While fighting the third-year PhD blues at Leiden University in the Netherlands, Tim de Zeeuw, a student in theoretical astronomy, came across an intriguing problem. Until then, galaxies were assumed to have similar elliptical shapes. “But new observations at the time showed the shapes were not as symmetric as scientists once thought,” he says. Over three years, he worked with astronomer Martin Schwarzschild, based at Princeton University, New Jersey, who was developing numerical models to describe one particular galaxy shape. In 1982, de Zeeuw offered an explanation for the full orbital structure and variety of observed motions for the entire range of possible galaxy shapes — complementing Schwarzschild's approach. The experience spurred him to seek more new observations that led to interesting problems.

He later went to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, to do theoretical work detailing the structure of galaxies. Next he and his wife, astrophysicist Ewine van Dishoeck, moved to the California Institute of Technology. In 1990 they accepted offers from Leiden University, where de Zeeuw helped to create a research school, NOVA, from existing astronomy departments. Now proud of the school's success, he admits that “you never know with new initiatives — whether to go for it and put the energy in or not”. As director of NOVA, de Zeeuw secured ten years' funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. He also served on advisory committees for the Hubble Space Telescope — a pivotal move that fostered excellent relations with US scientists.

In the mid-1990s, he helped garner international support to build a replacement instrument for the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands, which was earmarked for retirement. Dubbed SAURON, the instrument surveys spectra across galaxies to study galaxy formation. That experience spurred de Zeeuw to design other instruments.

From September, he will be director-general of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). “Tim's international experience puts him in a good position to lead the ESO, a European organization that operates globally,” says Richard Wade, president of the ESO council.

His first challenge will be to complete the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) in Chile on time and on budget. By fostering new opportunities to learn about the formation of stars and planets, ALMA could be as transformational as the Hubble telescope, says de Zeeuw.