The ING Board oversees the operation, maintenance and development of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, and fosters collaboration between the international partners. It approves annual budgets and determines the arrangements for the allocation of observing time on the telescopes. ING Board members are:

Prof. Janet Drew, Chairperson – London
Dr. Wilfried Boland – NWO, Leiden
Dr. Gavin Dalton – Oxford
Dr. Ramón García López – IAC, La Laguna
Dr. Tom Marsh – Southampton
Dr. Ronald Stark – NWO, The Hague
Prof. Thijs van der Hulst – Groningen
Dr. Colin Vincent – PPARC, Swindon
Dr. Simon Berry, Secretary – PPARC

ING Director’s Advisory Group

Last year the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes had its second independent international review of the observatory, initiated by the ING Board. The conclusions from the review were very encouraging (for a summary, see the October 2001 issue of this Newsletter). One of the recommendations of the review was that ING should set up a Director’s Advisory Group. Such a group would assist the observatory in defining the strategic direction for operation and development of the telescopes. It would also provide an international perspective and act as an independent contact point for the community to present its ideas. This new group replaces the instrumentation Working Group that fulfilled part of this function to date.

Dr Mark McCaughrean (Potsdam) has kindly agreed to chair this new advisory committee. Further members are: Thijs van der Hulst (Groningen), Ramón García López (IAC, La Laguna), Phil James (Liverpool) and Nial Tanvir (Hertfordshire).