Distinguished Academics Recognised in RSE 2018 Medals and Prizes

Leading academics and professionals in Scotland have been recognised by the RSE in its 2018 Prize list. Each year the RSE presents a series of Prizes and Medals to individuals who have made an outstanding commitment and contribution to their field of expertise.

Professor Bonnie Webber, RSE Research Awards Convenor commented, “Congratulations to this year’s RSE Prize-winners who have been recognised for outstanding contributions to their field. The variety of interdisciplinary talent and expertise evident in this year’s recipients is a real testament to the level of knowledge and excellence that we have here in Scotland. The contribution made by these individuals truly encompass the meaning of the RSE’s own mission, Knowledge Made Useful.”

The RSE are delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s RSE Medals and Prizes to the following distinguished individuals:

RSE Public Engagement Prizes

Senior Prize to Professor Rory Duncan, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, for his passion and enormously productive advocacy for public engagement in Scotland, the UK and internationally.

Innovator’s Prize to Mr Lewis Hou, Founder and Director of the Science Ceilidh, and Science Education Consultant, for his innovative and original contributions to public engagement, particularly in thinking creatively about combining arts and sciences through his Science Ceilidh which has engaged over 5000 people around the UK with science and folk festivals and collaborations with Cancer Research UK, ScienceGRRl and various science festivals, including the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

RSE Senior Prizes

RSE/Lord Kelvin Medal to Professor John Irvine FRSE, Professor of Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, for his outstanding contribution to the field of energy materials research.

RSE/Sir James Black Medal to Professor Michael Heath, Professor of Fisheries Science, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, for his outstanding contribution to the field of Fisheries Science. The lecture will be on the very topical area of climate change effects and our understanding of marine ecosystems, fisheries and energy extraction.

RSE/Sir Walter Scott Medal to Professor Duncan Macmillan FRSE, Professor Emeritus in the History of Scottish Art, University of Edinburgh, for his outstanding contribution to the appreciation of Scottish Art and its place within the European Tradition.

RSE Early Career Prizes

RSE/Makdougall Brisbane Medal to Dr Kimberley Kavanagh, Lecturer in Statistics and Chancellor’s Fellow, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde for her outstanding, internationally renowned research in public health epidemiology and health informatics.

RSE/Patrick Neill Medal to Dr Sarah Coulthurst, Deputy Head of Division, Division of Molecular Microbiology, University of Dundee, for her outstanding research work in the field of microbiology, particularly in the area of bacterial communication and competition.

RSE/Henry Duncan Medal to Dr Theodore Koutmeridis, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, for his outstanding work in the field of economics where he combines a clear mastery of the microeconomic methodology, a keen instinct for its empirical applications and a deep commitment to engagement activities.

RSE/Thomas Reid Medal to Dr Matthew Novenson, Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Christian Origins, New College, University of Edinburgh, for his outstanding research work on early Christianity and his strengths as a supervisor of research students, as a successful teacher, and for his exercise of leadership both in his home university department and internationally.

Last month, HRH The Duke of Cambridge awarded the RSE Royal Medals and the Joint IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medals at a private ceremony at the RSE. For more information on the day and recipients, please click here.