Science and Innovation Minister Malcolm Wicks of the British government's Department of Trade and Industry yesterday announced the appointment of professor David Delpy as chief executive and deputy chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), effective Sept. 1. The EPSRC is the main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences in the United Kingdom. Delpy succeeds professor Sir John O'Reilly; the appointment is for a four-year term. Delpy is currently vice provost for research at University College London (UCL), where he has worked since 1986, first as senior lecturer, then in 1991 as Hamamatsu Professor of Medical Photonics. From 1992-1999 he headed the Medical Physics and Bioengineering Department. Delpy's research interests include physiological monitoring, specifically the development of techniques for the noninvasive monitoring of tissue oxygenation and metabolism. He is a member of the governing council of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.