the-BA : BA Press Release

For immediate release

The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) today announces the appointment of Sir David King as its President for the year 2008. Sir David will succeed the current President, Lord Browne of Madingley, and assume the Presidency after he steps down at the end of 2007 as the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser. He will deliver his Presidential Address at the BA Festival of Science in Liverpool in September 2008 and has chosen ‘Sustainability through science’ as his theme.

Sir David King says: ‘I am delighted to be taking up the Presidency in 2008 and look forward to working with the BA to promote and develop public engagement in science on critically important issues such as climate change and sustainability.’

The announcement coincides with the Science Communication Conference organised by the BA in collaboration with the Royal Society. This year, as part of a continuing focus on climate change, we have decided to devote the entire programme of day two of the Science Communication Conference to the topic of public engagement with climate change.

Commenting on Sir David’s appointment, Professor Patrick Dowling, Chair of the BA Council, says: ‘We are delighted to welcome Sir David as President. The BA began a three-year focus on climate change and related issues in March 2006. With his commitment to the subject, as well as his extensive experience of assessing the challenges and long-term strategies necessary to achieve change, Sir David will bring a new dimension to this initiative.’

Sir David was appointed as the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Office of Science and Technology(1) in October 2000. During his time in office, his work has included developing a sustainable long-term strategy for the UK’s energy policy and he was heavily involved in producing the UK's ten-year Science and Innovation Framework, which is applicable until 2014. He runs the Government's Foresight Programme, which aims to provide challenging visions of the future, to ensure that effective strategies are developed now.

In addition to his work in HM Government, Sir David has had a distinguished scientific career. From 1988-2005 he held the position of 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and was also Head of the University Chemistry Department from 1993-2000. He continues as Director of Research at the University of Cambridge.

Sir David joins a list of distinguished Presidents who have included Professor Thomas Huxley, Professor Sir JJ Thomson, Professor Dorothy Hodgkin, Sir David Attenborough and Professor Robert Winston.

(1) In April 2006 the Office of Science and Technology merged with the DTI’s Innovation Group to become the Office of Science and Innovation.

ENDS

Note for Editors

1. The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) is the UK's nationwide, open membership organisation that exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering. Established in 1831, the BA organises major initiatives across the UK, including the annual BA Festival of Science, National Science and Engineering Week, programmes of regional and local events, and an extensive programme for young people in schools and colleges. For more information about the BA, please visit www.the-ba.net.

2. Sir David King KB ScD FRS

Sir David King was appointed as the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Office of Science and Technology in October 2000. After an early career at the University of Witwatersrand, Imperial College and the University of East Anglia, he became the Brunner Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Liverpool in 1974. From 1988-2005 he held the position of 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and was Head of the University Chemistry Department from 1993-2000. He was also Master of Downing College from 1995-2000. Sir David continues as Director of Research, at the University of Cambridge.

Sir David currently chairs a number of committees including: the; Chief Scientific Adviser's Committee (CSAC); the Global Science and Innovation Forum (GSIF); and co-chairs the Energy Research Partnership (ERP) and the Council for Science and Technology. He was heavily involved in producing the UK's ten-year Science and Innovation Framework, 2004-2014. He runs the Government's Foresight Programme, which aims to provide challenging visions of the future, to ensure effective strategies now.

Sir David has published over 450 papers in scientific journals. In 2002 he delivered the Ninth Zuckerman Lecture, on "The Science of Climate Change: Adapt, Mitigate or Ignore?" at The Royal Society. He subsequently delivered the Greenpeace Business Lecture "Global Warming, the science of climate change – the imperatives for action" in 2004 and the Magna Carta Lecture to the Australian Parliament in 2005. He published "The Scientific Impact of Nations" in Nature 430, 311 (2004) and "Climate Change: the science and the policy" in the Journal of Applied Ecology 42, 779-783 (2005).

3. The Office of Science and Innovation in the DTI is responsible for UK Science Policy and for funding basic research allocated via the Research Councils. It aims to maximise the contribution made by our science, engineering and technology skills and resources to the UK’s economic development, and to the quality of our lives.

4. The BA and the Royal Society organise the annual national Science Communication Conference which this year will take place on 14 and 15 May 2007 at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, London. The conference seeks to address the key issues facing science communicators in the UK and to play an important role in providing opportunities to share best practice for maximising impact. It is aimed at decision makers, as well as practitioners in scientific organisations, industry and business, science centres, museums, schools and higher education. This will be the sixth year of the conference. For further information, please visit www.the-ba.net/ScienceCommunicationConference.

5. For further information, please contact:

Lisa Hendry, Press Officer, the BA
Tel: 020 7019 4946
Email: lisa.hendry@the-ba.net

Rebecca Underhill, Senior Press Officer
Science and Innovation Desk
Department of Trade and Industry
Tel: 020 7215 6403
Email: Rebecca.Underhill@dti.gsi.gov.uk

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