The CERN Council has renewed the appointment of Prof. Belén Gavela as member of the CERN Scientific Policy Committee

The CERN Council has renewed the appointment of Prof. Belén Gavela as member of the CERN Scientific Policy Committee (SPC) for a second term of office from 1st of January 2017 to 31st December 2019. 

The tasks of the SPC include to advise the CERN Council on scientific matters and to examine the scientific plans of the Organization for the years ahead. The appointments, for a period of three years, renewable once, are "ad personam", solely on the basis of scientific excellence.

The SPC is one of two subsidiary bodies to the CERN Council established by the Convention. It was created by Council at its first meeting in 1954, and included some of the most distinguished European physicists at the time, four of its eight members being Nobel Laureates and another member awarded that distinction later in his career.

The task of the SPC is to generally advise Council on scientific matters related to the Organization, namely

1. to make recommendations to the Council on the priorities of research programmes and the allocation of research effort both within the Laboratories of the Organization and extramurally;

2. to examine and make recommendations to the Council on the annual goals of the various scientific activities of the Organization;

3. to annually assess the achievements of the Organization with regard to the past year annual goals of the various scientific activities;

4. to advise the Council from the point of view of scientific policy on the management and staffing of the Organization, including the visitors programme and the nomination of senior staff;

5. to advise the Council on any other matters which affect the scientific activities of the Organization.

The SPC also advices the European Strategy Sessions of Council and the SPC Chair is a member of the Secretariat of those sessions.