New Director of NERC Centre for Population Biology appointed at Imperial College London

Leading academic to join the team at Imperial's Silwood Park campus - News Release

Imperial College London and the Natural Environment Research Council joint news release

Georgina Mace FRS has been appointed Professor of Conservation Science and Director of the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London, it is announced today.

Professor Mace joins Imperial from the Zoological Society of London, where she has been Director of Science since 2000. Her new role at NERC's Centre for Population Biology will see her leading a large team of scientists at the College's Silwood Park campus near Ascot, working on diverse research projects including biodiversity patterns, ecology and evolution.

After taking up her post in November this year, Professor Mace will continue to develop her own research on the status and trends of global biodiversity, managing the environment, and negotiating the impact that human development has on the natural world. In addition she will focus on bridging the gap between fundamental science and policy-makers, to ensure that the Centre for Population Biology's research continues to inform key policy issues such as managing land use and dealing with climatic changes.

Professor Mace said: "I'm really looking forward to taking up this new role at Imperial College, and I feel very privileged to have the chance to work alongside the CPB's internationally-renowned team. There are so many ways that understanding population biology can be used to address some of the really big environmental issues facing the planet, and I think that what we need to focus on now is scaling up scientific research, and taking it out of the laboratory, to look at the bigger picture."

Professor Sir Peter Knight, Principal of Imperial's Faculty of Natural Sciences and Professor Alan Thorpe, NERC Chief Executive, said they were delighted with her appointment to the CPB team. "I'm looking forward to welcoming Georgina to the College - her wealth of experience in conservation science makes her the ideal choice to lead our NERC Centre for Population Biology's outstanding team into new and critically important research areas," said Sir Peter.

Professor Thorpe added: "I'm extremely pleased that Georgina is joining the team as the director of one of NERC's collaborative centres. Georgina has been playing a key role in chairing NERC's expert panel on biodiversity, guiding the development of our new science strategy."

The NERC Centre for Population Biology conducts basic research in population biology and related disciplines to understand and predict the functioning of ecological systems, from populations to ecosystems.

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For more information please contact:

1. Danielle Reeves, Press Officer, Communications Division, Imperial College, London
Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 2198 Mobile: +44 (0) 7803 886 248
Email: Danielle.reeves@imperial.ac.uk

2. Marion O'Sullivan, Senior Press Officer, NERC.
tel: +44 (0)1793 411727 Mobile: +44 (0)7917 086369
Email: pressoffice@nerc.ac.uk

Photographs of Professor Georgina Mace are available on request.

Notes to editors:

1. The Centre for Population Biology (CPB) is one of NERC's collaborative centres and is hosted by Imperial College London. The Centre was established in 1989 and opened by the Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher OM FRS. Its specific aims are:

• To study the fundamental ecological processes which link individuals, populations and whole communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms.
• To improve the scientific basis for understanding and predicting ecological processes, and the consequences of human impacts upon ecosystems.
• To show how this knowledge can be applied to the rational management of the environment, with benefits for the quality of life and economic sustainability.
• To train young post-graduate (PhD) and post-doctoral scientists.
• Together with Imperial College's Division of Biology at Silwood Park, to be a world-class university research and training centre.
• To deploy financial and other resources economically, efficiently and effectively to ensure value-for-money for CPB's sponsors.

2. Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (11,000) and staff (6,000) of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk

3. NERC is one of the UK's eight Research Councils. It uses a budget of about £370m 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. Website: www.nerc.ac.uk 

4. Professor Georgina Mace was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2002 and was awarded an OBE in 1998. Professor Mace's other awards include the Society for Conservation Biology's Distinguished Service Award and the Chicago Zoological Society's President's Medal.