FORTH - Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission, visited the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), located at the Science and Technology Park of Crete, on the 10th of April 1998. Mr Santer was accompanied by senior Greek officials, including the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of National Economy, the General Secretary of the Region of Crete, members of the Greek Parliament, and other distinguished guests. Mr Santer was, by all means, impressed by the high quality of scientific work conducted at the Institutes of FORTH. He expressed his full support for the research and development activities and the systematic efforts made by FORTH to contribute to the industrial exploitation of new, promising technologies, at the regional, national, European and international levels.
GMD Dennis Tsichritzis, Chairman of GMD's Executive Committee, was awarded the 'Premio Italia', the German-Italian scientific prize. The 'Premio Italia' includes the fields of economy and science and is awarded by the German-Italian Economic Association and the German-Italian Science Committee. Tsichritzis received the prize for his merits in science and research and for furthering the German-Italian co-operation. The prize was awarded 26 May 1998 in Düsseldorf in the presence of Pier Luigi Bersani, Italian Minister for Industry, Trade and Craft Trades, and Dr. Enzo Perlot, Italian Ambassador to Germany.
CLRC Albert Westwood has been appointed as the new Chairman and Chief Executive of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils, CCLRC. He succeeds Paul Williams, the first Chairman and Chief Executive of CCLRC, who retired on 31 March 1998. Williams was appointed Director of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in 1986 and to his present post on the creation of CCLRC in 1995. Commenting on the appointment of his successor, Paul Williams said: "Dr Westwood comes to CCLRC after a distinguished career in science and engineering in the USA. His experience is just what the Rutherford Appleton and Daresbury laboratories need at this point in their lives. He has an impressive international reputation and brings many years of experience in managing large scale research. CCLRC is fortunate to have such a man in the Chief Executive's chair." Albert Westwood has commented: "It is indeed a real privilege for me to be invited to become a member of this great laboratory. I am really looking forward to doing all I can to help sustain and enhance the laboratory's reputation as an international scientific leader, and to continue to build up its role as a critical resource for exciting technical ideas and innovative developments that, over time, will contribute significantly to national prosperity".
SARIT A new name for ERCIM's Swiss member institute the general assembly of SGFI (Schweizerische Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Informatik und ihrer Anwendung) has decided to change its name to SARIT (Swiss Association for Research in Information Technology). The change of the name stands for a stronger international orientation and emphasizes the focus on research. The membership structure remains basically the same: the professors of computer science or related areas at the Swiss universities and Swiss companies active in research in information technology. The SARIT web pages can be reached under http://www.sarit.ch/.
