19 May 2009

Sheffield scientists receive top Royal Society honour

Two scientists from the University of Sheffield have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, the highest possible accolade for British scientists. Professor Neil Hunter and Professor Maurice Skolnick follow in the footsteps of renowned figures, such as Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, as Fellows of the 350-year-old scientific academy.

Professor Hunter, of the University´s Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, has received the honour for his work into the way bacteria and plants make chlorophylls and use these green pigments to harvest the energy of sunlight, the first step in the process of photosynthesis. Life on earth depends on this ability of bacteria and plants to convert solar energy into food and oxygen. Better understanding of this process will help to secure food supplies for the world's population, and to develop new ways of harvesting solar energy to meet energy needs in a sustainable way.

Professor Skolnick, from the University´s Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been recognised by the Society for his work into the way light interacts with electrons in carefully designed semiconductor nanostructures. These are currently used in new types of light emitting diodes and solid state lasers, like the ones in DVD players. In the future this work may lead to new, hugely powerful types of computers based on the principles of quantum mechanics.

Each year the Royal Society awards 44 Fellowships to the best scientists in recognition of their scientific achievements. Fellows of the Royal Society include, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee; Professor Stephen Hawking, who works on the basic laws that govern our universe; Professor Sir Harry Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of a new form of carbon; and Professor Richard Roberts, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993 for his discovery of "split genes". Sir Harry and Professor Roberts are both former students of the University of Sheffield.

Professor Keith Burnett, the University´s Vice-Chancellor, welcomed the news, saying: "We are enormously proud of the achievements of Professors Hunter and Skolnick that have led to their election to the Royal Society. I send them my personal congratulations on this very considerable honour."