************************************************************************ IERS Message No. 420 January 22, 2021 ************************************************************************ Changes in IERS The year 2021 has brought several changes to the organization and leadership of IERS: - Brian Luzum's second term as Chair of the IERS Directing Board ended in 2020. According to the Terms of Reference, he has exhausted his eligibility to Chair the Directing Board. The IERS Directing Board has elected Tonie van Dam of the University of Luxembourg as the new Chair. She has been very active in the IERS Global Geophysical Fluids Centre (GGFC) and as a member of the Directing Board. - IGS has named Elisabetta D'Anastasio (GNS Science, New Zealand) as the new second representative to the IERS Directing Board replacing Chuck Meertens who retired. - The ICRS Centre is jointly hosted by the Observatoire de Paris and the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) and the responsibility of representation on the Directing Board is shared between the two institutions. Starting on 1 January 2021, Bryan Dorland (USNO) took over this responsibility from Jean Souchay (Observatoire de Paris). - Christine Hackman left the Directing Board as the representative of the Rapid Service / Prediction Centre at the beginning of December 2020. USNO will name a new representative in the next few months. In the meantime, Nick Stamatakos has assumed this role. - As already announced in IERS Message No. 413 (https://datacenter.iers.org/data/2/message_413.txt), after more than 20 years as head of the IERS GGFC Special Bureau for the Oceans (SBO), Richard Gross decided to step back as the head of the Special Bureau for the Oceans (SBO) of the Global Geophysical Fluids Center. As of January 2021, the SBO will be hosted at Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) in Potsdam, Germany. The new head of the SBO is Henryk Dobslaw. To see more recent changes in the IERS as well as updates to web pages, please consult https://www.iers.org/news. We wish to thank all outgoing members of the Directing Board for their contributions to the IERS for many years. We want to say special thanks to the former Chair of the Directing Board, Brian Luzum, for the very close and effective cooperation during the last eight years. We would also like to welcome the new members of the Directing Board and representatives of IERS components, and express our thanks for their willingness to contribute to the IERS. We are looking forward to a fruitful cooperation. Please find hereafter messages from Brian Luzum and Tonie van Dam. With best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful year 2021, Daniela Thaller and Wolfgang Dick IERS Central Bureau To the IERS Community, I am continually impressed with the work that the IERS is able to accomplish. With none of the things that are often associated with success (large staff, substantial budget), the IERS provides products that literally impact people around the world. These products are standards not just because of the stature of the organization, but because the quality of the products are world-class. The success of the IERS is directly due to the hard work and dedication of the incredible personnel who devote their time and effort to the IERS. The many accomplishments of the last eight years are a testament to the combined efforts of a large cadre of people. The sage guidance of the IERS Directing Board has provided a clear direction as well as gentle course corrections along the way. The Analysis Coordinators (Tom Herring and Robert Heinkelmann) played a central role in this process and we could not have accomplished what we did without their substantial contribution. The Central Bureau (Bernd Richter, Daniela Thaller, Wolfgang Dick, and Sabine Bachmann) provided the foundation on which our work was built. While I am sorry to be leaving my position as the Chair of the IERS Directing Board, it is very reassuring to know that Tonie van Dam will be taking over the responsibilities. Tonie's many years of work with the IERS and her significant professional accomplishments allow me to know that these responsibilities are in very capable hands. I wish Tonie all the best in her new position and look forward to following the future successes of the IERS. Brian Luzum Chair, IERS Directing Board 2013-2020 To the IERS Community, I want to thank Brian for his personal investment in leading the IERS over the last 8 years. Under his stewardship, the quality and reliability of the products have improved. He and the existing board have left the IERS in great condition for me to take over. I only hope that I can fill the vacuum that Brian will leave as director of the board. For my part, it is an honor to serve as the new Chair. I am looking forward to working with all of you to continue to improve the products and the IERS service to the global community using geodetic products. I understand that most of you are volunteers, and I want to personally thank you for your contributions to the IERS. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with questions, ideas, or concerns. Thanks again Brian for your dedication. Looking forward to meeting you all face to face in the near future. Tonie van Dam Chair, IERS Directing Board ************************************************************************ IERS Messages are edited and distributed by the IERS Central Bureau. If not stated otherwise, the IERS is only the distributor of the message and is not responsible for its content. To submit texts for distribution, please write to . To subscribe or unsubscribe, please create an IERS account or modify it: https://www.iers.org/Login/Login/EN/login_node.html or write to . Archives: http://www.iers.org/Messages ************************************************************************