The Astroparticle Physics European Consortium APPEC has chosen Job de Kleuver, programme manager at FOM, as its new secretary-general. The Italian Antonio Masiero succeeds Frank Linde (Nikhef/ University of Amsterdam) as the new chair. APPEC is a consortium of fourteen European research organisations in the discipline of astroparticle physics. The appointments of the chair and secretary-general are effective from January 2017 and are for a period of two years.
APPEC has defined an ambitious roadmap that will be published at the start of 2017. A part of that is the ambition to realise a next generation of large research facilities for research within the rapidly growing discipline at the boundary of physics and astronomy. This includes, for example, experiments to determine the properties of neutrinos (such as KM3NeT), gamma ray telescopes (CTA), detectors for the direct detection of gravitational waves and facilities for research into dark matter and dark energy. Via APPEC the research organisations involved want to coordinate the various activities in the field of astroparticle physics and strengthen their collaboration with each other.
The secretary-general coordinates the executive body of APPEC and is responsible for the efficient management of the consortium, for the finances and for realising the decisions of the General Assembly. In addition to the new secretary-general, a new chair of APPEC has also been appointed with effect from 1 January. The Italian professor Antonio Masiero, vice-president INFN who holds an appointment at the University of Padua, will succeed Frank Linde (Nikhef/University of Amsterdam).
Job de Kleuver has worked at FOM since 1989 where he is currently the programme manager Internationalisation and Large-Scale Research Facilities. He will continue to do this alongside his new additional responsibility as secretary-general of APPEC. De Kleuver is very pleased about his appointment. ‘Astroparticle physics is a really exciting field of research with neutrinos, gravitational waves, high-energy cosmic radiation and other highly promising subjects. If we collaborate closely as European countries it must be possible to realise new research projects and carry out fantastic science. I am really looking forward to contributing to that in the coming years,’ he says. ‘Furthermore, this position gives me the opportunity to become even better acquainted with European policy development and to strengthen contacts with sister organisations. That knowledge will also benefit FOM and NWO in a broader perspective.’
More information
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APPEC on Twitter: @astroparticle
Source: FOM