Business leaders elected to Royal Society of Edinburgh fellowship
A range of Scottish business figures have been elected as the latest fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Ana Stewart, a technology entrepreneur, board member of the Scottish Football Association and founder of Pathways Forward - an initiative that helps women forge their way in business - joins the RSE fellowship.
She said: “Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of our economy and we all have a part to play in shaping our society into one that welcomes all of our entrepreneurs through every stage of their journey, regardless of gender or background.
“I look forward to working with other Fellows to help shape Scotland’s future in this endeavour.”
Gillian Docherty OBE has also joined the fellowship of the RSE. She is recognised as a leader in the field of data technology, and has worked to champion innovation, digital skills and community engagement with technology. She is the chief commercial officer of the University of Strathclyde, the chair of CodeBase and is the president of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
Professor William Buchanan OBE, of Edinburgh Napier University, is a cyber security expert and computer scientist. Among a range of achievements, he has been the inspiration behind at least four university spin-out companies: Zonefox, Cyacomb, Symphonic and Memcrypt.
He commented: “It is such an honour to be acknowledged by an organisation which prides itself on recognising the finest scientific and technological minds in our country.
“My love for innovation, research, and, especially, teaching will never leave me - I feel honoured to teach and research the topics that I care deeply about and to live and work in one of the most beautiful, cultured and educated cities on the planet.
“Scotland is truly the best place in the world to build the future, and our four amazing cyber security spinouts are a testament to this.”
Also elected was Mike Welch OBE, president and chief executive of Treadsy and founder and chair of The Welch Trust.
“Becoming a fellow is an incredible honour, and means I am following in the footsteps of two iconic figures to me,“ he explained. “Robert William Thomson, the Scottish inventor who dreamt up and patented the pneumatic tyre in 1847, in the very same street that we have our home in Edinburgh.
“And Sir Tom Farmer, one of the world's foremost retailers of tyres, who mentored me and brought me to the great city of Edinburgh at the advent of the internet to build Kwik-Fit online.
“Through their example and the privilege of becoming a fellow, I feel humbled and motivated to continue my work as an entrepreneur and philanthropist.”
Patrick Macdonald, chair of the Institute of Directors, also joins this year’s cohort. An entrepreneur with a career ranging from the Ministry of Defence to leadership of companies such as John Menzies and Moneypenny, he also founded the School for CEOs.
President of the RSE, professor Sir John Ball, said: “It is an immense honour to extend a warm welcome to each of our distinguished new fellows.
“Individually, they embody exceptional dedication and accomplishment spanning multiple sectors and disciplines, collectively they demonstrate a profound commitment and determination to make meaningful contributions through their endeavours.
“As Scotland’s National Academy, we remain committed to mobilising a diverse array of expertise to confront society's most pressing challenges, and I am certain that our new fellows will prove invaluable assets to the RSE.”
As well as achievements in business, new fellows are elected for their individual excellence in a wide range of fields such as physics, chemistry, informatics, literature, law and social sciences. They will be joining the 1,800 current fellows of the RSE.
The complete list of new Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh is as follows:
Honorary fellows
Armando Iannucci
Writer and political satirist
Professor David Croisdale-Appleby
Chair, Healthwatch England
Corresponding fellows
Professor Alan Reid
Professor of mathematics, Rice University
Professor Ann Rigney
Professor in comparative literature, Utrecht University
Professor De-Zhu Li
Professor of botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming Institute of Botany
Professor Donald Dingwell
Director, Department for Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Professor John Cioffi
Professor emeritus of Engineering, Standford University
Professor Miguel Ferrer Baena
Research professor, Department of Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation, Spanish National Research Council
Fellows
Dr Sally Magnusson
Founder, Playlist for Life, broadcaster and journalist
Dr Michael Welch
President of Tirebuyer.com
Michael P Clancy
Director of law reform, Law Society of Scotland
Patrick Macdonald
Chair, Institute of Directors
Ana Stewart
Chair, Pathway Forward
Gillian Docherty
Chief commercial officer, University of Strathclyde
Laura Dunlop
President, Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland
Leonie Bell
Director, V&A Dundee
Chris Stark
Chief executive, Climate Change Committee
Professor Ailsa Hall
Former director, Sea Mammal Research Unit
Professor Apala Majumdar
Professor of applied mathematics, University of Strathclyde
Professor David Dockrell
Chair of Infection Medicine, director of the Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh
Professor Donna Heddle
Director, Institute for Northern Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands
Professor Elham Kashefi
Personal chair in Quantum Computing, University of Edinburgh
Professor Emma Sutton
Professor of English, University of St Andrews
Professor Emma Thomson
Professor in infectious diseases, University of Glasgow
Professor Fiona Leverick
Professor of criminal law and criminal justice, University of Glasgow
Professor Gabriela Medero
Associate principal for business and enterprise, professor in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, Heriot Watt University
Professor George Batty
Professor of epidemiology and public health, University College London
Professor Hamish Simpson
Professor of orthopaedics and trauma, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, University of Edinburgh
Professor J Ross Fitzgerald
Personal chair of molecular bacteriology, University of Edinburgh
Professor Jason Gill
Professor of cardiometabolic health, University of Glasgow
Professor Jason König
Professor of classics, University of St Andrews
Professor Jonathan Fraser
Director of research, mathematics, University of St Andrews
Professor Judith Phillips
Deputy principal (research), University of Stirling
Professor Keith Mathieson
Professor of neurophotonics, University of Strathclyde
Professor Kirsteen McCue
Professor of Scottish literature and song culture, University of Glasgow
Professor Kirsty Gunn
Professor of creative writing, University of Dundee
Professor Lindsay Beevers
Chair of environmental engineering and head of Research Institute, University of Edinburgh
Professor Lorna Marson
Professor of transplant surgery at the Transplant Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Professor Malcolm Macleod
Professor of neurology and translational neurosciences, University of Edinburgh
Professor Marc Dweck
Professor of clinical cardiology, University of Edinburgh
Professor Marc Vendrell
Chair of translational chemistry and biomedical imaging, University of Edinburgh
Professor Neil Carragher
Professor of drug discovery, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh
Professor Nicole Busby
Professor of human rights, equality and justice, University of Glasgow
Professor Patrick Meir
Personal chair in ecosystem science, school of geosciences, University of Edinburgh
Professor Paul Foster
Professor in new testament language, literature and theology, University of Edinburgh
Professor Paul Mealor
Chair in composition, University of Aberdeen
Professor Peter Hopkins
Professor of social geography, Newcastle University
Professor Ross Forgan
Professor of supramolecular and materials chemistry, University of Glasgow
Professor Sarah Coulthurst
Professor of microbial interactions, University of Dundee
Professor Sayantan Ghosal
Adam Smith chair in political economy, University of Glasgow
Professor Sinéad Collins
Professor of microbial evolution, University of Edinburgh
Professor Sonja Franke-Arnold
Professor in atom and quantum optics, University of Glasgow
Professor Stephen Brusatte
Professor of palaeontology and evolution, University of Edinburgh
Professor Tom Guzik
Regius chair of physiology and cardiovascular pathobiology, University of Glasgow
Professor Vernon Gayle
Professor of sociology and social statistics, University of Edinburgh
Professor Victoria Martin
Professor of collider physics, University of Edinburgh
Professor William Buchanan
Professor of applied cryptography, Edinburgh Napier University
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