The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Dr. Hans Blix, in consultation with the Director General of UNESCO, Prof. Federico Mayor, has appointed Prof. Miguel A. Virasoro from Argentina as the new Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics based in Trieste, Italy.

Prof. Virasoro has had a wide and distinguished international scientific career, specializing in theoretical physics. Born in 1940, Prof. Virasoro received his degree and doctorate in Physics at the University of Buenos Aires. Following positions in countries including the United States, Argentina, France, and Italy, he worked at CERN in Geneva in the early '80s. Thereafter he returned to Italy, where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Rome.

In 1994, Professor Virasoro was the first person to be awarded the prestigious Rammal Medal by the Société Fran?aise de Physique and the école Normale Sup?rieure Foundation for his outstanding services to science in the Mediterranean region.

He is expected to assume his new position as of June 1995. His predecessor, Prof. Abdul Salam of Pakistan, will continue to serve as President of the Centre.