In Brief

Scientist for the new century
Dr Daniel Davis of the department of biology has been selected by the Royal Institution as a 'Scientist for the New Century.' He will present a lecture to the public at the Royal Institution on 8 March. His research, Natural Born Killers, was published in the Times. see Media Mentions

Award
David Cronan, professor of marine geochemistry in the TH Huxley School, has been awarded a Pettersson Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in recognition of his contributions in deep sea sedimentation.

Degree
Dr Andrew Amis has been awarded a DSc (Eng) for work in the field of biomechanics by the University of London. Dr Amis, reader in biomechanics in the department of mechanical enginnering, obtained a BSc and PhD from the University of Leeds in 1973 and 1978.

King Faisal International Prize 2001
Entries for the annual King Faisal International Prize are now being considered. The prize is awarded in five categories - science, medicine, Islamic studies, Arabic literature and service to Islam. With the exception of service to Islam, each category is distinguished by a topic that changes each year. In the case of medicine, topics are relevant to current areas of international concern. Prizes for service to Islam, Islamic studies and Arabic literature were established in 1977. In 1981 the Prize Board added medicine, and science was included in 1982.

For further details, contact: www.kff.com.

New director of Science Museum
Dr Lindsay Sharp, president and chief executive of the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, has been appointed as the next Director of the Science Museum. He succeeds Sir Neil Cossons who will become chairman of English Heritage.

British born, Dr Sharp (52) spent 10 years as founding Director of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia and worked as a consultant to numerous museums in Australasia and North America.

"I am tremendously honoured to be appointed to lead the world's pre-eminent museum of science and industry," he said. "Having started my career at the Science Museum, I feel extremely warmly towards the Museum and a sense of the circle closing, of returning home. With the UK's resurgent economy and the British government's focus on education, this could not be a better time to build on Neil Cossons' achievements and help lead the museum to success in this millennium".