11 March 2011

RSE honour for Dundee academics

The 2011 election of new Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh has seen the honour bestowed on three academics from the University of Dundee.

The new Fellows from Dundee are Professor Jill Belch, Professor Frank Sargent and Professor Frank Sullivan. Each new Fellow of the RSE is recognised within his or her peer group as having achieved excellence within their discipline or profession.

Professor Pete Downes, Principal of the University, congratulated the new Fellows, saying, 'It is a pleasure to see three more of our distinguished staff being recognised as new Fellows of Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a credit to their individual professional achievements and a source of pride for the whole University.'

The trio from Dundee join the RSE’s 1500-strong Fellowship of experts in the Sciences, Arts, Humanities, the Professions, Industry and Commerce. New Fellows are elected after a rigorous four-stage selection process culminating in a ballot of the entire Fellowship.

Once admitted to the RSE, Fellows are encouraged to contribute to the aims and objectives of the Society, including the provision of expert policy advice to Government and Parliament, outreach education programmes for young people, and public engagement events including conferences and discussion forums. The central aim of the Society is the advancement of learning and useful knowledge.

Professor Belch was appointed Professor of Vascular Medicine at the University in 1995. She is currently Head of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research, based at the Medical School at Ninewells Hospital.

Frank Sargent is Professor of Bacterial Physiology in the College of Life Sciences, where he carries out prize-winning research in the fields of microbiology and biotechnology. His research focuses on how bacteria can live and grow in the absence of air.

Professor Frank Sullivan is Director of the Scottish School of Primary Care, based at Ninewells Hospital, and is also a working GP.

The RSE was founded in 1783 by Royal Charter and is Scotland’s National Academy of Science and Letters. Former and current Fellows of the RSE include Sir Walter Scott, Sir Charles Darwin, John Logie Baird, William Wordsworth, James Clerk Maxwell, John Scott Russell, Francis Crick, Sir James Black, Sir Philip Cohen, Sir David Lane, Sir Paul Nurse, and Fred Sanger.

Today it has around 1500 Fellows whose expertise encompasses the full spectrum of the sciences, medicine, engineering and technology, education, law, the arts, humanities, social sciences, business, industry, the professions and public service. This multi-disciplinary perspective makes the RSE unique amongst the United Kingdom’s learned societies.

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