Brussels, 18/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 18 July, the European commissioner for Research, Janez Potocnik, revealed the names of the 22 scientists to become the founder members of the Scientific Council of the Future European Research Council, to be tasked with funding exploratory research work proposed by the European Commission as part of the seventh framework programme of research (2007-2013). The Science Council will be an independent body whose role will consist of defining the scientific strategy of the European Research Council and to ensure that these actions are carried out in line with the requirements of scientific excellence. The 22 scientists were chosen by a committee of highly-level scientists chaired by former Commissioner Lord Patten of Barnes, the Chancellor of the universities of Oxford and Newcastle upon Tyne.
They are: the Italian Claudio Bordignon, professor of haematology and scientific director of the San Raffaele Institute ; Manuel Castells, of Spain, a professor teaching information society at Barcelona and the University of California, Berkeley ; Paul J. Crutzen, of the Netherlands, who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1995 for his research into atmospheric ozone; the Belgian Mathias Dewatripont, professor of economics at the ULB and member of the analysis group on economic policy to the Commission since 2001 ; Daniel Esteve of France, director of research for the Commission for atomic energy in Saclay ; the Czech Pavel Exner, a specialist in physical mathematics, and a member of the Academy of Science; Hans-Joachim Freund of Germany, director of the Department of Chemical Physics of the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck-Society; the Briton Wendy Hall, director of the School of electronic sciences and information technology at the University of Southampton ; Carl-Henrik Heldin of Sweden, Professor in cellular molecular biology at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala; Fotis C. Kafatos of Greece, geneticist and immunologist, specialising in fruit flies and anophelines (a mosquito which carries malaria) ; Michal Kleiber of Poland, a specialist in applied mathematics and former Minister of science; the Hungarian Norbert Kroo, a physicist and vice-president of the Academy of Sciences; Maria Teresa V.T. Lago of Portugal, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Porto ; the Spaniard Oscar Marin, a biologist at the neuroscience Institute of Alicante ; Robert May of the UK, a professor of zoology and president of the Royal Society (2000-2005), who teaches at the University of Oxford and Imperial College, London; the Austrian Helga Nowotny, professor of social science in Zürich and president of the Commission's research advisory board (EURAB); Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard of Germany, director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Entwiclungsbiologie Abteilung III (genetics); Leena Peltonen-Palotie of Finland, professor of medical genetics and molecular medicine at the University of Helsinki; the Frenchman Alain Peyraube, sinologist and director of research at CNRS; Jens R. Rostrup-Nielsen of Denmark, director of research and development at Haldor Topsoe A/S (catalysts and chemical procedures) ; the Italian Salvatore Settis, professor of the history of classical art and archaeology and director of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa; Rolf Zinkernagel of Switzerland, a human immunology specialist.