One of Europe's most respected science administrators, Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker of the German Research Foundation (DFG), has been chosen as the first secretary-general of the new funding agency, the European Research Council (ERC). His appointment has been applauded by senior figures in the scientific community."He's the right person for the job," said Peter Tindemans, convenor of the science policy working group at Euroscience. "I think it's a very good choice. It will give much confidence, I think, to the European research community that the ERC will live up to its promise."The ERC has been a major talking-point in EU science for years. It is envisaged as an independent funding body that will support fundamental research on the basis of peer-review, not the matrix of social and political agendas that constrain other forms of EU funding. Winnacker, 65, had been the frontrunner for the secretary-general's post. He had already announced his...

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