Image: TWAS [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Flickr
Former Rwandan science minister brought “unwavering dedication” to the Trieste-based organisation, president says
The World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy, is looking for its next executive director after announcing the retirement this week of Romain Murenzi.
Murenzi, a former science minister of Rwanda, stepped down on 30 November after more than 10 years in the post.
Academy president Quarraisha Abdool Karim praised Murenzi’s “unwavering dedication and commitment” to the organisation. “While we will miss him in this role, we wish him well and every success in this new chapter of his life,” she said in a statement.
The academy is advertising the post with a deadline of 3 January 2024. In the interim, Atish Dabholkar, director of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics—also based in Trieste—will fill the post.
Candidates keen to apply for the vacancy need to be natural scientists with at least a PhD and have 15 years’ experience of working in scientific research administration at an international level.
Murenzi plans to concentrate on his research and teaching at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the US.
“We are excited to have professor Romain Murenzi join the WPI family,” said Douglas Petkie, department head and professor of physics in WPI’s school of arts and sciences. “His rich international background will be a tremendous asset to our global science, technology, engineering and mathematics engagement.”