New Interim NERC Boss

With Alan Thorpe's imminent move to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on 1 July, NERC has announced that Dr Steven Wilson will be caretaker boss whilst they recruit for a permanent replacement.

Looking at Steven Wilson's potted biography on the NERC press release, he looks to be a NERC journeyman. He's been there for 13 years, in various different, shifting roles. Which is quite something, given he looks to be about 12 in the accompanying photo. He was most recently Director, Strategy & Partnerships, with responsibility for developing and implementing the NERC Science & Innovation Strategy. Prior to that he was at the Met Office. Given their - ahem - 'patchy' ability to forecast 'barbecue summers', let's hope he has a better eye for predicting (and coping with) the stormy funding weather ahead.