In June, Agilent appointed Neil Cook, PhD, as vice president and director of the Molecular Technology Laboratory at Agilent Laboratories. He will also serve as the R&D/technology manager for the Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis business. Most recently, he was vice president for research and business development and chief scientific officer for PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences. In July, Shimadzu opened a regional office in Carlsbad, California, its ninth US regional office, to serve Southern California, Southern Nevada and Hawaii. Many of the employees of Shimadzu’s former regional distributor, Cole Scientific, have transferred to the subsidiary. Samuel D. Colella retired from Symyx’s Board in June and was replaced by Bruce Pasternack, who most recently served as president and CEO of the Special Olympics. On July 13, Horiba opened the Horiba Technology Center in Santa Clara, California, with a staff of 23, including 10 engineers, who will develop fluid controlling devices and vacuum analyzing devices for subsystems on semiconductor producing equipment. In July, Thermo Fisher Scientific named Michael A. Bell, managing director of Monitor Clipper Partners, and Stephen P. Kaufman, senior lecturer of business administration at the Harvard Business School, to its Board. BOC Edwards changed its named to Edwards. Roche Applied Science sales increased 9% to CHF 331 million ($271.3 million) in the first half of 2007, led by sales of the Light Cycler 480, Genome Sequencer 20 and FLX systems, and reagents. North American and Rest of World sales increased 9% and 15% to make up 39% and 17% of sales, respectively. Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 7% to make up 44% of revenue. Roche announced that Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche Diagnostics, will succeed Franz B. Humer as chief executive in March 2008. OI named Craig Marvin vice president of Sales. Becton, Dickinson and Company plans to elect Marshall O. Larsen to its Board effective September 24. He is chairman, president and CEO of Goodrich. In July, LECO’s Separation Science group moved to a new 11,500 sq. ft. building in Saint Joseph, Michigan, which will serve as the headquarters for Separation Science sales and applications. VWR International agreed to distribute ICP Bio’s plasma protein products in the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the UK, Europe and Ireland. In August, Mettler-Toledo’s Laboratory division established a Puerto Rico–based sales and service team. First-half 2007 sales for Spectris Process Technology rose 2%, 9% in constant currencies, to £163.4 million ($323.6 million) (see page 12). The mining, metals and semiconductor sectors drove sales of PANalytical’s X-ray analysis systems.