LOFAR ERIC coordinates the development and efficient operation of LOFAR (the LOw Frequency ARray), a vital radio astronomy instrument for world-class scientific research with cohesively operated facilities located in several countries.
Dear All,
We write to follow the announcement you have received from René Vermeulen describing his imminent extended leave, starting on 1 March. We take this first opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for René in leading LOFAR to its current heights. René’s painstaking work has enabled LOFAR to build from a nascent Dutch facility into an ever-growing and strong European collaboration of members, now numbering 10 countries. Under his Directorship, LOFAR has delivered high impact science across a wide range of scientific areas, and has established the current LOFAR2.0 upgrade programme, ensuring an exciting scientific future. We particularly thank René for his years of leadership spearheading the evolution of LOFAR to an ERIC – an achievement we are glad was realised under his tenure.
The delay in the establishment of the ERIC has meant that we are only now beginning a formal process with the newly formed LOFAR ERIC to seek and hire a new LOFAR ERIC Director. Given this is just getting underway, the LOFAR ERIC Council has sought an interim solution for the LOFAR ERIC Director role to enable a seamless transition from the ILT into LOFAR ERIC. We are extremely happy to announce that Wim van Cappellen, the current lead for the LOFAR2.0 project, has agreed to contribute his time and expertise to this vital interim position. The LOFAR ERIC Council will be working closely in support of Wim in this role to ensure the smooth continuing operation of LOFAR and that the focus on the critical developments for the LOFAR2.0 project are attended to.
Once again, we thank René for his invaluable leadership of the ILT and LOFAR ERIC, and look forward to working with you all to enable a smooth transition to the next phase of the Observatory together.
With kind regards,
Jacqueline Mout, chairperson of LOFAR ERIC Council
Philip Best, ILT Board chair
The LOFAR ERIC Council has appointed Dr. Michiel van Haarlem as the new Executive Director of the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), established by the European Commission in December 2023.
On December 20, 2023 the European Union officially established the LOFAR ERIC: a European Research Consortium Infrastructure. The activities of the Dutch International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation are now continued by the European LOFAR ERIC.
To celebrate this milestone, delegates of all ten participating countries came to the Netherlands, the hosting country of the LOFAR ERIC and location of the LOFAR core.
The LOFAR Family meeting 2024 will take place from 3 - 7 June 2024 in Leiden. It is hosted by Leiden Observatory, the astronomical institute of Leiden University, in the Netherlands. Established in 1633 to house the quadrant of Rudolph Snellius, it is the oldest operating university observatory in the world.
The Low Frequency Array European Research Infrastructure Consortium (LOFAR ERIC) is looking for a new executive director, who will play a pivotal role in representing LOFAR ERIC to all relevant stakeholders and ensure the efficient joint operation of the LOFAR facilities.
We write to follow the announcement you have received from René Vermeulen describing his imminent extended leave, starting on 1 March.
We take this first opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for René in leading LOFAR to its current heights. René’s painstaking work has enabled LOFAR to build from a nascent Dutch facility into an ever-growing and strong European collaboration of members, now numbering 10 countries.
LOFAR ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) has been officially launched at its first Council meeting today. The world-leading LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray) Distributed Research Infrastructure has already revolutionised low-frequency radio astronomy research, resulting in an avalanche of scientific publications in the past decade. LOFAR ERIC is now a single legal entity across the European Union.
