Dr. Thijs de Graauw is a world expert in infrared and sub-millimeter astronomy. He has considerable experience in coordinating and leading large international scientific projects. In particular, he was the Principal Investigator of the successful Short Wavelength Spectrometer that flew on the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) and the Principal Investigator of the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Satellite which was launched in 2009. Dr. de Graauw has been serving as Interim ALMA Director from April till October  2008, before being confirmed as the ALMA Director. Before joining ALMA, he was at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), where he was responsible for the infrared and sub-millimeter research program. He was also a professor at Leiden University.