STFC director honoured by the Royal Society
17 Apr 2019 02:46 PM
Dr Andrew Taylor, most recently the Executive Director of STFC’s National Laboratories, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his exceptional contribution to science.
Dr Taylor was honoured for his many innovative contributions to the early development of spallation neutron sources, their instruments and the science done with them.
He was also recognised for his continued worldwide leadership of large-scale facility research, in particular neutron sources, through which he has guided and enabled a wide range of science that directly impacts and underpins many of the most significant technological challenges and developments of the 21st Century.
Speaking about the award, Dr Taylor said:
"I'm honoured to have been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This recognition covers the last 40 years at STFC where I, along with my incredibly supportive colleagues, have strived to develop world-ranking capabilities in accelerator technology, space science, particle physics, instrumentation and scientific computing as well as the UK’s national neutron and laser facilities. As a new Fellow I am pleased and proud that the current Fellows have chosen to add me to their number.”
Dr Taylor was instrumental in the design and operation of the UK’s pioneering ISIS neutron facility in Oxfordshire, which under his twenty-year leadership was established as the premier facility of its type world-wide. Further to this, in 2012 Andrew was appointed Executive Director of STFC’s National Laboratories – RAL, Daresbury, and the UKATC in Edinburgh.
Professor Mark Thomson, STFC’s Executive Chair, said of Andrew’s honour:
"Here at STFC, the substantial contribution Andrew has made over the years is very evident. Andrew has ensured not only that the UK had a globally-recognised research facility in the ISIS neutron and muon source but that the rest of our research laboratory activities are also world leading. It is wonderful to see Andrew recognised in this way by his peers in the Royal Society.”
Scientists from within the STFC research community also honoured on this occasion include:
- STFC-funded nuclear physicist Professor Peter Butler from the University of Liverpool
- Professor Barry Barish, executive director emeritus of the LIGO Observatory and 2017 Nobel Prize winner for his role in the first detection of gravitational waves
- Dr Bernard Fanaroff, the former director of the Square Kilometre Array Telescope
The Fellowship of the Royal Society is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from, or living and working in, the UK and the Commonwealth along with a number of other international institutions. In 2019, fifty eminent scientists have become Fellows of the Royal Society, as well as ten new Foreign Members for their exceptional contributions to science.
Dr Taylor’s awards include an OBE (1999) for services to neutron science, the Glazebrook Medal of the Institute of Physics (2006) and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2006). He holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Glasgow and London.
Visit the Royal Society website to find out more.