Two Catz fellows elected to Royal Society Fellowship
St Catherine’s is delighted to announce that two of its fellows have been elected fellows of the Royal Society. The College sends its congratulations to:
- Alain Goriely, Statutory Professor of Mathematical Modelling
- Ian Shipsey, Henry Moseley Centenary Professor of Experimental Physics
Each year, the Royal Society elects up to 52 new fellows. Each must have made ‘a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science.’
Alongside Alain and Ian, six other Oxford academics this year have been elected; however it is especially unusual that two fellows from one Oxford college have been elected as Royal Society fellows in a single year.
Alain Goriely
Alain Goriely (pictured above, left) conducts mathematical research in a wide range of fields. These currently include trying to understand the maths of the human brain, of cancer and of lithium-ion batteries, among many more areas.
He is also director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (OCIAM) and director of the International Brain and Mechanics Lab.
Commenting on his election, Alain said: ‘I am extremely honoured to be elected to the Royal Society. My first thoughts were of my collaborators and students, with whom I have had the pleasure and privilege to interact over the years. I owe much to their intellect, generosity, and friendship. I owe even more to my wonderful family.
‘I also see this as a recognition of the importance of mathematical modelling and multidisciplinary sciences in today’s world. While mathematics continues to provide a rigorous framework in many areas of science, it has become increasingly important to tackle the great societal challenges that we are facing.’
Read more about Alain Goriely »
Ian Shipsey
Ian Shipsey (pictured above, right) is an experimental particle physicist. His work sees him collaborating as part of large, international groups of scientists who seek to understand the universe: how it was born, how it evolves, and how it will end.
His particular research focus is on developing instruments that enable this understanding, including a detector that helped identify the Higgs boson particle for the first time.
Ian is also Head of the Department of Physics and has held a number of other senior positions in organisations related to the field.
Commenting on his election, Ian said: ‘I was humbling to learn of this award. Experimental Particle Physics is a manifestly collective endeavour. I am incredibly fortunate to work with brilliant, dedicated and inspirational colleagues: students, post docs, technicians, engineers, lab scientists, faculty and administrative staff from several parts of the subject from Oxford, the UK, the US, and across the globe.
‘They have worked so hard together over many years, united in their passion to make progress toward answering some of the great science questions and developing the tools to address them, achieving the scientific results recognised today. I would like to share this recognition with all who contributed.’
The Royal Society
The origins of the Royal Society can be traced to an ‘invisible college’ of natural philosophers and physicians who first met in 1660. The Society today is dedicated to promoting excellence in science for the benefit of humanity.
Commenting on this year’s new crop of fellows, President of the Royal Society Sir Adrian Smith said: ‘It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.
‘Through their careers so far, these researchers have helped further our understanding of human disease, biodiversity loss and the origins of the universe. I am also pleased to see so many new Fellows working in areas likely to have a transformative impact on our society over this century, from new materials and energy technologies to synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. I look forward to seeing what great things they will achieve in the years ahead.’
You can find more about fellowship of Royal Society, and the full list of those elected to it this year, on the Royal Society website.