Reports

Report of the General Board on the re-establishment of a Professorship in the Sainsbury Laboratory

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows.

1. In their Report dated 20 January 2010 (Reporter, 6175, 2009–10, p. 490) the Board proposed the establishment of the Sainsbury Laboratory as an institution within the School of the Biological Sciences. The Report recommended that, in order to provide the requisite senior scientific leadership for the Laboratory, three Professorships be established, one of which would be held in association with the Directorship of the Laboratory. Funding for an initial period of ten years was included in the agreement between the University and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, with the Council of the School of the Biological Sciences underwriting the positions for a single tenure.

2. The Professorship of Plant Morphodynamics has lapsed following the resignation of Professor Elliott Meyerowitz, inaugural Director of the Sainsbury Laboratory, and the Faculty Board of Biology and the Council of the School of the Biological Sciences accordingly propose its re-establishment for a further tenure. Funding for the Professorship is guaranteed for a further eight years, and the Council of the School of the Biological Sciences have once again agreed to underwrite the position for the remainder of its tenure. The person appointed will be expected to offer leadership at the interface between plant developmental biology, mathematics, and computer science in the Laboratory, and this is reflected in the revised title of the Professorship.

3. The General Board have accepted the Council of the School’s proposal for the establishment of the Professorship on this basis. They are assured that suitable accommodation for the Professor is available in the Sainsbury Laboratory, which has undertaken to provide the necessary support and facilities. The Board have agreed that election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the field described in paragraph 2.

4. The General Board recommend:

I. That a Professorship of Plant Development be established from 1 June 2013 for one tenure, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Sainsbury Laboratory.

6 March 2013	L. K. Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor	Martin Daunton	Robert Kennicutt
	Philip Allmendinger	Simon Franklin	Patrick Maxwell
	N. Bampos	C. A. Gilligan	Rachael Padman
	H. A. Chase	David Good	John Rallison
	Sarah Coakley	Sadie Jarrett

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Readership in Number Theory

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Number Theory is a central area of mathematical science, on the one hand constituting a vast body of knowledge and on the other containing a wealth of remarkable hypotheses and conjectures. While some of these seem quite inaccessible at the moment, the subject has seen some spectacular advances and new techniques. Opportunities for significant further progress have opened up and it is imperative that Cambridge be actively involved in new developments.

2. The Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics has a strong tradition in this ancient branch of mathematics. However, the retirement of Professor J. H. Coates from the Sadleirian Professorship of Pure Mathematics with effect from 30 September 2012 and the resignation of Professor N. I. Shepherd-Barron with effect from 1 September 2013 leave the Department deficient in senior leadership in the field. It is a strategic priority for the Department to maintain and develop its strength as a world centre in Number Theory, and an exceptional appointment at Readership level will help restore academic leadership in this area.

3. The Council of the School of the Physical Sciences has approved the case made by the Department and recommends the establishment of a single tenure Readership in Number Theory in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. The costs of the Readership will be met by the allocation previously supporting Professor Shepherd-Barron’s personal Professorship. The underlying University Lectureship will be suppressed.

4. The General Board have accepted the Council of the School’s proposal for the establishment of this Readership. The criteria for appointment to a Readership through open competition will be identical to those for appointment through the senior academic promotions procedure. The Appointments Committee will be constituted as specified in the Regulations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 743).

5. The General Board accordingly recommend:

I. That a Readership in Number Theory be established in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics for a single tenure with effect from 1 May 2013.

1 March 2013	L. K. Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor	Martin Daunton	Robert Kennicutt
	Philip Allmendinger	Simon Franklin	Patrick Maxwell
	N. Bampos	C. A. Gilligan	Rachael Padman
	H. A. Chase	David Good	John Rallison
	Sarah Coakley	Sadie Jarrett	Amanda Talhat