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New Director for the NERC Centres for Atmospheric Science

15 April 2005

Professor Stephen Mobbs from the University of Leeds has been appointed as the next Director of the NERC Centres for Atmospheric Science (NCAS). He will take up his new role on 1 July 2005.

NCAS provides the UK with a national hub for atmospheric science research. Its research and support programmes address the key scientific and technical challenges currently faced by the UK atmospheric science research community and include climate change science, weather processes, atmospheric composition (including air quality), and state-of-the-art technologies for observing and modelling the atmosphere.

Professor Mobbs said, "I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to lead NCAS. It has an outstanding research reputation in climate, weather and atmospheric composition. These topics have never been more important or relevant, with climate change and human impacts on the environment remaining high on the international scientific agenda. I am looking forward to the exciting new challenges ahead of me."

Professor Alan Thorpe, Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council and former Director of NCAS, said, "I'm very happy to hand over the reins at NCAS to Stephen. He will be a great asset to NERC. Under his leadership I am certain that the future development of NCAS is assured."

NCAS is an established collaborative centre with a set of seven research centres and facilities, based in various universities and allied organisations across the UK. With the appointment of Professor Mobbs, the NCAS directorate will be based at the University of Leeds.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Hannah Love
Press Officer
University of Leeds
Tel: 0113 343 4100

Notes

1. A high resolution image can be obtained by contacting either the NERC Press Office or the Leeds University Press Office.

2. Professor Mobbs is currently Head of the School of Earth & Environment at the University of Leeds and Professor of Atmospheric Dynamics. He led the development of the University's Environment Centre from its early beginnings as a small interdisciplinary centre to become the School of the Environment in 1999. In 2000 he founded the Institute for Atmospheric Science within the School of the Environment and, in 2004, led the merger of this school with the School of Earth Sciences.

3. The University of Leeds is among the top ten universities for research in the UK and is internationally acknowledged as a centre of excellence in a wide range of academic and professional disciplines. It currently hosts two NCAS centres – the Distributed Institute for Atmospheric Composition and the Universities' Facilities for Atmospheric Measurement

4. NERC is a UK research council. It uses a budget of about £300m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.

Press release: 17/05