DEFENSE

Dr John Womersley will join the CCLRC as Director of Particle Physics. Dr Womersley, who will start work on 1 October and is based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, was previously working at Fermilab in the USA. For the last year he has been in Washington as Scientific Adviser to the Associate Director of High Energy Physics in the Department of Energy. His new post gives him responsibility for the particle physics research programme; he will also advise the CCLRC on its future particle physics strategy. Dr Womersley is already well known to many of the UK's particle physics community. His research has included design and construction of high energy physics detectors, computing and software, and data analysis. He has also been involved in communicating science to the general public. Dr Womersley said, "I am very excited about taking up this new role. It's a chance for me to connect with colleagues both old and new in the UK. The next few years will be a fascinating time for particle physics and there are plenty of challenges ahead. We at CCLRC have a great foundation to face these challenges - our skills and facilities are first class, and so are our people." Professor John Wood, Chief Executive Officer of the CCLRC, said, "John has a tremendous reputation within the particle physics field. We are delighted to have him on the team at this key time when the UK's role in the next generation of particle physics experiments needs real vision and leadership."