It is an enormous honour for me to take over from Peter Bearman as Editor-in-Chief of the world's oldest aeronautics journal. Most of you will not know me and thus I'd like to give you a bit of background: I grew up in Bavaria and studied Aerospace Engineering at Stuttgart University. Under the German system it was common to work on the final research project (Diploma thesis) outside the University and I was lucky enough to find a suitable place in Cranfield. There, my supervisor was John Stollery, who led this journal as Editor-in-Chief for many years. After a PhD in hypersonic aerodynamics (also at Cranfield) I became a post-doctoral researcher at Tohoku University in Japan. 18 months later I returned to the UK to take up a lectureship in aerodynamics at the Engineering Department of Cambridge University where I am now the Professor of Aerodynamics, Head of the Fluids Group and Deputy Head of Department with responsibility for graduate education.

My research spans all areas of aerodynamics from low Reynolds number unsteady flows and road vehicles all the way to high-speed flow and shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions. I am a committed experimentalist but have ‘dabbled’ in CFD at various stages in my career. My editorial experience stems from 13 years as an Associate Editor of the Journal and seven years as Associate Editor of Experiments in Fluids.

My very first journal article was published by The Aeronautical Journal. Thus, being given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Peter and John has many personal resonances. They have done so much to move the Journal forward and I hope to be able to continue this trajectory, although I am aware that these are rather large boots to fill. The Journal is supported by an excellent team at the Society and Cambridge University Press, a committed Editorial Board and a large body of outstanding Associate Editors, therefore, we can look into the future with considerable optimism.