New frontiers in science diplomacy

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Biography not yet available

John Skehel has provided major insights into the molecular basis of how viruses recognise and infect their host cells. John focusses on the virus that causes influenza, of which there are 3–5 million cases a year worldwide, resulting in up to 500,000 deaths. 

To infect a cell, the influenza virus must bind to a sialic acid-containing receptor on the cell surface, which it achieves through its own haemagglutinin glycoprotein. John was able to isolate, crystallise and subsequently determine the three-dimensional structure of this molecule. He also observed that under conditions of low pH, haemagglutinin changes shape — allowing the virus to fuse with and enter the cell.

John has been a leader in virology research for over thirty years. He headed the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza between 1975 and 1993 and was the Director of the National Institute for Medical Research from 1987–2006. His pioneering research was recognised in 1996 when he received a knighthood.

Dr Fedoroff has been Science and Technology Adviser to the US Secretary of State of and Administrator of USAID since 2007. Dr Fedoroff is the Willaman Professor of Life Sciences and Evan Pugh Professor in the Biology Department and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University. Dr Fedoroff is a leading geneticist and molecular biologist who has contributed to the development of modern techniques used to study and modify plants. Dr Fedoroff has done fundamental research in the molecular biology of plant genes and transposons, as well on the mechanisms plants use to adapt to stressful environments. Her book, Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Foods, published in 2004 by the Joseph Henry Press of the National Academy of Science, examines the scientific and societal issues surrounding the introduction of genetically modified crops.

Dr Fedoroff is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Academy of Sciences. She has served on the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation. Dr Fedoroff is a 2006 National Medal of Science laureate.

CHEN Futao is the Minister Counsellor for Science and Technology at the Chinese Embassy in London

A former Director-General of China Science and Technology Exchange Centre, CHEN served as Consul (First Secretary, Counselor) of the S&T Group in the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco from May 1999 to April 2001; Counselor (Deputy Director-General level) in the S&T Division of the Chinese Embassy to Sweden from April 2001 to August 2004 and Counselor for Science and Technology in the Department of International Cooperation of MOST from August 2004 to May 2005.

Earlier in his career, CHEN served in the Personnel Bureau of the State Science and Technology Commission (SSTC) from July 1985 to July 1987. From July 1987 to May 1999, he was Principal Staff Member, then Deputy Director and Director in Foreign Affairs Bureau of SSTC.

CHEN graduated from Jilin University with BS in 1985 and later became an assistant research fellow. 

After graduating from the University of Padua (Italy) in Slavonic and Germanic Studies, Sigi Gruber worked for the German-Italian Culture Institute in Padua and the German Cultural Institute in Milan. In 1991 she was appointed as an expert to work for the European Commission to launch the LINGUA Programme, the European Communities' first foreign language learning programme. Afterwards she worked in the Directorate General for Education and Training where she was - inter alia - responsible for the actions dealing with foreign language learning for vocational training. She was then General Secretary of the European Association for the Education of Adults before rejoining the European Commission in 2001, on this occasion Directorate General for Research. She was Head of Sector for Researchers Careers' and her responsibilities also included policy initiatives related to the modernising agenda of European universities. Since 2007 she heads the Unit responsible for providing intelligence about science and technology developments around the world, ensuring the implementation of the new European partnership for science and technology cooperation and coordinating the activities of the science counsellors working in the European Commission's Delegations in major partners countries. 

Dr Leshner has been Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher of the journal Science since December 2001. AAAS (triple A-S) was founded in 1848 and is the world's largest, multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering society. Before coming to AAAS, Dr Leshner was Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) from 1994-2001.One of the scientific institutes of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, NIDA supports over 85% of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. Before becoming Director of NIDA, Dr. Leshner had been the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the National Institute of Mental Health. He went to NIMH from the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he held a variety of senior positions, focusing on basic research in the biological, behavioral and social sciences, science policy and science education. Dr Leshner went to NSF after 10 years at Bucknell University, where he was Professor of Psychology. He has also held long-term appointments at the Postgraduate Medical School in Budapest, Hungary; at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center; and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.  Dr. Leshner is the author of a major textbook on the relationship between hormones and behavior, and has published over 150 papers for both the scientific and lay communities on the biology of behavior, science and technology policy, science education, and public engagement with science.

Mr Jun Yanagi is the Director of the International Science Cooperation Division of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  In this capacity he leads MOFA's work on science and technology diplomacy. Yanagi was educated at Tokyo University and the University of Oxford. Since joining MOFA in 1988, he has served in a range of positions, including those relating to intelligence and economic affairs. He has held a number of overseas postings, including in Nigeria, Australia, Russia and Canada, before taking up his current role as Director in January 2008. 

Luiz Davidovich received his PH. D. in Physics at the University of Rochester, USA, in 1975. He is now a Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His area of research is Quantum Optics and Quantum Information. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, a member of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), and a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. He got the TWAS Physics Prize in 2001, and the Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit from the President of Brazil in 2000. 

Hassan is executive director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), President of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and Chairman of the Honorary Presidential Advisory Council for S&T in Nigeria. After obtaining his DPhil at the University of Oxford in 1973, he returned to Sudan as Professor and Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Khartoum. Since 1986, he has been working in Trieste, first as Executive Secretary and then as Executive Director of TWAS. Since 2001, Hassan also serves as executive director of the Secretariat of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP). He received the Comendator (1996), Grand Cross (2005), and National Order of Scientific Merit, Brazil; and Officer, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 2003. His membership includes: Fellow, TWAS, 1985; founding fellow, AAS, 1985; fellow, Islamic World Academy of Sciences, 1992; honorary member, Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 1996; corresponding member, Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Belgium, 2001; and foreign fellow, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, 2002; honorary member, Palestine Academy of Science and Technology, 2005; and founding member, Academy of Sciences of Lebanon, 2006.Hassan's research interests include plasma physics and environmental modelling of air pollution and soil erosion in drylands. 

James Smith was appointed Chairman of Shell UK in 2004.  He has been with Shell since 1983 and has worked in all the Group's major businesses. He was previously on the board of Shell Chemicals and chaired Shell's CRI catalyst business during a period of restructuring for profitability. He has been head of resourcing, which involved ensuring there is a talented and diverse group of leaders for the top 200 jobs in Shell. Much of his early career was in upstream oil and gas production. He lived for 4 1/2 years in Malaysia and Brunei and has been involved in Shell business in a number of Middle Eastern countries and in the US.

James is President Elect of the Energy Institute and chairs the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership. He is on the boards of Opportunity Now and Race for Opportunity, the employer groups supporting gender and racial diversity in the workplace. 

"Dr R.A. Mashelkar, CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow, is presently also the President of Global Research Alliance, a network of publicly funded R&D institutes from Asia-Pacific, Europe and USA with over 60,000 scientists.  He is also the Chairman of India's National Innovation Foundation. Dr Mashelkar served as the Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with thirty-eight laboratories and about 20,000 employees for over eleven years. He was also the President of Indian National Science Academy and President of Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK).

Dr. Mashelkar is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the US World Academy of Art & Science, Fellow of Australian Technological Science & Engineering Academy and Fellow of The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. Twenty-seven universities have honoured him with honorary doctorates, which include Universities of London, Salford, Pretoria, Wisconsin and Delhi.

In the post-liberalised India, Dr. Mashelkar has been a key architect of India's science, technology and innovation policies. The President of India honoured Dr. Mashelkar with Padmashri (1991) and with Padmabhushan (2000), which are two of the highest civilian honours in recognition of his contribution to nation building."

Ehsan Masood is a science journalist and currently Acting Chief Commissioning editor of the journal Nature, based in London. He also teaches international science policy at Imperial College London and is the author of several books, the most recent of which are Science and Islam: a History (Icon, 2009) and Dry: Life Without Water (Harvard, 2006). He also writes for Prospect magazine, for the website OpenDemocracy.Net and is a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4's environmental affairs programme Home Planet. He is a trustee of Leadership for Environment and Development and is a governor of Burnham Grammar School. 

Naser Faruqui is currently the Director of Innovation Policy and Science at the International Development Research Centre. He was formerly the Team Leader for the Urban Poverty and Environment (UPE) Program. He led a global team that supports research to address poverty by improving the environment.

Naser holds a Masters degree in environmental engineering (1991) from the University of Ottawa and an Executive MBA (2002) from Queens University.  He has been invited to serve on Boards and Steering Committees of several international initiatives, including the UN Habitat State of the World Cities Report, the Consultative Group on Agricultural Research Challenge Program on Food and Water Security, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board of Editors. He has published widely including a book on Water Management in Islam (translated in six languages), a book on wastewater use in Irrigated Agriculture, and a book chapter on water, globalization and equity.

In 1999, the Third World Centre for Water Management, the International Water Resources Association and the Stockholm International Water Institute named him one of the top 14 water specialists under the age of 40 in the world. He has advised the Canadian government on the political, social and economic implications of drought in the Middle East, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on its country program for Jordan and Pakistan, and the World Health Organization on the influence of culture on wastewater reuse. He has been invited to speak at several international fora, including the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Water Partnership, the Woodrow Wilson Centre for Scholars, UNESCO, the World Urban Forum, the Stockholm International Water Conference, and the World Water Forum. 

Dr Razley Mohd Nordin is the Director General of Science and Technology at the OIC, and has been instrumental in developing the Atlas of Islamic-World Science and Innovation project. Prior to taken up this role at the OIC, Razley was Director of Planning and International Relations at the Malaysian Institute of Nuclear Technology Research (MINT), a division of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in Malaysia. He has also held senior roles at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. 

Christopher Whitty is Head of Research at DFID, and Professor of International Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He qualified in medicine from Oxford, and subsequently in epidemiology, economics and law. He is a consultant physician at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and has worked as a doctor and clinical researcher in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Current collaborations include Afghanistan, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, and Yemen. Before working with DFID he directed the ACT Consortium (institutions in 14 countries), the Malaria Centre, and chaired or was a member of several national and international panels and boards for the UK government, WHO, NGOs and other bodies. 

Dr Andrée Carter is the Director of the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS). The UKCDS provides the framework to coordinate research activities on development sciences, for the purpose of increasing the relevance and impact for national and international policies and activities aimed at sustainable improvements in the lives of the world's poorest people and countries. She works with Government, research councils and other key funders and stakeholders to encourage and facilitate capacity building and successful research outcomes both in the UK and in developing countries. The UKCDS is concerned with any science (natural, physical, biological, engineering, social, economic and cultural) that has the potential, directly or indirectly, to make a difference to developing countries.  Originally trained as a soil scientist Andrée has worked closely with UK and EU Governments, research and corporate organisations to protect and improve the quality of the environment and those who are dependent on it for their livelihoods. She was previously the Director of Science and Environment in ADAS UK Ltd, an agricultural/environmental research consultancy and prior to that worked at Cranfield University. 

Alfred Watkins is the Science and Technology Program Coordinator for the World Bank. In that capacity he is responsible for developing and helping to implement the World Bank's global S&T capacity building program and for leading the Bank's STI Global Expert Team. He is beginning work on an STI Capacity Building Tool Kit and also on a Technology Commercialization Handbook and is also developing STI Capacity Building Programs in Rwanda and Ghana. In February 2007, he organized the Global Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation Capacity Building for Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction.

Prior to assuming this assignment, Mr Watkins helped to develop the World Bank's S&T program in the former Soviet Union and produced S&T policy notes and project proposals in Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Russia. Mr. Watkins also led the World Bank team that designed and implemented an innovative World Bank non-commercial risk guarantee package for the Sea Launch Commercial Space Launch project in Russia and Ukraine. 

Dr Samiullah has nearly 30 years professional experience in environment, infrastructure, urban and international development. He spent a decade as an academic in the University of London, seven years in the private sector, and joined DFID in 1995, serving overseas for 10 years in Africa and Asia. Between 2005 and the end of 2007 he was DFID's Pakistan Programme Country Head in Islamabad, and took up his current HQ Policy Division post in 2008. Dr Samiullah has a PhD in Environmental Science and Ecotoxicology, is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and holds Chartered status in several other Environmental and Water Management professional institutions. He is the author or editor of several dozen books and articles on Environmental Management, Science and Technology.  

Hassan is executive director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), President of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and Chairman of the Honorary Presidential Advisory Council for S&T in Nigeria. After obtaining his DPhil at the University of Oxford in 1973, he returned to Sudan as Professor and Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Khartoum. Since 1986, he has been working in Trieste, first as Executive Secretary and then as Executive Director of TWAS. Since 2001, Hassan also serves as executive director of the Secretariat of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP). He received the Comendator (1996), Grand Cross (2005), and National Order of Scientific Merit, Brazil; and Officer, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 2003. His membership includes: Fellow, TWAS, 1985; founding fellow, AAS, 1985; fellow, Islamic World Academy of Sciences, 1992; honorary member, Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 1996; corresponding member, Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Belgium, 2001; and foreign fellow, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, 2002; honorary member, Palestine Academy of Science and Technology, 2005; and founding member, Academy of Sciences of Lebanon, 2006.Hassan's research interests include plasma physics and environmental modelling of air pollution and soil erosion in drylands. 

Martin Davidson took up the role as Chief Executive in April 2007, having been Deputy Director-General since September 2005. Martin's commitment to international relationships has been a constant feature of his career, since as a young English graduate he went to Hong Kong as Administrative Officer, taking the high-level decisions on the running of a town of a million people. When he joined the British Council as Assistant Representative in Beijing in 1984, British Council China was an operation of 6 people working in a converted bicycle shed at the British Embassy.  In those days it was illegal for a Chinese national to speak to a foreigner. Martin played a pivotal part in building this fledgling presence up to its present strength of more than 230 people in four state-of-the-art offices. Martin himself was responsible for opening the South China office in Guangzhou and returned to Beijing in 1995 as Director of an operation fast establishing a reputation in an environment where understanding the Chinese way of working is fundamental. He speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin. He has also held various posts in the British Council's Geographical Directorate with responsibilities that have included South East Europe, in a particularly troubled time in the region's history, the Middle East, East Asia and the Americas. He is a member of the Leeds Business School Advisory Panel, a Governor of Goodenough College and Board Member of the Great Britain China Council. Martin was born in Lowestoft in 1955. He graduated with an honours MA in English Language and Literature from St Andrew's University.  

Professor Atta-ur-Rahman has 784 publications in leading international journals in several fields of organic chemistry including 611 research publications, 15 patents, 99 books and 59 chapters in books published by major U.S. and European presses. Professor Rahman was awarded the UNESCO Science Prize (1999). He was elected as Fellow of Royal Society in July 2006. He has been conferred honorary doctorate degrees by many universities including the degree of Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) by the Cambridge University (UK) (1987) and an Honorary degree of Doctor of Education by Coventry University UK 2007. He was elected Honorary Life Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge University, UK in 2007. Professor Atta-ur-Rahman was the President of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (2003-2006). He is President of Network of Academies of Sciences of Islamic Countries (NASIC).

Professor Atta-ur-Rahman was the Federal Minister for Science and Technology (14th March, 2000 - 20th November, 2002) and Federal Minister of Education (2002) in Pakistan. He was the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission with the status of a Federal Minister from 2002-2008. The Austrian government honoured him with its highest civil award (Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeischen am Bande" (2007) in recognition of his eminent contributions.

Professor Atta-ur-Rahman is presently heading an OIC Ministerial Committee comprising the 57 Ministers of Science & Technology from 57 OIC member countries. 

Professor Stephen Hillier is Vice-Principal International at the University of Edinburgh. He joined the University in 1985 and was appointed Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology in 1993. He is also an Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist with Lothian University Hospitals Trust. Professor Hillier had previously worked in London, Leiden and Maryland, US where he was a Fogarty International Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. Professor Hillier is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and holds degrees from Leeds, Wales and Edinburgh (DSc awarded 1992). His extensive external service includes former membership of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Overseas Research Scholarships Committee (Universities UK). He is presently a member of the Medical Research Council Training and Careers Group. His academic and clinical work have given him extensive overseas experience, including particularly strong connections with the US, China and India. 

Dr Jim McQuaid graduated in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin and he has a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Cambridge. He has an honorary DEng awarded by the University of Sheffield and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He was Director of Science and Technology and Chief Scientist of the Health and Safety Executive from which he retired in 1999. His research interests focused on large scale accidents in the coal mining and chemical industries and involved extensive collaboration in European Commission programmes and with safety institutions worldwide. He practices as a consulting engineer and has wide experience in the assessment and management of risks to industrial safety and the environment particularly from catastrophic events and in regulatory aspects of their control.

Current and recent activities and memberships include:
" Environmental Security Panel of the Science for Peace and Security programme of NATO's Public Diplomacy Division 2005-08 (Chairman 2008); continuing role as advisor on diverse R&D projects on environmental security.
" UK member of the Board of Governors of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre 2001-2007.
" Royal Society Standing Committee on Scientific Aspects of International Security, 2006-2008.
" Health Protection Agency Advisory Group on Risk and Society 2006-2009.
" British Columbia Hydropower Advisory Group on Dam Safety Assessment, 2000-present; project group on Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Characterisation, 2008-present.
" Visiting Professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Sheffield (1997-present) and in engineering for sustainable development at the University of Ulster (2000-present).
" Chairman of the Steering Group of the UK Deep Underground Laboratory researching the detection of dark matter and aspects of nuclear astrophysics, 2007-present. 

Paul Arthur Berkman is Head of the Arctic Ocean Geopolitics Programme through the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge and a Research Professor through the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California Santa Barbara. He is an oceanographer working on interdisciplinary connections between science, policy and information technology with regard to cooperative international governance of the Arctic Ocean and international spaces more generally, including Antarctica. Professor Berkman has wintered, scuba dived under the sea-ice and lead government-sponsored research expeditions to Antarctica. He is the author of Science into Policy: Global Lessons from Antarctica (Academic Press, 2002). He has a master's degree and doctorate in biological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. He also has received the: Antarctic Service Medal from the United States Congress; NASA Faculty Fellowship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Byrd Fellowship at the Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship at the National Institute of Polar Research in Japan; and Erskine Fellowship in the Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Paul came to the University of Cambridge in 2007-08 initially as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar to plan the Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions in International Governance (www.atsummit50.aq) that will be convened at the Smithsonian Institution in December 2009 on the 50th anniversary of the signature-day for the Antarctic Treaty in the city where it was adopted "in the interests of science and progress of all mankind."    

Diana Wallis was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999 and subsequently re-elected in 2004. She has been a Vice President of the Parliament since December 2006. One of her responsibilities as a Vice President is for the Northern Dimension (including: Nordic Council, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and Parliamentary Conference of the Arctic Region).
 
Ms. Wallis has always had an interest in the Nordic region & in the High North' and in September 2004 was elected President of the Parliament's Delegation to Iceland, Norway & Switzerland and the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee, a post she held until September 2007. She remains an ordinary member of the Delegation.

She has been a member of the Standing Committee of Arctic Parliamentarians and has also represented the European Parliament in meetings of the Nordic Council and the Baltic Sea Parliamentarians Conference.

Ms. Wallis co-hosted the seminar 'Arctic Governance - In a globalising world, is it time for an Arctic Charter?' in May 2008 in the European Parliament which brought together academics, scientists, elected representatives and other experts to discuss current and future structures of governance in the 'High North'.

She has visited the Arctic on many occasions over the past few years and has been campaigning for the European Commission to develop a cross-cutting Arctic policy. She led the European Parliament's debate on an Arctic resolution which was debated and agreed in October 2008.

She is a co-author of the book 'Forgotten Enlargement: Future EU Relations with Iceland, Switzerland and Norway'. 

Howard Alper was announced as Chair of the Government of Canada's new Science, Technology and Innovation Council in June 2007. He is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa where his research spans organic and inorganic chemistry, with potential applications in the pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and commodity chemical industries. Dr. Alper has served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Council of Canadian Academies and on private-sector boards. Major awards to Dr. Alper include the Alcan Award for Inorganic Chemistry (1986), the Bader Award for Organic Chemistry (1990), and the Steacie Award for Chemistry (1993). The Chemical Institute of Canada has presented Dr. Alper with the Catalysis Award (1984), the Montreal Medal (2003), and the CIC Medal (1997), its highest honour. He also received the Urgel-Archambault Prize (ACFAS) in physical sciences and engineering. In 2000, the Governor General of Canada presented him with the first Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal in Science and Engineering, the most prestigious award in Canada for science and engineering. Dr. Alper is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has 514 publications and 37 patents.

Arian Pregenzer is Senior Scientist in the Global Security Program at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is responsible for initiating new programs in arms control and nonproliferation and for developing strategies for international engagement across multiple laboratory missions. In particular, she has worked to develop cooperative relationships and programs with countries in Asia. In 1994, Dr. Pregenzer led the establishment of Sandia's Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC), which promotes dialogue between policy and technology experts and enables international technical cooperation on nonproliferation, anti-terrorism and other security issues. A sister center, the CMC in Amman was established in Jordan in 2003. 

In 2004, she worked with the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) and the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) to initiate the Iraqi S&T Engagement Program, which supports peaceful scientific research and business development with Iraqi scientists. Dr Pregenzer has researched and written about a diverse set of topics, including advancing the goals of NPT Article VI through international technical cooperation, crisis prevention in Northeast Asia and nuclear material security in India and Pakistan. In 2007, in partnership with Singapore's Energy Market Authority, she organized and chaired Sandia's 15th International Security Conference on Enabling Safe, Secure, and Peaceful Nuclear Energy:  The Role of International Cooperation." She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. From August 1990 to August 1992, Dr. Pregenzer served as a technical advisor to the Office of Arms Control of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  During this period, she represented DOE at the multilateral chemical weapons negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

Dr. Pregenzer holds Bachelors Degrees in Physics, Mathematics, and Philosophy from the University of New Mexico. In 1983 she earned a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of California at San Diego. Prior to her career in international security, she worked at Sandia to develop lithium ion sources for particle-beam-driven inertial confinement fusion. 

Ambassador Tibor Tóth assumed the function of Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) on 1 August 2005. Mr Tóth is a Hungarian career diplomat with a long experience in the field of arms control and disarmament.

Before taking up the position as Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Mr Tóth served as Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva and the Conference on Disarmament since 2003, a position he had also held from 1990 to 1993. In the years from 2001 to 2003, he was Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Critical Technologies with the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1997 to 2001, Mr Tóth was the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna. Prior to that, he served as Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation. From 1994 to 1996, Mr Tóth was the Hungarian Deputy State Secretary of Defense in charge of international affairs. Prior to that, he served as Permanent Representative of Hungary to the Preparatory Commission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.

Throughout his diplomatic career, Mr Tóth has been actively involved in a number of organizations, conferences and fora dealing with arms control and disarmament. He was an active participant in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva during his two terms in Geneva as the Hungarian Permanent Representative. In the period from 1997 to 2001, Mr Tóth served as Governor on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He participated in all follow-up conferences of the Biological Weapons Convention and in Review Conferences of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in the years 1980, 1985, 1990 and 2005. From 1982 to 1992, Mr Tóth took part in the negotiations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and played a crucial role in the Preparatory Commission for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons from 1993 to 1997.

Mr Tóth's involvement with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) dates back to 1982 and 1983, when he participated in the Conference on Disarmament Ad Hoc Committee on a CTBT. Since the establishment of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT in November 1996 and through 2004, Mr Tóth was the Chairperson of Working Group A, the subsidiary body of the Commission responsible for budgetary and administrative matters. In this function, he has been leading efforts of States Signatories to build-up the budgetary, financial, administrative and legal infrastructure of the organization.
Mr Tóth holds a degree from the University of International Relations in Moscow. He is married and has two daughters from a previous marriage. 

Romain Murenzi holds a PhD in Physics from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He was appointed Chair and Professor of the Department of Physics at Clark Atlanta University, USA. His major research interests include multidimensional continuous wavelet and its applications. In 2001, he was appointed Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research and from March 2006 as Minister in President's Office in Charge of Science and Technology. In 2007 he was given the responsibility of ICT. He is committed to the expansion and modernisation of the Rwanda education system and the aspiration for knowledge-based, technology-led economy by 2020. He serves on the Board of Directors of Development Gateway Foundation and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, as Vice President for Africa, TWAS and Advisory Board, Scientists Without Borders. 

James became Director of the Science Policy Centre in September 2008. He is responsible for the development of the centre, and for the Society's UK and international policy work. From 2001 to 2008, James worked at the think tank Demos, first as Head of Strategy, then as Head of Science and Innovation. He was also Director of The Atlas of Ideas' project, which explored the changing geography of science and innovation in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. He has researched widely on science and innovation policy, sustainable development, emerging technologies, and the globalisation of research and higher education. From 1997 to 2001, he was Senior Policy Adviser at the sustainability charity Forum for the Future. His publications include: The Atlas of Ideas: How Asian innovation can benefit us all (with C Leadbeater), Demos, 2007; China: the next science superpower? (with J Keeley), Demos, 2007; Governing at the nanoscale  (with M Kearnes and P Macnaghten), Demos, 2006;  and Better Humans? The politics of human enhancement and life extension (edited with P Miller), Demos, 2006.

James has a first-class degree in philosophy and theology from Oxford University and a doctorate in technology policy from Middlesex University. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Lancaster University.