Strasbourg, 15/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On the sidelines of the plenary session of the European Parliament, Antonio Correia de Campos (S&D, Portugal) was appointed, on Thursday 15 March, as the new head of the European Parliament body for science and technology options assessment (STOA). He will take over from Paul Rübig (EPP, Austria) for a two and a half year term of office. The new chairman has underlined the role of facilitator to be played by the body which does not produce studies or take political decisions, but is aimed at putting scientists in contact with MEPs. Twice a year, stakeholders will meet in Parliament and in research centres. While acknowledging the importance of material and more visible sciences, Antonio Correia de Campos has also stressed the need for social sciences to allow the European social model to be rethought. STOA priorities for coming years are cloud computing, metrology, alternative fuels and technological options for feeding 10 billion human beings. (MD/transl.jl)