Losilla, Director General for Technologi- Spain into ESO had been agreed by both effectiveness and commitment in the cal Policy, had agreed on all the condi- parties to be retroactive to mid-2006, various events, work groups and commit- tions for Spain’s accession on 7 Decem- even if the required approvals and admin- tees in which they took part. I am truly ber 2005. In February 2006, the then istrative steps dragged on beyond that delighted that we have accreted this vi- Spanish minister of Education, Mrs. María date. Thus, in the second part of last year, brant community, with which we were Jesús San Segundo, and I signed an we already treated our Spanish astrono- already very familiar. agreement towards the entrance of Spain mer colleagues as members, and imme- in ESO as of 1 July 2006. The entrance of diately we could see their enthusiasm,

Tim de Zeeuw to Become the Next Director General of ESO

The ESO Council has appointed Tim de to overseeing the continued upgrading of the Chairman of the Space Telescope In- Zeeuw, as the next Director General the with the sec- stitute Council in Baltimore. He also of ESO effective as of 1 September 2007, ond-generation instrumentation and the serves on the AURA Board of Directors, when the current Director General, completion of the ALMA project, and and on the ESA Space Science Advi- Catherine Cesarsky, will complete her in particular to help developing the future sory Committee, and leads the develop- mandate. European Extremely Large Telescope.” ment of a Science Vision for European as part of the EU ASTRONET Tim de Zeeuw has an excellent record, Tim de Zeeuw’s main research interests initiative. both as a highly respected scientist and embrace the formation, structure and as a leader of an internationally recog- dynamics of galaxies, including our own For three years Tim de Zeeuw served as nised science institute in the . Milky Way galaxy. A second area of the Dutch national astronomy delegate He is Scientific Director of the Leiden Ob- research is the study of the origin, struc- to the ESO Council. As a member of the servatory, a research institute in the ture, and evolution of associations of ESO Council he participated in the work College of Mathematics and Natural Sci- young, massive stars in the Solar Neigh- of the Council Scientific Strategy Work- ences of . Tim de Zeeuw bourhood. He obtained his PhD from ing Group, which resulted in the Council also has considerable experience as the University of Leiden in 1980, moving resolution of December 2004 outlining regards science policy issues. “The ESO on to work at the Institute for Advanced ESO’s strategic goals. More recently, as Council is very pleased that Professor de Study in Princeton, and subsequently at Chair of this Working Group, he has been Zeeuw has accepted the task as its next Caltech in Pasadena before returning to elaborating various scenarios for ESO’s Director General. He has played a key the Netherlands. He has received sever- future role in European astronomy. role over the last few years in developing al honours and awards and is the author a strategic vision for ESO, and I have of a large number of research papers. Tim de Zeeuw, who is 50, is married to every confidence that he will now lead the Dutch . organisation in the realisation of that ex- In 1993, he became the founding director citing vision” announced Richard Wade, of NOVA, the Netherlands Research (Based on ESO Press Release 03/07) the President of the ESO Council. School for Astronomy, which coordinates the graduate education and astronomi- Catherine Cesarsky, ESO’s current Direc- cal research at the five university astron- tor General, commented: “Over the recent omy institutes in the Netherlands. NOVA

years, ESO has developed considera- has contributed to strongly increasing Photo: C. Ödman bly with more activities and new member the international visibility of Dutch astron- states, and with its ambitious project omy and has enabled intensified Dutch portfolio, ESO is clearly facing an exciting participation in ESO activities. He is also future. I shall be delighted to pass the the co-founder of the Lorentz Center, an baton to Tim de Zeeuw, who as a recent international centre for Astronomy, Math- Council member is very familiar with our ematics and Physics in Leiden. Organisation.” Tim de Zeeuw regularly advises NWO, “It is a great honour and an exciting chal- the Netherlands Organisation for Scien- lenge to lead this world-class organisa- tific Research. He has served on many tion in the years to come in support of committees including the Time Allocation Prof. Tim de Zeeuw, one of the most dynamic areas of science Committee for the NASA/ESA Hubble ESO’s next Director General. today” said de Zeeuw. “I look forward Space Telescope, and, since 2003, as

The Messenger 127 – March 2007