The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is pleased to announce the election of 66 new Fellows – including a number of prominent Scottish and UK business figures.

Jaguar’s renowned Director of Design Ian Callum is made a Fellow, along with Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive of Virgin Money, who is based in Edinburgh.

The new Fellows include former Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who since leaving politics has become a hugely respected advocate for a variety of humanitarian issues and global education; and the US-based philanthropist and former pianist, Carol Colburn Grigor, who has donated more than £30 million to the arts in Scotland and lent her support for a variety of arts campaigns in the UK. Both have been elected as Honorary Fellows.

Ian Callum, a Scot, is one of the world’s leading automotive designers and has been Director of Design at Jaguar since 1999. In 2006, he was elected Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia has been Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money since 2007. In May 2016 she published her review into Women in Finance on behalf of the UK Government which focuses on progressing gender diversity. She sits on the Board of Trustees of the Tate.

The 66 new Fellows will help the RSE to continue to provide independent and expert advice to policymakers, support aspiring entrepreneurs, develop research capacity and leadership, inspire and facilitate learning and engage with the general public through inspiring events.

The RSE, unusual amongst National Academies for its multi-disciplinary approach, continues to strengthen its Fellowship by appointing leading professionals from within the arts, business and public sector as well as within academia. Some of these leading professionals include:

Zinnie Harris

Playwright, Screenwriter and Theatre Director

Harris is arguably Scotland’s leading female playwright, writing for large national companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Scotland, and directing plays for the National Theatre of Scotland, Traverse and Lyceum Theatres.

As a screenwriter she has written for BBC1 and Channel Four, most prominently with the hit TV series ‘Spooks.’

Ian Callum

Director of Design, Jaguar

Ian Callum is one of the world’s leading automotive designers and has been Director of Design at Jaguar since 1999. In 2006 he was elected Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Money

Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money since 2007. In May 2016, on behalf of the UK Government, she published her review into Women in Finance which focuses on progressing gender diversity. She sits on the Board of Trustees of the Tate.

Gordon Charles Rintoul

Director, National Museums of Scotland

In 2002, Gordon Rintoul became Director of the National Museums Scotland, the leading visitor attraction in Scotland with 2.7 million annual visitors across four sites. He oversaw the £60 million development of the National Museum of Scotland which is now the most visited attraction outside London.

Our new RSE Fellows are also involved in the highest levels of research:

Giles Hardingham

Professor of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Edinburgh

As Director of the Edinburgh-based MRC UK Dementia Research Institute, Giles Hardingham is undertaking key research impacting on dementia and neurodegenerative disease research.

Giles Hammond

Professor of Experimental Gravitational Physics, University of Glasgow

Giles Hammond played a pivotal role in the recent detection of gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers, leading the work on noise reduction that was the critical factor in enabling the detection. He is also a founding member of the RSE Young Academy of Scotland.

Michele Burman

Professor of Criminology, Head of School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow

Michele Burman is a leading criminologist in Scotland. Her research on young women and violence and on criminal justice responses to rape has had a significant impact on policy, legislation and police and judicial training.

International work is key to the RSE, demonstrating the strength of our international programme, several notable individuals join the RSE as Corresponding Fellows, including:

Ian Frazer

Head, Cancer Immunotherapy Program, University of Queensland
Co-inventor of the technology behind the HPV vaccine which has been administered to over 130 million people globally.

Man-Chung Tang

Chairman of the Board, T.Y. Lin International

A civil engineer, Tang is the world’s leading innovator of cable-stayed bridges. Works includes Yangpu Bridge, Shanghai, China – one of the world’s longest bridges and Penang Bridge, the second longest bridge in Malaysia.

Diversifying the Fellowship:

The RSE is committed to diversifying its Fellowship and with that in mind we are delighted that 41% of our new Fellows are female. The RSE is also pleased to welcome six current and former Young Academy of Scotland (YAS) members, bringing the total number of former or current YAS members in the RSE Fellowship to 12.

On 1^st April 2018, the RSE’s new President and Council will take up their positions. For the first time since its conception in 1783, the RSE has a council membership that is majority female, including first female President Dame Jocelyn Bell Burrell, and is led by its first female CEO, Dr Rebekah Widdowfield. The new Council in April 2018 will continue to be majority female including Professor Dame Anne Glover as President and Dr Allison Elliott OBE as General Secretary.

Commenting on the new fellows, current President of the RSE, Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE, said, “Each year we welcome a selection of nominated extraordinary individuals into the Fellowship and this year is no exception. The diverse range of achievements of these individuals will be an asset to the RSE and I am sure they will strengthen the RSE’s standing as a national academy committed to providing public benefit to Scottish society. I also welcome the increasing number of female Fellows to the RSE, something we have focused on improving in past years and part of our wider commitment to diversity.”