New RSE Royal Medallists and Prize Winners Announced

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has announced its Royal Medallists and Prize Winners for 2013, and there are several Edinburgh academics among them including Dr Chris Speed from Edinburgh College of Art who has won the Innovator’s Prize  “for his creative use of digital technology to enable members of the broader society to better understand their surroundings and history. Through the use of digital technology members of the public expand their ideas about time, space, history and objects, whilst increasing their knowledge of the technology. He was awarded the Principal’s Medal at the University of Edinburgh in 2011 for his work in community engagement.” This is in fact a prize connected with the digital totem pole in Wester Hailes. You can see the raising of the totem pole here in our earlier article.

The RSE President, Sir John Arbuthnott, in announcing the awards said:- “One of the greatest privileges of the role of being President of the Society is the opportunity to meet many of the most talented people working in Scotland today.

Through these awards we are recognising outstanding individuals at points in their lives from those showing great potential at early stages of their career to those who have reached the pinnacle of their discipline and are regarded as such on an international basis. The process of deciding upon these awards provides an opportunity for the RSE and hopefully the research community at home and internationally to learn more about the outstanding and innovative work that is being undertaken in Scotland.”

He continued, “Since the inception of the RSE our core founding principle has been the “Advancement of Learning and Useful Knowledge”. This programme of awards remains absolutely true to this principle.

The pinnacle of the RSE awards is our Royal Medals and I am delighted to be able to announce that the recipients this year will be, Sir John Cadogan, Professor Michael Ferguson and Sir Ian Wood. All three have made outstanding contributions, Sir John and Professor Ferguson in scientific excellence and Sir Ian for his role in building the Wood Group to be a multi-billion pound international enterprise, as well as his work in broader public life.

We are also delighted to award the James Clerk Maxwell Award in conjunction with the IEEE. This year’s winners are, Professors Richard Muller and Richard White of the University of California, for pioneering innovation in micro-electro-mechanical systems technology

Major RSE prizes will also be awarded as follows: the Lord Kelvin Medal to Professor Peter Davies for his work in Fluid Mechanics; the Sir James Black Medal to both, Professor Christopher Haslett for his research into inflammation and for establishing the Queen’s Medical Research Institute, and to Professor Andrew Whiten for his research into primates and animal behaviour; and the Sir Walter Scott Medal to Professor David Hewitt for his work on The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels.”

Sir John concluded, “I wish to extend my congratulations to all of the 2013 Award Winners. Each of them is an inspiration.”

Royal Medals

Sir John Cadogan CBE FRS FRSE, President of the Learned Society of Wales. Professor Michael Ferguson CBE FRS FRSE FMedSci, University of Dundee Sir Ian Wood CBE FRSE, Chairman, John Wood Group PLC

RSE / IEEE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Medal

Professor Richard Muller, University of California Professor Richard White, University of California

RSE Medals

Lord Kelvin Medal: Professor Peter Davies FRSE, University of Dundee
Sir James Black Medal: Professor Christopher Haslett OBE FRSE FMedSci, University of Edinburgh; and, Professor Andrew Whiten FRSE FBA, University of St. Andrews
Sir Walter Scott Medal: Professor David Hewitt FRSE, University of Aberdeen

Early Career Prize Winners

Patrick Neill Medal: Dr Marc Dweck, University of Edinburgh Makdougall Brisbane Medal: Dr Aidan Robson, University of Glasgow Thomas Reid Medal: Dr Gordon Pentland, University of Edinburgh Henry Duncan Medal: Mr Neil McLennan, Aberdeen City Council

RSE Public Engagement Prizes, supported by the James Weir Foundation

Senior Prize: Professor Caroline Wilkinson,

University of Dundee Innovator’s Prize: Dr Chris Speed, Edinburgh College of Art

RSE Pro-Meritas Medal

Dr Russell Leather, Perth
Mr Angus Shearer, Edinburgh
Dr Alan Walker MBE, University of Edinburgh

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.