ARIES - Key Persons

Stuart is an experienced marine scientist with a strong track record of building Cefas' reputation and customer base. He has had a lot of operational experience through direct management and accounting responsibility as Director of Environment and Ecosystem science teams, and has published widely in the peer-reviewed literature. He is also actively involved in delivering science and evidence to government as a senior adviser to Defra Marine and Fisheries, and providing support for UK government in Europe. Through the Cefas Management Board he now has corporate responsibility for strategy and science planning, implements the Cefas Science and Evidence Strategy, and delivers our Ministerial Indicators for science output and self-investment. He is responsible for the strategic direction of Cefas science and is accountable for the quality of evidence and advice to our customers.

Dr Terry McGenity

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Deputy Director ( on Study Leave from August 2019 ) Reader in Environmental Microbiology

Dr Tim Hill

Job Titles:

Chief Scientist, Natural England
Natural England 's Senior Executive

Tim is a member of Natural England's Senior Executive who, alongside his wider organisational leadership role, has specific responsibility for the use and quality of science & evidence in Natural England. Tim has worked for Natural England, its predecessor English Nature and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for over 20 years in various leadership, management and specialist roles including: marine ecology; marine and terrestrial nature conservation; protected areas designation, management and regulation; wildlife management; access; and team and project management Tim has a PhD in Marine Ecology (University of Liverpool) and a joint honours degree in Marine Biology and Zoology (University College North Wales). Tim has been a member of Natural England's Senior Executive since December 2014, with former senior leadership roles including Director Regulatory Services and Access and Director of Evidence. Tim has been Natural England's Chief Scientist since 2011.

Dr Vittoria Danino

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Head of Partnerships and Innovation

Iain Stewart

Job Titles:

Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth

Iain Stewart is professor of geoscience communication at the University of Plymouth and director of its Sustainable Earth Institute. His research expertise is in geohazards and recent geological change, alongside interests in promoting geoscience to the public.

Ms Melanie Steele

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Head of Quality and Information

Prof Christine Maggs

Job Titles:

Editor - in - Chief of the European Journal of Phycology

Prof Christine Maggs graduated with a Botany degree from St Catherine's College, Oxford in 1978 and a PhD from National University of Ireland, Galway in 1983. Formerly Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science & Technology at Bournemouth University, she is now the Chief Scientist and Deputy Chief Executive of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Her main research interests are molecular systematics of seaweeds with particular interests in alien marine algae and plants, biological conservation, and sustainable seaweed exploitation. She has described two new orders and three new families of alga and has published over a hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers and written three books on seaweeds. Professor Maggs has been the Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Phycology for 16 years and is on the Editorial Board of Annales Botanici Fennici and Systematics and Biodiversity. She was appointed as Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2013 and is a member of the REF2021 subpanel UoA 7 Earth and Environment. In addition, in 2017, Professor Maggs was awarded the British Ecological Society Equality and Diversity Champion award for her contributions to enhancing the practice of equality and diversity in the ecological community.

Prof David Bilton

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Deputy Director / Professor of Aquatic Biology

Prof Jenni Barclay

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Director and Chair of the ARIES Strategy Board / Professor of Volcanology

Prof Jim Groombridge

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Head of Multidisciplinarity

Prof Matt Gage

Job Titles:

Member of the Strategy Board
Head of Research / Professor of Evolutionary Ecology

Rufus Howard

Job Titles:

Director of Sustainable Development, Royal HaskoningDHV
Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management

Rufus Howard is an environment and sustainability professional with 15 years' experience in academia, government and international business. Rufus specialises in project direction, stakeholder negotiation, and expert technical advice on project initiation, feasibility and due diligence. Rufus has developed his experience through working on a range of national and international infrastructure projects across energy transmission, renewable energy, river management and industry. Rufus is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv). Rufus is also a steering member of the Impact Assessment Network (IEMA) and the UK and Ireland Branch of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). In addition to the ARIES Advisory board, Rufus sits on strategic advisory boards at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), and the Kent Nature Partnership (KNP), where he provides advice on strategic foresight and innovation. Rufus works for public and private clients including; the World Bank, The Crown Estate, the EBRD, Statkraft, Orsted, National Grid and the Environment Agency.