* David Halton , deputy vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England, has been appointed vice-chancellor of Glamorgan University, replacing Adrian Webb on his retirement in 2005.
* Patrick Sissons , head of the department of medicine at Cambridge University and associate medical director and governor of Addenbrooke's Hospital (part of Cambridge University Hospital's National Health Service Foundation Trust) will succeed Keith Peters as Regius professor of physic.
* Bo Zhang , who is due to take up a one-year appointment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing as a visiting professor, will return to Coventry University in 2005 where he has been awarded the title professor of applied mathematics.
* Christopher Jennison , professor of statistics in the department of mathematical sciences, has been appointed dean of the faculty of science at Bath University. He will take up the post this month when Jocelyn Bell Burnell retires.
* Phil Charles , professor of astronomy at Southampton University, is about to take up a new post as director of "Africa's Giant Eye", otherwise known as the South African Large Telescope (Salt) project in Cape Town.
* Serge Plattard , director of international relations at the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, former head of the French Scientific and Technological Mission to the US, a life member of the American Physical Society and founding member of Euroscience, has been appointed the first secretary-general of the European Space Policy Institute, founded by the European Space Agency and the Austrian Space Agency.