cc: c.flack@uea date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 19:47:11 +0000 from: Trevor Davies subject: John Schellnhuber CONFIDENTIAL to: hqpo@nerc.ac.uk,v.watts@uea,b.summers@uea,m.hulme@uea CONFIDENTIAL I believe that we might be moving towards arranging a meeting between 5-6 on 28 Feb at a Heathrow Hotel. The following information has filtered through from a source very close to the centre of action. John Schellnhuber had been trying to get Max Planck Institute "status" for PIK. This had failed but he has, more recently, been trying to get some sort of affiliate status and Max Planck funding by developing a linked network with the 3 existing Max Planck Insitutes in related fields - Mainz, Hamburg and Jena. A formal proposal had gone to the Max Planck Society. This has "not been funded", not because it has yet been rejected, but because the "decision has been delayed" by 2-3 months. Some very influential figures in the German climate science community have been doing a lot of lobbying in recent days to get the proposal funded to keep JS in Germany. It seems that they are still active - as of today. JS's decision to come here might have been made because the proposal had not been funded by the decision date. His "boundary conditions" might also reflect the fact that he has the 2/3-month-hence decision at the back of his mind. There are a number of interpretations to all this. We should recognise that whilst we all believe that JS is an honourable man, others have described him as "very political". The advice from my source is that we should get JS to sign on the dotted line as soon as possible and be wary of allowing him too much time before he formally starts as TYN Research Director. Mike, I know, is concerned about the impact on the TYN budget of JS starting very soon (because of the alternative arrangements we have had to make to cope with his absence) & would be reasonably comfortable with an October start, & no ramping up beforehand. John L & I would prefer as early a start as possible (notwithstanding budget considerations). Given the above, my assessment would be that we need the formal commitment (& start) asap, & then to rely on our own assessments that JS is an honourable man. I'm away tomorrow (Friday), but will try to make telephone contact at the beginning of next week. Trevor ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Professor Trevor D. Davies Dean, School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ United Kingdom Tel. +44 1603 592836 Fax. +44 1603 507719 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++