Chairs

University of Wales, Bangor Alan Elliot, director of the school of ocean sciences' unit for coastal and estuarine studies and member of the Welsh Office committee enquiring into the Sea Empress oil spill, has been appointed to a personal chair. His previous appointments include senior scientific officer at the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences and scientist with the applied oceanography group at Nato ASW Research Centre in Italy.

University of Surrey Merlin Stone, former professor and dean at Kingston University and founder member of the Institute of Direct Marketing, has been appointed IBM professor of marketing.

University of Oxford Gerard van Gelder, senior lecturer in Arabic at the University of Groningen, has been appointed Laudian professor of Arabic and fellow of St John's College, succeeding Wilfred Madelung on October 1, 1998.

Queen's University, Belfast, Emeritus professorships have been conferred on: John Dodge, Nuffield professor of child health (1986-97) and Frederick Boal, professor of human geography (1989-97).