MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

British Antarctic Survey has a new director: climate expert Professor Jane Francis

Ms Francis is currently Dean of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Leeds

Professor Jane Francis has been appointed as the new Director of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Ms Francis, a geologist by training, is Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds where she is currently Dean of the Faculty of Environment.

Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council, Duncan Wingham said, “I am delighted to have Jane Francis join NERC as the new Director of the British Antarctic Survey. She joins us at a time in which our need to understand the polar regions has never been more important.

”Jane comes to us with an impressive track record of leadership and achievement in one of the outstanding UK university departments, and is a widely recognized and popular figure in the polar world. We very much welcome her to her new role.“

Professor Francis has research interests in ancient climates, particularly of the polar regions, and has undertaken numerous scientific expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, working in collaboration with research teams from many other countries. In 2002 she was awarded the Polar Medal in recognition of her contribution to British Polar Science.

Commenting on her appointment, Jane Francis said, ”I am very much looking forward to taking up this position in such a prestigious organization as the British Antarctic Survey. Polar science is a really exciting area to work in and there are a lot of great opportunities for BAS, in partnership with the UK polar community, to lead the way in addressing some critical challenges to our understanding of how polar systems operate.”

Jane will take up her new post on 1 October 2013, at which time the current interim Director BAS, Professor Alan Rodger, will stand down.