A new managing director has been appointed to head up MIT’s Media Lab in Dublin, following last year’s departure of Dr Rudy Burger. The position will be filled by Dr Simon Jones, who up until recently was Dean of Engineering & Design at the University of Bath.
Following the departure of Dr Rudy Burger (who established the MIT Media Lab in Dublin) last year the post of MD was filled by acting MD by Dr Ken Haase. Media Lab Europe, MIT board member, Wired columnist and leading digerati Nicholas Negreponte praised Haase for his diligent work in the intervening months leading up to Dr Jones’ appointment.
Speaking of his appointment, Dr Jones commented: “I am very excited at the prospect of leading Media Lab Europe as it continues to grow into one of the principal research and innovation facilities on the European continent and I look forward to expanding its engagement with European industry.”
Jones is a senior academic and consultant of international standing in the area of computer systems, electronics and IT. Five years after his PhD he was awarded a full Professorship at the UK’s largest Engineering Research Institution Loughborough University, where he held the ARM/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Embedded Microelectronic Systems.
In 1998, he was awarded The Siemens/German Research Ministry Research Chair at the Technical University of Dresden, to advance new computer systems for the consumer electronic markets. He is also the current chairman of the UK and Ireland Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
By John Kennedy
