Appointments

Douglas Kell, professor of bioanalytical science at the University of Manchester, has been appointed by the Government as the chief executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The four-year post will begin on 1 October, when he will succeed Julia Goodfellow. Professor Kell has held posts as director at the Institute of Biological Sciences at Aberystwyth University, and has held a personal chair at Aberystwyth. Most recently, he was director of the Manchester Centre for Integrative Systems Biology based in the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre - a link that he will maintain, working at the centre one day a week.

Elizabeth Stuart said she will guard quality at the University of Winchester "with dragon-like fierceness" in her new role as its pro vice-chancellor (academic). The current director of research and knowledge transfer at the university will take up her new role in August. She said that she hopes to create "more space for both staff and students to engage in creative and critical thinking within the university". Professor Stuart has worked as professor of Christian theology for the past ten years, before which she taught religious studies and theology at the University of Glamorgan and University College St Mark and St John.

A new president has been appointed at New Hall, Oxford - recently refounded as Murray Edwards College. Jennifer Barnes will take over from Anne Lonsdale. Dr Barnes has held a variety of posts, from associate professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music to head of academic studies and dean of Trinity College of Music. She has developed research partnerships between the Royal College of Music, Imperial College London and the University of Manchester, and was the first director of education for BP in 2005.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced its 2008 fellows. They include cardiac ultrasound expert Alison Noble, professor of engineering science at the University of Oxford; and fuel-cell pioneer Nigel Brandon, professor of sustainable development in energy, Imperial College London. Other fellows are: David Bacon, professor of materials science, University of Liverpool; Malcolm Bolton, professor of soil mechanics, University of Cambridge; Alan Bundy, professor of automated reasoning, University of Edinburgh; David Cleevely, industrial fellow, University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory; Trevor Clyne, director of Gordon Laboratory, Cambridge; Norman Fleck, director of Cambridge Centre for Micromechanics, Cambridge; Kenneth Grattan, professor of measurement and instrumentation, City University London; Alan Jack, professor of electrical engineering, Newcastle University; Jeffrey Kramer, dean of engineering, Imperial College; Joseph Hun-Wei Lee, pro vice-chancellor, University of Hong Kong; John Loughhead, UK Energy Research Centre; Ian McEwan, reader, University of Aberdeen; Joseph McGeough, senior honorary professorial fellow, Edinburgh; David Owens, professor of control systems engineering, University of Sheffield; Gareth Padfield, head of engineering, Liverpool; Sembukuttiarachilage Ravi Pradip Silva, director, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey; Sarah Spurgeon, head of engineering, University of Leicester; Nigel Titchener-Hooker, professor of biochemical engineering, University College London; Nigel Topham, professor of computer systems, Edinburgh; Christofer Toumazou, Winston Wong chair in biomedical circuits, Imperial College; Ian Underwood, professor of electronic displays, Edinburgh; Tony Wilson, professor of engineering science, Oxford; Clarence Forbes Dewey, professor of mechanical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Edward Greitzer, professor of aeronautical engineering, MIT; and Jorg Imberger, professor of environmental engineering, University of Western Australia. The Royal Academy of Engineering has also awarded honorary fellowships to Lord Winston, professor of fertility studies at Imperial College, and Sir Gordon Conway, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for International Development.

The Institute for the Study of the Americas, part of the University of London's School of Advanced Study, has announced the appointment of a new director, Maxine Molyneux. Professor Molyneux is currently professor of sociology at the ISA, and has specialised in globalisation, human rights, citizenship and social policy in Latin America. She said the ISA aims to offer "a distinctive and innovative approach to research and teaching, as well as highlighting the historical and contemporary links between the two hemispheres".

Gillian Woodworth has been appointed to the post of director of legal practice course (LPC) programmes at City Law School. Ms Woodworth was formerly at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, developing the regulatory requirements for the new LPC and monitoring LPCs across the country. Prior to that she was the director of the part-time LPC and director of staff training and development at BPP Law School. She is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Ivor Gaber has been appointed to lead City University London's new MA in political campaigning and reporting, starting in January 2009. Professor Gaber has worked as a political journalist and a media consultant. He has also has written two books and numerous articles about political campaigning and reporting. He said: "It's assumed that new democracies will know how political communication processes work, but they don't always. This course aims to help democratic politics work better, for the benefit of those at the receiving end - the public."

The University of Surrey has announced that Nigel Seaton will take the post of deputy vice-chancellor (academic development) as of September, when he will leave his post as vice-principal (academic) at the University of Edinburgh. Mr Seaton's career has seen him take posts in industry, with WS Atkins and BP Research, and in academia at the University of Cambridge before his move to Edinburgh.

Three new appointments have been made at Thames Valley University. Chris Birch will leave Staffordshire University to become pro vice-chancellor (strategic business development) at TVU. He will support graduate entrepreneurship and work with regional businesses and organisations in developing the innovation and knowledge-transfer policy agenda. Ian Tunbridge, currently executive director of the Combined Universities in Cornwall and formerly dean of University of Plymouth Colleges, is to take the post of deputy vice-chancellor (enterprise). Monika Pruetzel-Thomas will take up the position of deputy vice-chancellor (academic) from August.