Meet the new BAS Director, Nicholas Owens
Professor Nick Owens joins the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) as Director. We talk to him to find out why he joined BAS and his vision for the future.
There’s an air of optimism around Professor Nick Owens. When asked why he took the job at BAS he says with a smile “It’s simply the best job in UK environmental science”. You know he means it and is thrilled to be taking over the helm from Professor Chris Rapley CBE, who heads off to the Science Museum in London after 10 years at BAS.
Professor Owens comes from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), where he was Director for seven years. In that time, he oversaw a transformation of the institute following a restructuring of Britain’s marine science centres. He helped come up with a bold plan which effectively saw PML privatised. This proved a huge success and PML grew physically, financially and by reputation.
So why did he leave? He says, “It felt like the right time to move on. I was very happy there but the opportunity to work at BAS was too good to miss. I was captivated by the chance to lead such a prominent international organisation,” he says.
He is a specialist in marine biogeochemistry. His professorship at Newcastle University and his position at PML allowed him to follow his passion for hands on research. Professor Owens has studied the processes and reactions (chemical, physical, geological and biological) that govern the composition of the sea and has carried out research on most of the world’s oceans but has a particular interest in the Southern Ocean.
His love of the sea started at a young age. Living near the beach in a house in West Cumberland, he spent a lot of time fishing in small boats with his father.
Professor Owens has worked in the Antarctic before on research ships and says, “I’ve done three trips to the frozen continent and they were the most magical and rewarding of my science career”.
So what’s his vision for BAS? He says, “If it isn’t broken don’t fix it. The organisation is in excellent shape and I want to familiarise myself with how it works and build on its strengths. BAS has bright and imaginative people that will enable us to do this — where there is an opportunity to shine more brightly that is where we must focus”.
When asked about how to tackle climate change Professor Owens says, “The UK needs to take a leadership in mitigation and remediation of climate change. There are mixed messages from scientists about the future and it is difficult to communicate the uncertainties in science. Academic debate is the essence of the scientific method but non-scientists can take these contradictions as meaning we don’t know what we’re talking about. We’ve got to get better at communicating especially at explaining the uncertainties about predictions”.
So what can we do? “I’m a natural optimist,” he says. “I think science will come up with some very novel solutions, but we can’t be complacent. Alongside the technological solutions we also have to change our social systems. Britain led the Industrial Revolution and had a huge influence on the world. We should grasp that leadership back again and be in the vanguard of scientific and technological solutions.”
It’s clear that Professor Owens is proud to be the new BAS Director and will build on the strength of the staff to ensure the organisation continues to take a global lead in environmental science.
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