Imperial celebrates three new Royal Society Fellows

Professors Buck, Duff and Ainsworth elected to the Royal Society

22 May 2009

A microbiologist, a theoretical physicist and a structures expert from Imperial College London have joined the Fellowship of the Royal Society this week as part of the 2009 election of 44 new fellows.

Professors Martin Buck, joint head of the Division of Biology, Michael Duff, in the Department of Physics, and Robert Ainsworth, a Visiting Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, are recognised for their contributions to science and are now permitted to use the letters FRS after their name. They bring the number of Royal Society Fellows at Imperial to 66.

Professor Martin Buck FRS: how genes respond to environmental changes

Martin Buck, Professor of Molecular Microbiology, is praised by the Royal Society for his "pioneering contributions to our understanding of molecular mechanisms of transcription initiation in bacteria." Professor Buck's research explores how genes are controlled in response to environmental changes. His work revealed how a ‘molecular machine' called RNA polymerase allows access to the genetic information stored in DNA. His work has established a new paradigm for gene activation in bacteria, which utilizes nucleotide hydrolysis by activator proteins to change the structure of RNA polymerase, thus kick-starting the gene transcription process. Professor Buck says: "I am delighted that my contributions to microbiology research have been recognised in this way. Support from colleagues in the field, past and present, has been especially important in helping to address new questions in what has become a fast moving area."

Professor Michael Duff FRS: in search of a unified theory

Michael Duff has held the Abdus Salam Chair of Theoretical Physics since 2006 and specialises in theories that unify the elementary particles. During the 1980s, he championed the concept of 11 space-time dimensions (11D). Now he works on M-theory, which unifies his work on 11D with string theory, and includes finding evidence for the phenomenon of supersymmetry. This is one of the first things scientists will be looking for when they switch on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, where Professor Duff worked as Senior Physicist 1984-1987.

"One of the things I have enjoyed overall about my career is that rare excitement of stumbling across something completely new, and the extraordinary feeling of seeing something that no-one else yet knows about," says Professor Duff. "These days I also take enormous pleasure from working with my graduate students – we have a lot of fun trying to figure out new problems together."

Professor Robert Ainsworth FRS: the safety of structures

Professor Duff gained his PhD from Imperial College under Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam in 1972. He worked at Imperial as a member of staff from 1979-1987. After professorships at Texas A&M University and University of Michigan, he returned to Imperial as Professor of Physics in 2005 and Principal of the Faculty of Physical Sciences.

"As researchers, we thrive on recognition from our peers, and a Fellowship from the Royal Society represents the pinnacle of that recognition in the UK," says Professor Maggie Dallman, Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. "Martin's work on transcriptional regulation has been essential in our understanding of how cells adapt to changing environments. Michael has long been a champion of finding a proper theory to explain the particles and forces of nature in a unified theory. To have two new Fellows elected from our Faculty is a huge privilege, and I congratulate them both on behalf of College."

Robert Ainsworth, a Visiting Professor to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial, has also been elected to the Fellowship, for his research in structural integrity and its use in assessing the safety of nuclear power generation plants. Professor Ainsworth is Research Co-ordinator at British Energy, part of EDF Energy.

Fellowships are given to distinguished scientists by the Royal Society in recognition of 'contributions to science, both in fundamental research resulting in greater understanding, and also in leading and directing scientific and technological progress in industry and research establishments'.