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Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Professorship of Environmental Systems Analysis

The GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Environmental problems increasingly require interdisciplinary analysis. The atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, biosphere, and land surface, all function as an integrated system. As well as requiring substantive interdisciplinarity, it has become necessary to address environmental systems analysis using a range of mathematical, computational, experimental, and fieldbased science. Given the sophistication of models of atmosphere-ocean-land surface interaction and the volumes of data generated by remote sensing platforms to study this interaction, data assimilation methods must be integrated with modelling so that efficient adaptation and updating of model parameters can occur as new data become available. Much of the fundamental science arising from the analysis of environmental systems, has profound implications for areas of public policy - for example, in climate change, energy needs, agricultural production, conservation, and resource management - implying strong links running from fundamental science into policy-related research in the social sciences.

2. All of the above has led to increasing focus on earth/environmental systems science, both globally and among the UK Research Councils. Major international universities have created centres or institutes whose purpose is to foster collaborative research across conventional disciplinary boundaries. Within the University, and with their broad spectrum of research in both physical and social sciences, the Departments of Geography and Earth Sciences are ideally positioned to jointly address many aspects of this far-reaching agenda. Accordingly, in October 2000, these Departments took the major step of launching an interdisciplinary Centre for Environmental Systems Analysis. The Centre is currently housed within the Department of Geography's accommodation in the Sir William Hardy Building. The Centre exploits the increasingly close teaching and research links between the two Departments and provides a platform for collaborative research on environmental issues with other institutions both within and outside the University. The Departments consider that this initiative already affords the opportunity for them to make a major international impact and will attract researchers of the highest calibre to the University.

3. To take forward this initiative, the Faculty Board of Earth Sciences and Geography have now proposed the establishment of a Professorship of Environmental Systems Analysis, to be supported jointly from funds available to the two Departments. The prime responsibility of the Professor would be to develop, in addition to his or her own research, existing research links between the two Departments in the broad field of environmental systems science and to provide leadership for the work of the Centre for Environmental Systems Analysis. The person appointed would also be expected to undertake teaching at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

4. In order to meet the cost of the new office, the Faculty Board have proposed that an Assistant Directorship of Research in the Department of Earth Sciences that will become vacant on 1 October 2003 on the retirement of Dr J. A. Miller be suppressed. The remainder of the costs will be met from recurrent funds identified by the Department of Geography. The General Board have accepted the Faculty Board's proposal, which has been supported by the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences, for the establishment of the Professorship on this basis. They have accordingly agreed that, if the recommendations of this Report are approved, they will suppress the Assistant Directorship of Research mentioned above.

5. The Board are satisfied that an appointment at this level will be likely to attract a strong field of well-qualified candidates. The Board accordingly propose that a Professorship of Environmental Systems Analysis should be established in the University from 1 October 2003 and assigned to the Department of Geography. They have agreed to concur in the view of the Faculty Board of Earth Sciences and Geography that elections to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that, in the case of the first election to the Professorship, candidature should be open without preference or limitation to all persons whose work falls within the title of the office.

6. The General Board recommend:

That a Professorship of Environmental Systems Analysis be established from 1 October 2003, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Geography.

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Cambridge University Reporter 12 December 2001
Copyright © 2001 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.