RSE President’s Medal
The RSE President’s Medal is awarded, on the President’s initiative, to an individual or group, to recognise excellence and outstanding achievement in a category, institution, or place not covered by the other RSE awards and outwith the academy. A Scottish connection is required. It is normally awarded only once per Presidency.
- Nominations can only be made by Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- Deadline for nominations is 13:00, 7 December 2022.
- To nominate, please email the Research Awards team on [email protected].
In 2016 a total of 16 researchers were awarded the prestigious President’s Medal by RSE President Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell for this outstanding achievement.
| No | Name(s) | Institution | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr Iain W. Martin | University of Glasgow | For development of noise reduction techniques associated with mechanical bonding and optical coatings, essential to the sensitivity achieved by Advanced LIGO |
| 2 | Dr Jonathan R. Gair | University of Edinburgh | For contributions to the development of the methods used to estimate the rates of black hole binary coalescences based on the observed events |
| 3 | Professor Stuart Reid | University of the West of Scotland | For contributions in the area of reducing thermal noise in the suspensions and mirror coatings, essential to the successful operation and detection results from Advanced LIGO |
| 4 | Dr Stefan Hild | University of Glasgow | For advances in the sensitivity of the interferometry for both the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors |
| 5 | Dr Ik Siong Heng | University of Glasgow | For leadership of the group which, based on many years of background research, made the first real observation of a gravitational wave signal |
| 6 | Professor Giles Hammond | University of Glasgow | For the implementation on site of the silica fibre suspension elements essential to the low noise operation of the Advanced LIGO detectors |
| 7 | Professor Martin A. Hendry MBE FRSE | University of Glasgow | For contributions to the estimation of Advanced LIGO detection rates and significance, and for leading contributions to the global public outreach programme associated with the first detections |
| 8 | Professor Graham Woan | University of Glasgow | For his sustained leadership role in LIGO data analysis and development of Bayesian inference methods in the collaboration |
| 9 | Professor Nicholas A. Lockerbie | University of Strathclyde | For leadership of the work at the University of Strathclyde which resulted in contributions to the electrostatic drive and sensor systems, for the control of the Advanced LIGO suspension structures—essential for the subsequent detection |
| 10 | Dr Gavin Newton | University of Glasgow | For earlier work on the prototype interferometer at the University of Glasgow and contributions to the GEO 600 detector in Germany which led to techniques adopted in Advanced LIGO |
| 11 | Dr Harry Ward | University of Glasgow | For earlier, but essential, contributions to the prototype detectors at the University of Glasgow and the California Institute of Technology, in the areas of laser frequency, amplitude and directional stabilization, and for the initial design of the control systems of the GEO 600 detector. |
| 12 | Professor Norna A. Robertson FRSE | California Institute of Technology and University of Glasgow | For contributions to the design and development of the suspension systems for Advanced LIGO and for leading the installation of these systems at the detector sites. |
| 13 | Professor Kenneth A. Strain FRSE | University of Glasgow | For leadership of the UK input to upgrade the LIGO detectors, leading to the detection of the signals from the black hole binary coalescence |
| 14 | Professor Sheila Rowan MBE FRSE | University of Glasgow | For leading the Institute for Gravitational Research in Glasgow over the critical period of upgrading the LIGO detectors and for contributions to the development of the ultra-low noise suspensions and mirror coatings of Advanced LIGO, without which the detections could not have been made |
| 15 | Professor Jim Hough OBE FRS FRSE | University of Glasgow | For 45 years of research towards the detection of gravitational waves, UK leadership of the German British GEO 600 detector development, and development of laser stabilization and mechanical isolation systems essential to the detection of gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO |
| 16 | Professor Ron Drever FRSE | California Institute of Technology | For early work at the University of Glasgow on the development of aluminum bar gravitational wave detectors and their optically based successors, and for research at the California Institute of Technology leading to the funding of the initial LIGO detectors |
