University gets title for science

Jan 29 2013

The University of Dundee has been awarded a rare honour from the Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee.

The College of Life Sciences is one of 12 university departments in the UK, and the only one in Scotland, to have received the title of Regius Professor.

Only two have been awarded in the past 100 years.

Professor Mike Ferguson, dean of research at the department, is named as the first person to assume the role at the university.

He has worked at the university since 1988 where he has studied the biochemistry of parasites which cause tropical diseases in humans and is a world-renowned expert in his field.

Professor Pete Downes, principal and vice-chancellor of the university, said, "I am delighted by the announcement. The award of a Regius Professorship to Dundee is a tremendous affirmation of our world-class standing in life sciences.

"We also have a strong cohort of dynamic young scientists and rising stars in their fields, who will help carry the excellence of life sciences at Dundee into the future."

Chloe Smith, UK political and constitutional reform minister, said: "I have been bowled over by the response from universities. The submissions we received were incredibly strong which is why we advised the Queen to create twice as many Regius Professorships than originally planned."

The creation of the titles comes under Royal Prerogative and each appointment is approved by the Queen on ministerial advice. The role was limited to just Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh universities, and Trinity College in Dublin.

Six professorships were planned to be awarded this year but due to judges deeming entries "exceptionally high", 12 were successful. These are University of Dundee for life sciences; Imperial College, London for engineering; London School of Economics for economics; Open University for open education; University of Manchester for physics; Royal Holloway at University of London for music; University of Essex for political science; King's College London for psychiatry; University of Reading for meteorology and climate science; University of Southampton for computer science; University of Surrey for electronic engineering; and University of Warwick for mathematics.