New ERC Secretary General appointed

Professor Donald B. Dingwell has been appointed by the ERC Scientific Council as the new Secretary General of the European Research Council (ERC). He will take office as of 1 September this year and his term lasts until December 2013.

Professor Dingwell is a prominent geoscientist currently heading the Department for Earth and Environmental Sciences at Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany. Originally from Canada, he holds dual nationality (German and Canadian). Professor Dingwell's track record includes scientific distinctions such as the Bunsen Medal of the European Geoscience Union (2008) and he is a Distinguished Lecturer of the Mineralogical Society of America (2008/09). He was also awarded an ERC Advanced Grant in 2009.

Professor Dingwell takes over after the previous Secretary General, Professor Andreu Mas-Colell, who returned to his academic position as Professor at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, one year ago. Since then, the post has been vacant.

The ERC President Professor Helga Nowotny commented: "As we move towards the new common strategic framework for research and innovation "Horizon 2020", we very much look forward to working with Professor Dingwell as the new ERC Secretary General. With his distinguished career in science and his international vantage point and background, I am convinced that Professor Dingwell will deliver an important contribution to the ERC, not the least in terms of international outreach and strategy - an area that lies at the heart of the ERC's mission."

The ERC Secretary General is the Scientific Council's permanent representative in Brussels, with a key role to ensure effective liaison between the Scientific Council, the ERC Executive Agency and the European Commission.

© European Research Council
29 August 2011