Heriot-Watt University: Four Heriot-Watt professors become RSE fellows
Four Heriot-Watt professors have been elected as 2022 Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).
Professor Rory Duncan, UK Research and Innovation Director, Talent and Skills; Professor Brian Gerardot, Professor of Physics and RAEng Chair in Emerging Technology; Professor Helen Hastie, Professor of Computer Science and Professor Cheng-Xiang Wang, Professor of Wireless Communications, Institute of Sensors, Signals and Systems.
The RSE, Scotland’s National Academy, announced its 2022 intake of Fellows with 80 names from the arts, business, public service and civil society as well as academia from Scotland and beyond. They will be joining the RSE’s current Fellowship of around 1,700 Fellows, who are recognised as being some of the greatest thinkers, researchers and practitioners working in or with Scotland today.
Deputy Principal of Research and Impact, Professor Steve McLaughlin congratulated the four new fellows. He said: “I am delighted that my four colleagues have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. These elections are well deserved recognition for their significant contributions in computer science, physics, communications and life science. On behalf of everyone at Heriot-Watt, I would like to congratulate all four of our new RSE Fellows.”
This year’s cohort represents the diversity of expertise within Scotland and the UK, with academics, leaders from business, Scotland’s tech sector, the legal sector and arts and culture industries being inducted to the Fellowship.
With a more diverse Fellowship, the RSE hopes to make even more of an impact across its policy, research and engagement work which seeks to address the key contemporary issues of the day.
Professor Sir John Ball, President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, said: “It is a privilege to be able to welcome our new Fellows, and we are inspired by the breadth of talent and experience in our Fellowship. Every single individual elected this year has shown exceptional levels of expertise and insight in their chosen field, and their input helps RSE effect real and lasting change in Scotland’s society.
“We look forward to working with our diverse Fellowship who provide a crucial link between the world of academic research and practice with government, business and civil society”.
This year, Dr Annie Lennox, Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University and award-winning Scottish singer, songwriter and activist, has received an Honorary Fellowship.
Others named as Fellows of the RSE this year include Professor Mark Logan, co-Founder of Ipso-Facto where he is an investment and start-up adviser, Theresa Shearer, Chief Executive Officer of ENABLE Group and an influential Scottish third sector leader who has delivered policy change both domestically and internationally and Professor Marc Turner, Director at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and Professor of Cellular Therapy at the University of Edinburgh.