A change at the top!

I am pleased to welcome Mike Stephenson as Director of Science and Technology in BGS.  He will replace Denis Peach who served as BGS Chief scientist for 6 years; Denis leaves BGS at the end of June this year and I will be preparing a full and revealing blog nearer that time.

Mike will have oversight of a team of Science Directors who will lead BGS science in six broad areas:

Energy, Minerals and Waste.
Directors Bob Gatliff (Energy and Marine Geoscience) and Andrew Bloodworth (Minerals and Waste)

Geohazards.  
Directors David Kerridge (Earth Hazards and Observatories) and Helen Reeves (Engineering Geology)

Environmental change and impacts.  
Directors Mike Ellis (Climate and Landscape Change) and Rob Ward (Groundwater)

Geological and geophysical survey. 
Directors Andy Howard (Geology and Regional Geophysics) and Mike Young (GSNI)

Information and environmental modelling.  
Directors Richard Hughes (Geo-information and Systems), Matt Harrison (Geoscience Products and Services) and Kate Royse (Environmental Modelling) 

Laboratory Facilities.  
Randy Parrish ( Director NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory) and Dee Flight ( Head of BGS Laboratories)

Martin Smith will have a role between Business Development and Science Programming as Director of BGS Global Geosciences.

Another change that is being brought in this month is a move from a matrix management model which has been in place for more than 10 years to a system where science directors will have a group of staff assigned to their area and will manage a budget that will allow them to develop their science across BGS.  Interdisciplinary science will be maintained at the team level. This change will be overseen by our Chief Operating Officer Mike Patterson and his team.

I am looking forward to working with Mike and the Science  Directors and their administrative support. The bottom line will be continued delivery of excellent geological sciences for the UK.