Wycombe Astronomical Society is delighted to announce that Professor Robert Lambourne has accepted the invitation to become its President. Formerly our Vice-President, we have had a long association with him, and his lectures have always been enthusiastically received and well-attended.
Bob Lambourne is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at the Open University. During his 40 years at the Open University, he has taught on a wide range of modules in physics, astronomy and applied mathematics. He was Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2001 to 2004, and then spent five years as National Director of the Physics Innovations Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. He has devoted much of his career to improving physics and astronomy education at all levels, particularly in international contexts.
A former Vice-President for Education at the UK Institute of Physics (IOP), and a past Chair of the Physics Education Division of the European Physical Society (EPS), he was a member of the International Commission on Physics Education from 2005 to 2014 and Chaired the Commission between 2011 and 2014. His work in educational physics has been recognized by the award of the IOP Bragg Medal and Prize in 2002, a UK National Teaching Fellowship in 2006, and the 2014 Gero Thomas Medal for his contributions to the EPS.
In response to our invitation Bob has written “I am deeply honoured by the invitation to become the next President of the Wycombe Astronomical Society, and it gives me great pleasure to accept that very kind invitation. I have always enjoyed my interactions with the members of the Society, and I now look forward to building an even stronger bond in the future. As always, the continuing development of astronomical science goes on providing us with new things to discover and enjoy, and there can be no better way of doing that than in the company of like-minded individuals of the kind so well represented by WAS.”
Jon Jewitt, Memberships Secretary of the Society, said “The Chairman and the Committee of WAS are very pleased and excited that Bob has accepted our invitation and we look forward to a strong association with him in the future. We shall formalise the appointment at an Extraordinary General Meeting (currently scheduled for mid-late January 2021) whereupon Bob will officially take on the role as our President.”