New IAU Leadership for the 2024-2027 Term

Chairman

Professor Willy Benz is a retired professor at the University of Bern in Switzerland. He studied at the University of Geneva and spent 13 years in the United States at institutions such as Los Alamos National Laboratory, Harvard University, and the University of Arizona. In 1997, he returned to Switzerland and joined the University of Bern, where he remains. His primary research interests focus on the formation and evolution of planets. For the past twelve years, he has been the principal investigator of the ESA CHEOPS mission, dedicated to exoplanet research.

Secretary-General

Professor Diana Worrall is a retired professor at the University of Bristol, UK. She is a high-energy astrophysicist specializing in the X-ray properties of radio galaxies and quasars. She was the first chair of Division D. She graduated from Durham University and spent much of her career in the United States at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the University of California, San Diego, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In 1996, she returned to the UK and joined the University of Bristol.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of four Officers, six Vice Presidents, and the former IAU President as an advisor. For the current triennium, the Officers are: President Willy Benz (Switzerland), Secretary-General Diana Worrall (UK), President-Elect Brian Schmidt (Australia), and Deputy Secretary-General Laura Ferrarese (Canada). The six Vice Presidents are Hyesung Kang (South Korea), Solomon Tessema (Ethiopia), Ilya Usoskin (Finland), James Chybueze (South Africa), Monica Rubio (Chile), and Grazina Tautvaisiene (Lithuania). Professor Debra Elmegreen (USA) will serve as an advisor.