Beath Joins ESRC

Professor John Beath has been appointed to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. He takes up the post for a period of three years.

Professor Beath is Professor of Economics at the School of Economics and Finance at the University of St. Andrews. He previously held posts at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol, and was a visiting Senior Research Fellow at The Australian National University.

In addition to his new role he chairs the Board of Management of the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland (ERINI), and was appointed Secretary-General of the Royal Economic Society in June 2008.

Professor Beath has a wide range of research interests in economics, most recently focused on industrial organisation, in particular knowledge transfer between firms and universities, and on taxation policy.

Professor Michael Lamb and David Walker have also been re-appointed to the ESRC.

Professor Lamb is Professor of Psychology in the Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He previously held posts at the Universities of Wisconsin, Michigan and Utah, and worked as a Senior Research Scientist and Section Chief within the Intramural Research Program at the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His research has focused on children's behaviour, as well as the effects of living conditions on children.

Walker is the Head of Communications at the Audit Commission, and previously worked as Editor of Guardian Public, a monthly magazine for senior executives across the public sector. He is a Trustee of the National Centre for Social Research as well as other research advisory committees.

The ESRC, which supports research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector will have an expenditure of £204m in 2009/10. At any one time the organisation supports more than 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes.

Web site: www.esrc.ac.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.