenhagen the Board will discuss its future activities and among other things, advice on the selection of new EUROCORES Themes and the 2006 proposals for Forward Looks topics.

Memebers of the SAB
 
Independent Members (with *)

* Professor Raimo Väyrynen, Chair (Political Sciences)
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Finland

* Professor Edouard Brézin (Theoretical Physics)
Département de Physique
Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure
France

* Professor Amélie Mummendey (Social Psychology)
Lehrstuhl Sozialpsychologie
Institut für Psychologie
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Germany

* Professor Kai Simons (Molecular Cell Biology)
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Germany

* Professor Louise Vet (Ecology)
Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO)
The Netherlands

Standing Committee Chairs

Professor Sir Roderick Floud (Economic History)
Social Sciences (SOC (formerly SCSS))
London Metropolitan University
U.K.

Professor Liselotte Højgaard (Clinical Physiology)
European Medical Research Councils (MED (formerly EMRC))
Denmark

Professor Michel Mareschal (Statistical Mechanics)
Physical and Engineering Sciences (PEN (formerly PESC))
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
Physics Dept , CP 223, ULB
Belgium

Professor Gretty Mirdal (Clinical Psychology)
Humanities (HUM (formerly SCH))
Department of Psychology
Institute of Clinical Psychology
University of Copenhagen
Denmark

Professor Alexandre Quintanilha (Biochemical Physiology)
Life, Earth & Environmental Sciences (LEE (formerly LESC))
Director
Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular
Portugal

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Media contact:

Mr. Thomas LauE-Mail