Review of Session 2006-2007

The Royal Society of Edinburgh Review 2008
(Session 2006-2007)
The
Royal Society of Edinburgh
CONTENTS
Proceedings of the Ordinary Meetings .................................... 3 Proceedings of the Statutory General Meeting ....................... 5 Trustees Report to 31 March 2007 ...................................... 29 Auditors Report and Accounts ............................................. 49 Schedule of Investments ....................................................... 51 Activities Prize Lectures ..................................................................... 79 Lectures ............................................................................ 127 Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums ............................................................ 169 Publications ...................................................................... 211 The Scottish Science Advisory Committee ........................ 213 Evidence, Advice and Comment ....................................... 215 Inquiries ........................................................................... 217 Parliamentary Liaison ........................................................ 219 Events for Young People .................................................. 221 Research and Enterprise Awards ...................................... 225 Medals, Prizes and Prize Lectureships ................................ 229 Grants Committee ........................................................... 231 International Programme ................................................. 233 Fellows Social Events ....................................................... 241 Grants, Sponsorship and Donations .................................... 243 Changes in Fellowship During the Session ........................... 245 Staff .................................................................................... 247 Obituary Notices .................................................................. 249 Index ................................................................................... 311
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ORDINARY MEETINGS

4 December 2006 Chair Professor John Richardson FRSE The President, Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS HonFREng HonFMedSci HonFRSE PRSE preceded the lecture with the announcement of some Society business. Formal Admission to Fellowship Professor Ian Beith McLaren Ralston Announcement of Scrutineers for 2007 Ballot Professor Hector McQueen and Professor Charles Withers Lecture Visual Theology in Pictish Art. Professor George Henderson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval Art, University of Cambridge and Dr Isabel Henderson OBE, former Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge 8 March 2007 Chair Professor Janet McDonald FRSE, Vice-President. Election of Fellows Professors Hector MacQueen and Charles Withers, who had acted as Scrutineers for the Ballot for the election of new Fellows, reported that 44% of the Fellowship had returned Ballot papers and that those on the list (page 245) had been elected. Lecture Philology in a New Key: Humane Studies in a Digital Space. Professor Jerome McGann, The John Stewart Bryan Professor of English, University of Virginia, US 3 September 2007 Chair Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS HonFREng HonFMedSci HonFRSE PRSE Announcement of Scrutineers for Council Ballot Professor David Fergusson and Professor Iain Boyd Whyte. Formal Admission to Fellowship Professor James Hunter CBE Lecture Henry Duncan Prize Lecture - The Highlands: Scotlands Great Success Story. Professor James Hunter CBE FRSE, Director, UHI Centre for History
PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATUTORY GENERAL MEETING

Minutes of the Statutory General Meeting held on 1 October 2007, ending the 224th Session
The Annual Statutory Meeting took place in the Societys Wolfson Theatre on Monday 1 October 2007 at 5.30 pm. Sir Michael Atiyah OM, President, took the Chair. Sir Michael reported that it had been intended that the meeting would again be webcast live so that absent Fellows could access proceedings via a password-controlled section of the RSE site, but this would now not be possible due to unforeseen technical difficulties. A video recording of the proceedings would, however, be available on the RSE website following the meeting. IEEE/RSE Wolfson, James Clerk Maxwell Award 2007 Prior to the start of the formal business, Sir Michael warmly welcomed Dr Irwin M Jacobs and Mrs Joan Jacobs. Dr Jacobs was present to receive the inaugural IEEE/RSE/Wolfson, James Clerk Maxwell Award. Sir Michael explained that this major new international award was created jointly between the IEEE (The Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) in summer 2006. It is named after the outstanding Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell whose discoveries in electromagnetism underpin almost all aspects of
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modern communications technology. The funding for this Award comes from the Edinburgh-based electronics company, Wolfson Microelectronics, created by a former RSE Vice-President, Professor David Milne. Following an open call for nominations in late 2006, the IEEE and The RSE decided to make the first award jointly to Dr Irwin Jacobs and Dr Andrew Viterbi. They co-founded QUALCOMM in 1985 and this has set global benchmarks in digital wireless communication systems and products, based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technologies they pioneered. Under their leadership, QUALCOMM has grown into a Fortune 500 company, now with annual revenues in excess of $7.5 billion. The Award consists of a specially designed gold medal, a bronze replica, and a cheque for $20,000 (shared between the winners). Professor John Mavor read the citation for Dr Jacobs and after receiving his award from the President, Dr Jacobs gave an illustrated talk entitled Reflections on the amazing and Ubiquitous Cellphone, a summary report of which is available on the RSE website.
Review of the Session 2006-2007
Sir Michael thanked Dr Jacobs for a stimulating presentation and also announced that the City of Edinburgh Council had now given permission for the erection of a statue of James Clerk Maxwell, to be commissioned from Alexander Stoddart, at the east end of George Street, near to the Societys rooms. The aim is for this to be erected by Autumn 2008. Sir Michael reported that a number of donations had already been received and that work to secure further funding was progressing, and would shortly include a letter from him to all Fellows. He added that should the funds raised exceed that required for the statue and its upkeep, the balance would be placed into a new Clerk Maxwell Fund, which would be used to support the Societys public activities in relation to science and the humanities. Dr and Mrs Jacobs left at this point and Sir Michael proceeded to the formal business of the meeting. Minutes The Minutes of the Annual Statutory Meeting held on Monday 9 October 2006 were taken as read, approved by those Fellows present and signed by the President as a correct record. Matters arising There were no matters arising.
Report on Activities for Session 2006/07 Sir Michael commented that, in addition to producing the formal Trustees Report and Accounts for 2006/2007 in accordance with Charity Regulations, an illustrated Annual Review of highlights of the year (with a summary financial review) was again produced, and this had been widely circulated to all Fellows, as well as to many others interested in the Societys activities. The Trustees Report was available to any Fellow who would like a copy. The meeting noted the Report on Activities for Session 2006/07 prepared by the General Secretary, which had been distributed to Fellows in advance (Appendix 1). Office Bearers Reports for Session 2006/07 Sir Michael conveyed apologies from Professor Andrew Miller, General Secretary, who was unwell, and from Professor Andy Walker, Fellowship Secretary. General Secretarys Report During the Session, Professor Gavin McCrone was the General Secretary until 1 March 2007, when he demitted office to enable him to Chair the Societys current major Inquiry into the Future of Scotlands Hill and Islands Areas. From then until 1 October 2007, Professor Miller occupied the role on an interim basis.
Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting
On behalf of Professor Miller, Sir Michael drew particular attention to the Energy Inquiry work, which had included an appearance before a Scottish Parliament Committee, amongst the many activities for the 2006/07 session as reported in Appendix 1. He thanked all the Societys staff for their work in relation to these many activities, and specifically in supporting Professor Miller in his role as General Secretary. Treasurers Report Mr Edward Cunningham delivered the following report: I am pleased to report a surplus for the third year running, albeit at a lower level than last year, and an improvement in overall assets of just over 600k. However, there is rather more to these figures than meets the eye. Those who attended last years meeting will recall that I presented a series of figures which enabled me to explain what was going on. I am going to do the same this evening. After that, I want to make some observations on the challenge of revenue growth; on the management of our assets; and finally a word on legacies. I want to start with our income. This has oscillated around 3m for the past three years. Indeed it was at this level in 2004 as well. The continuation of much the same level of income is reflected, by and large, in its contribution to
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indirect costs. Noteworthy is the modest percentage margin we have been obtaining from our work on behalf of the private sector. Our overheads have been controlled within a cumulative increase of 4% over the past two years, while the deficit on our operational activities has varied, and reached 285k last year. For the current year, income will be lower because of the delay in a commitment by a sponsor for the continuation of a large programme. This in turn will have knock-on effect on the deficit, so although the decision has now been made, the benefits will slip into 2008. For the future, the key objective must be to achieve a surplus at this point so that the Society has the flexibility to promote its own initiatives with its own income, as well as to have the resources to invest in the future. Our own income shows some small increases, but the aggregate more than covers the deficit on our operational activities and will do so in the current year. Last year I explained that the new accounting regulations introduced in 2006 require a number of adjustments to be made before arriving at the bottom line shown as the net incoming resource line in the published accounts. These relate to movements on our various funds which have to be
shown in the income and expenditure account, as do windfalls, which include legacies. The impact of these adjustments in 2006 was substantial and it is this which gives rise to the contrast between the surplus in 2006 compared with that achieved in 2007. Consequently, the result for 2007 should be seen as encouraging and as an indicator of sound performance by the Societys management. It is the longer term future, that is the next three to five years, which presents a particular challenge. Finally, our own long term assets showed a substantial increase of 500k in 2007, primarily through the gains on our investments combined with the surplus from the previous year. I want to draw your attention to the fact that these assets, which are at the discretion of the Society, comprise our property here an illiquid asset and 1.6m of investments which, if you like, represents our endowment. This latter amount will provide only a very narrow base upon which to fulfil our aspirations for growth. In these circumstances, our strategy must be to build up our endowment at the same time as investing in expanding the Societys capabilities to secure and manage an increase in our activities.
I should now like to turn to the three sets of observations which I want to share with you. The first concerns the challenge of revenue growth. The plateau experienced over recent years is not a sustainable position; the direction we must go in must be upwards. Our operating income is derived from the management of programmes for sponsors in the public and private sectors and, in both instances we have a record of excellent performance. The dominance of the former demonstrates the extent to which we are making a contribution to the community in collaboration with the government and its agencies. This is good news. However, a feature of the public sector is that it goes through periods of spending sprees followed by squeezes and occasional slippages. Whilst I do not expect any significant changes in the immediate term beyond the slippage occurring this year, it is nonetheless essential that we seek to diversify our sources of income across the spectrum of relevant departments and agencies. In parallel, we must increase the proportion of income from the private sector sponsors through the expansion of their programmes which we can manage on their behalf. Against this background, a revenue growth team has been formed comprising our three senior
executives plus myself. In addition, it is the intention to create a new senior executive position to manage the successful realisation of these strategies. My second observation concerns the management of our assets and I want to focus in particular on our property. I commented last year that I did not think this property was generating the return it should be; that it presented an inefficient use of space; and that it did not portray a readiness for the 21st century. I undertook to assess how these aspects might be improved. To start with, an evaluation has been made of the potential of the building with minimal investment. This concluded that there was little up side with the building as it is. We are now in the process of examining the technical and conservation parameters within which more substantial changes might be feasible. By the early part of next year, I expect to be in a position to outline a range of options for Council to consider. Finally, I wanted to say a word about legacies. Several Fellows have mentioned to me their intention to make bequests to the Society. In some cases, we have provided legal advice on the most effective way in which to meet their wishes. We are pleased to offer this help. For understandable reasons, these Fellows wish to remain anonymous for the time
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being. This means there is no way in which the wider Fellowship can express their appreciation. The only other way I know of doing so is just to say publicly here on your behalf thank you. I should like to add these intentions have been fostered through their confidence that the Society will use its standing and unique range of capabilities to extend its distinctive contribution to our community. This is an assurance that the officers and management are very much committed to fulfilling, now and in the future. Fellowship Secretarys Report The meeting noted a report prepared by the Fellowship Secretary, Professor Walker, which had been distributed to Fellows in advance (Appendix 2). On behalf of Professor Walker, Sir Michael drew particular attention to the review of the Fellowship election process which had been undertaken during the year, pointing out that the recommendations had still to be finalised by the Review Working Group. Discussion of Reports Sir Michael invited questions in respect of the Office Bearers reports. Professor Malcolm Fluendy asked if the Treasurer could elaborate on the plans for developing the RSE property at 22 -26 George Street. The Treasurer replied that he was not in a position to say more at
this stage as the matter was still under discussion. However, he stressed that any plans would have to be technically viable; comply with conservation requirements; meet with the Societies requirements in terms of, for example, office space and conference facilities; and be able to be financed in a credible manner. Professor David Finney asked if Fellows could be kept more fully informed about the hiring-out of the Societys rooms and suggested that dates of rentals and details of hiring bodies could be listed in the monthly Fellows e.bulletin. In the absence of the General Secretary, Dr William Duncan, RSE Chief Executive, replied that it would not be practical to provide such a list, especially since some rentals were last-minute and to be accurate the list would have to be updated on a weekly basis. He added that the new plasma screen situated in the Societys reception hall provides a daily diary and shows details of events taking place on the day. The Society has strict guidelines about the type of event that can be held on its premises;, for instance, they must not serve any commercial purpose and must be consistent with the Societys charitable purpose. He reassured that all applicants are carefully screened before a room hire is approved. Professor Finney sought an explanation of the purpose of the
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A-frame poster board now placed every day outside 22 George Street, which he considered to be an ugly excrescence. Dr Duncan responded that it served a useful purpose in advertising the Societys presence in George Street to the public. He cited the Societys recent participation in Edinburghs Doors Open Day and reported that more than 400 people visited the Society, largely as a result of the board at the door. The board is updated regularly, gives up-to-date information on the Societys activities and is effective in generating interest in the Society and its public activities. Professor Joseph Lamb asked if it would be possible to arrange a facility whereby journalists could contact the Society to get authoritative comment and advice, particularly on issues of a scientific nature. Dr Duncan informed the meeting that the Society has recently appointed a Parliamentary Liaison Officer, Bristow Muldoon. The Society is already involved in providing advice to the Parliament, for instance through SPICE, and it was hoped that the new appointment would enhance the existing relationship. It would always be stressed however, that an individual Fellows comments would not necessarily reflect the Societys view as a whole. Professor John Francis pointed out that the International Division of
the Scottish Government had announced the establishment of a UNESCO Committee in Scotland. He felt it was important to have working links with this Committee, which would give further opportunities for debate on Science and Society issues. Sir Michael replied that Professor Sir David Edward, the Societys newlyelected International Convener, could explore this further with the International Committee. Dr James Irvine welcomed the indication in the Treasurers Report of seeking more funding from independent sources. At last years meeting he had expressed his concern about the Societys independence and felt there was still too much influence by Government agencies and quangos. He also expressed his disappointment at the Societys recently published Avian Flu report. Sir Michael replied that the Society receives money from the Government for a variety of purposes, but refuted any suggestion that it takes instructions from the Government and stressed that the Society is wholly independent. The Society would continue to work hard at maintaining a balanced and independent relationship across the political spectrum. Professor John Coggins, who had chaired the Committee responsible for the Avian Flu report, said that the whole Fellowship had
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been given the opportunity to provide evidence to the Committee, although few had responded. The report had been compiled after extensive consultation with a number of experts. The remit had been to assess the threat of Avian Flu to Scotland, analyse potential results to the land and people and to survey the preparedness of Scotland to cope. One of the problems faced by the Committee was that most of the research being conducted was in respect of the UK as a whole, rather than specifically for Scotland. The report had concluded that surveillance for the disease was not yet well established. Professor Coggins said he would be happy to speak to Dr Irvine separately, to discuss the nature of his concerns. Election of Officers and Council for the 225th Session Sir Michael reported that all Fellows entitled to vote had been sent a ballot paper by the General Secretary on 30 August. Professors David Fergusson and Iain Boyd Whyte were confirmed as Scrutineers at the meeting on 3 September and examined all the returned ballot papers on 27 September. There were 610 returned ballot forms of which 601 were clean papers. All of those proposed for election had been elected by an overwhelming majority. Sir Michael thanked the Scrutineers and congratulated those elected for the first time and
those re-elected. He also thanked the retiring Office-Bearers and Councillors, specifically Professors Andrew Miller, John Mavor and Rona Mackie, and Professor Sir Neil McCormick. The meeting noted that membership of Council and the Executive Board for the next Session would be: Council President Sir Michael Atiyah OM Vice-Presidents Professor Jan McDonald Lord Patel of Dunkeld Professor Tariq Durrani OBE General Secretary Professor Geoffrey Boulton OBE Treasurer Mr Edward Cunningham CBE Fellowship Secretary Professor Andrew Walker Ordinary Members Sir John Arbuthnott Professor Sue Black OBE Professor April McMahon Ms Shonaig Macpherson CBE Professor Christopher Whatley Executive Board General Secretary Professor Geoffrey Boulton OBE Treasurer Mr Edward Cunningham CBE Curator Professor John Howie CBE
International Convener Professor Sir David Edward KCMG, QC, PC Programme Convener Professor David Ingram OBE Research Awards Convener Professor Peter Holmes CB Young Peoples Convener Professor Miles Padgett Any Other Business There being no further business, the President thanked all those who had attended the meeting and those who had contributed to the discussions and declared the meeting closed. Appendix I General Secretarys Report A full and varied programme of activities was delivered by the Fellowship, supported by staff of the Society. This: - helped Scotland to continue to attract and retain world-class research talent; - promoted awareness of Scotland as a world-class location for research and development; - maintained a culture that fosters knowledge transfer from a science and cultural base; - encouraged public appreciation and understanding of science and culture; - inspired young people, primarily in the field of science, but also
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in other areas covered by the wider school curriculum; and - informed decisions taken by Parliaments and policy makers The activities also continued to sustain and utilise our multidisciplinary Fellowship and recognise outstanding achievement and excellence. Attracting and retaining worldclass research talent The Society continued to administer various Research Fellowship schemes operated through expert Selection Committees and awarded grants, which amounted to 1.7m. These programmes help Scotland retain researchers and attract others from elsewhere in the UK and overseas. At the annual research awards announcement held at the end of September, 47 researchers representing some of the most outstanding young scientists and innovators working in Scotland today were recognised. Awards range from summer vacation scholarships for undergraduates in Astronomy, to three-year postdoctoral research Fellowships. These awards would not be possible without the continuing financial support of organisations such as BP, the Caledonian Research Foundation, Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, the Scottish Government, and other specific purpose legacies bequeathed to the Society.
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In April, an event was held to celebrate what has been achieved by the BP Research Fellowships scheme since it was established in 1988. This event served to raise awareness of this excellent initiative, to thank BP for its generous support for the scheme and to identify what might be done in the future to enhance and improve it. Lord Browne, then Group Chief Executive of BP attended the event and two former holders of BP Fellowships, Professor Roger Watt and Professor Miles Padgett, both now Fellows of the Society, made presentations demonstrating the lasting benefit they have gained from holding these Fellowships. Discussions with BP about the future shape of the scheme are continuing. The year also saw the start of a new programme of research awards in Arts and Humanities, to enable academics to collaborate with Scottish Cultural Institutions. As the first stage of a three-year development phase for this programme, the Society, with the financial support of the Scottish Government, is funding three Research Workshops. Awareness of Scotland as a world-class location for research and development Since Devolution and the publication of the Scottish Science Strategy, a key aim has been to
ensure Scotland works even more closely with the international community. Scotland is now clearly regarded as a distinct entity within Britain and there is considerable overseas interest in developing relationships with it in ways that complement existing UK links. As a result of this, the Society increased and strengthened its international role. The growth and compass of the International Programme went from strength to strength. New Agreements were signed with the Slovak Academy of Sciences in November 2006 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) in July. Good progress was also made in relation to Agreements with the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, which will be signed when their Presidents come here later this year. Exchange visits totalling 65 person-weeks took place through the Bilateral Programme, run with sister academies in China, Poland, Taiwan, Slovenia, and Hungary. Visits totalling 152.5 personweeks took place through the Open Programme, with visits to and from Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the USA and Venezuela. This was
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a significant increase from last year, in which the RSE awarded exchanges on the Open Programme totalling 124 person-weeks. The newly-elected President of ALLEA (All European Academies), Professor Jri Engelbrecht, visited the Society in October 2006 and gave an excellent lecture entitled European Science Policy and Academia. ALLEA is a selfgoverning association of the leading national academies in Europe and the Society was admitted to membership in 2002. It was a great honour that Professor Engelbrecht chose to visit so soon after his election, and this reflects the Societys place amongst its sister European academies. The Societys European Policy Forum arranged several highprofile events. Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, gave the Annual European Lecture at the Society in June 2007 on Reforming Europes Universities: Why and How? Commissioner Figel welcomed the opportunity to engage Scottish universities in dialogue about ways in which the university sector throughout the European Union can better contribute to economic and social policy. In keeping with his desire for dialogue, Commissioner Figels lecture was followed by lively
discussion, particularly about the proposed European Institute for Enterprise. A culture that fosters knowledge transfer from a science and cultural base The Enterprise Fellowships scheme increases the commercialisation of academic research through knowledge transfer and leads to the creation of new companies. This scheme has lead to over 50 new sustainable companies with many high-value jobs being created. This year, only three Enterprise Fellowships were awarded with funding from Scottish Enterprise, two in the fields of Electronic Markets and one in Life Sciences. This reduction in the number of Enterprise Fellowships arose because of financial constraints. A review of the Scottish Enterprise-funded scheme was undertaken during the year by Ernst & Young. This clearly demonstrated the outstanding value of the scheme to the Scottish economy. With an investment of 4 million from public funds over 10 years, the companies created have attracted over 70 million from other sources. The review findings will be published shortly and it is hoped that Scottish Enterprise will renew its support for the scheme. Similar to the Scottish Enterprise-funded scheme, the
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Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Enterprise Fellowships are designed to enable an individual to advance the commercialisation of existing research results or technological developments. Following a rigorous selection process, two BBSRC Enterprise Fellows were awarded this year from an encouraging number of high quality applicants. The Society also continued to administer similar Enterprise Fellowships funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), formerly PPARC, although no new awards were made this year. Created in 2003 and supported by the leading Scottish charity, The Gannochy Trust, The Gannochy Trust Innovation Award of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, aims to encourage and reward Scotlands innovators for work which benefits Scotlands wellbeing and to recognise outstanding individual achievement. The fourth Gannochy Award was presented to Dr Marie Claire Parker at a ceremony held in the Royal Museum of Scotland in October 2006. Dr Parker is CEO of XstalBio Ltd, a University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde spin-out company, which developed as a result of an RSE/Scottish Enterprise Fellowship held by Dr Parker in 2001. Dr Parker is developing a new
technology which could transform the treatment of many diseases by enabling protein medicines, that currently need to be injected, to be taken with an inhaler. Again, following rigorous open competition, the fifth winner in the current scheme was chosen and the Award will be presented at the annual ceremony, again being held at the National Museum of Scotland, on 26 October 2007. A report evaluating the scheme was recently presented to The Gannochy Trust. This demonstrated its value and the success already achieved by previous winners. The Trustees recognised this and decided, in principle, to continue to support the scheme for a further three years. The support of The Gannochy Trust for this highly prestigious and successful scheme is much appreciated. Public appreciation and understanding of science and culture Public events The Public Events Programme delivered 30 Lectures, Discussion Forums and Conferences which were attended by almost 3000 people. These events addressed many interesting and topical issues and featured some of the most erudite authorities in the country, including many Fellows of the Society.
Lectures included: The BP Prize Lecture Protecting Human Dignity at the Beginning and End of Life, by Professor Graeme Laurie, Chair of Medical Jurisprudence, School of Law, University of Edinburgh; The ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture Does Science Matter? Professor Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland; The Unpredictability of Science and Its Consequences by Sir John Meurig Thomas, Honorary Professor, Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge and former Director, Royal Institution of Great Britain; The Caledonian Research Foundation Prize Lectures Autonomy in Medical and Research Ethics and Can Information be Private, by Baroness Onora ONeill of Bengarve, President, The British Academy; A Brush with Foxes and other Carnivore Tales by Professor David Macdonald, Director, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University; Architecture in Nano-Space by Professor Sir Harry Kroto, Royal Society Research Professor, School of Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science, University of Sussex;
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The Henry Duncan Prize Lecture The Highlands: Scotlands Great Success Story by Professor James Hunter, Director, UHI Centre for History; and Tall Tales of the Mind and Brain by Professor Michael C Corballis, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, and Professor James Alcock, University of York, Toronto. Once again, the RSE also participated in the Edinburgh Lecture series, with a lecture on Forensic Anthropology The Journey from Culloden to Iraq given by Professor Sue Black, Head of Unit, Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology, University of Dundee, in December 2006. The association with the Edinburgh Lectures partnership continued in September 2007 with the opening lecture for the season on Changing Landscapes: Changing Planet, which provided an opportunity for the public to engage with astronauts and cosmonauts who have flown at different stages in the 50 years of space flight. Discussion Forums The final Discussion Forum in the natural disasters series Earth, Wind, Fire and Water on Floods was held in November featuring, Professor Gareth Pender, Heriot-Watt University and Professor Edmund PenningRoswell.
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In February Cultural Policy and National Identity in Post Devolution Scotland explored the new engagement with cultural development and policy. A Family Event was held to celebrate ten years of Dolly the Sheep. This day of activities for all ages was held at the Royal Museum, Edinburgh and was followed by a Discussion Forum in the evening with panellists, Dr Donald Bruce, Professor Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and Professor Grahame Bulfield. Conferences: Glasgows People: Transcending Poverties. This one-day event was initiated by RSE Fellows, Archbishop Mario Conti, Sir John Arbuthnott and Professor Tom Devine, and held in Glasgow City Chambers. It investigated the continuing social, spiritual and cultural needs of Glasgows communities. With input from academics and social work practitioners, and support from Glasgow City Council and The Herald newspaper, it proved thought-provoking and challenging for all who attended. Union of 1707. On the tercentenary of one of the most important moments in Scottish history, this conference showcased the work of a new generation of Scottish histori-
ans, examining afresh the traditional agenda of the debate on the Union. The 250th Anniversary conference of the birth of Thomas Telford was held as part of national celebrations being coordinated across the UK by the Institution of Civil Engineers, marking the 250th anniversary of his birth. Tall Tales of the Mind and Brain followed a lecture at the Society on the same topic and was held at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh. It addressed the issue of what we really know about the functioning of the mind and was attended by pupils and teachers from schools and colleges from all over Scotland. A Continuing Professional Development Workshop was also held in advance of the Conference for Higher Human Biology and Higher Psychology teachers. Publishing Journals Six issues of the Proceedings A journal and five issues of Transactions were published on behalf of the Society by the RSE Scotland Foundation. Copies of the journals were also sent to over 300 exchange partners worldwide. Both journals continue to be highly regarded by academics as publication vehicles, and both maintain a respectably high impact factor in comparison to
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similar journals in their fields. As from the 2007 volume, the Transactions journal has been renamed Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the first issue, subtitled Holocene Environmental Change: Lessons from Small Oceanic Islands, was published in September. This Special Issue was intentionally chosen to reflect the broader remit of the re-launched journal. The subscription fulfilment, distribution and marketing for Proceedings A and Transactions are now handled by Cambridge University Press. Communicating Generally Four issues of ReSourcE, the Societys newsletter, were published and distributed to the Fellowship and around 2,000 other decision-makers and interested members of the public. Fellows also received the monthly e-bulletin, which enables them to keep up to date with and, if appropriate, further disseminate information on the Society and its work. Feedback from Fellows suggests this continues to be a welcome means of communication. The sixth issue of Science Scotland (on Imaging), which aims to promote the excellence of Scottish research, particularly to an overseas audience, was published in September 2007.
The RSEs website was and is updated regularly and provides information for Fellows and the public. There has also been appreciable media coverage of many of the Societys activities during the year, notably in relation to the launch of the Hills & Islands Inquiry in May. Starting in 2006, the ASM has been web-cast live to Fellows over the internet, and after the event can be viewed by Fellows, in their own time, on the Society webpage. Many Fellows who are unable to attend the ASM have expressed their appreciation at being able to participate in this way. During the year, three other events - Cultural Policy and National Identity in Post Devolution Scotland Discussion Forum, the RSE afternoon workshop at the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Annual Forum and the launch of the RSE Inquiry into the Future of Scotlands Hill & Island Areas - were also web-cast live and made available on demand thereafter, to the public as well as to the Fellowship. Encouraged by the success of the live web-casts, the RSE Events and front-of-house teams began to experiment with audio-visual material taken from RSE lectures, and this is now available to hear and see on the website soon after the event.
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Inspiring young people, primarily in the field of science, but also other areas covered by the wider school curriculum The Young Peoples Programme continued to thrive and this is in no small measure due to the contributions of the many Lecturers, some but not all Fellows, who participate in the programme on a voluntary basis. An excellent Christmas Lecture was presented by Heather Reid in December 2006, Weather Forecasting in the 21st Century. This was delivered to local school students at Stirling University in the afternoon, followed by an evening lecture for the general public. In total over 345 teachers and pupils and 65 members of the general public attended. The Young Peoples programme ran 13 schools lectures throughout Scotland, covering such diverse topics as genetics and astronomy. Other activities included: - Startup Science Masterclasses for S1 and S2 students in Dundee, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Heriot-Watt Universities. - Maths Masterclasses in Aberdeen, Dundee, West Lothian and Glasgow for Primary 6 and 7 students. - A Spring Roadshow in Ullapool. This two-day event involved interactive maths, science and
technology workshops for primary and secondary school students and an evening lecture for secondary students and members of the general public. - Two Science, Engineering and Technology Summer Schools during the summer break, in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, provided an introduction to university life for students from schools in Edinburgh, Midlothian and East and West Lothian. - The Education Team produced two teaching resources. The first was a Supporting Resource Pack for Teachers, to be used both in conjunction with, and independently of, the Tall Tales of the Mind and Brain Conference. It provides background information and relevant websites as well as student evaluation sheets and links to the Higher Psychology and Human Biology curricula. The second resource pack related to the year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of Thomas Telford. Materials were created mainly for P6 and P7, S1 and S2 pupils, but some teachers were also able to adapt the contents for use by pupils outwith this age range, for example with S3 and S4 technology students. The Education team also made available the full content of
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previous annual schools discussion forums. This was distributed to all Scottish secondary schools on CD, as well as being available on the web as a learning resource. It enables schools unable to participate in the live forums to hear the views of experts in the fields covered, and encourages debate among senior students. Informing decisions taken by Parliaments and policy makers Following the launch of the Societys Report into Energy Issues for Scotland in June 2006 and with the aim of facilitating public engagement and enhancing understanding of energy issues, the Society embarked upon a series of country-wide public and school discussion forums under the banner, Debating Scotlands Energy Choices. This dissemination exercise was a first for the Society. Public and school discussion forums were held in Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries and the total audience numbers were over 435 for the public events and over 375 for the school discussions. The series concluded with a conference at the Society in April 2007 which attracted over 80 delegates. An Inquiry update report, Energy for Scotland: A Call for Action, was produced, reflecting on recent decisions and summarising the public debates and school visits and concluding conference. It
identified the action required to ensure achievement of the Committees strategic aim a secure, competitive, socially equitable and low carbon emissions supply of energy for Scotland. A new Inquiry into the Future of Scotlands Hill and Island Areas was initiated under the Chairmanship of Professor Gavin McCrone. Recognising that changes to policy affecting the countryside will have a major impact on distinctive communities in Scotland, this Inquiry is seeking to find ways to help secure a prosperous and environmentallysustainable future for the rural areas, especially the more economically-fragile communities. The Inquiry aims to report in June 2008. Its remit is to address not only the threats posed by changes in agricultural support as a result of present and anticipated reform to the Common Agricultural Policy, but also the opportunities for expansion in other parts of the economy, such as tourism and forestry, and measures to safeguard the environment. Fellows are welcome to submit any views they may have on these issues to the Society. The Society produced 11 authoritative responses to a wide range of public consultations. The responses were on:
- Reform of Higher Education Research Assessment and Funding - Science and Innovation Strategy for Scotland - Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill - The European Research Area: New Perspectives - Hybrids and Chimeras: A consultation on the ethical and social implications of creating human/animal embryos in research - International Policies and Activities of the Research Councils - The Environmental Effects of Novel Materials and Applications - Renewable Energy-Generation Technologies - Funding of Science and Discovery Centres - Wider Implications of Science and Technology - The Economic Impact of Immigration The Societys Avian Influenza Working Group, under the chairmanship of Professor John Coggins, completed its work examining the implications of this disease threat for Scotland, and its report has recently been published.
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A contract with the Scottish Funding Council to provide the Council with expert opinion on strategic research opportunities was also successfully operated, with the provision of advice on the strategic importance to Scotland of research in bionanotechnology. The RSE recently appointed Mr Bristow Muldoon as Parliamentary Liaison Officer, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). His role is to help raise the profile of the RSE and the RSC within the Scottish Parliament. This includes the annual Science & the Parliament Meeting, and promoting the Scottish Parliament Science Information Scheme. With the creation of the new post of Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland within the then Scottish Executive, the Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) stopped operating under the auspices of the Society on 31 December 2006 and is now doing so within the Scottish Government. The Society is extremely grateful to Professor Wilson Sibbett for the leadership and direction he gave the SSAC during his five-year period as Chair, and likewise to Committee members and Secretariat staff for their pivotal roles and contributions. Some members of the Committee have continued to assist the Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Anne Glover, during the transition period.
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The Fellowship The Society continued to sustain and utilise its multi-disciplinary Fellowship and to recognise outstanding achievement and excellence. The now annual New Fellows Induction Day took place in April 2007, when 51 of the 55 new Ordinary Fellows and five of the ten new Corresponding Fellows were given an introduction to the Society, introduced to the staff and welcomed into the Fellowship by the President. The addition of these new Fellows brought the numbers in the Fellowship up to 1,467, comprising 67 Honorary Fellows, 43 Corresponding Fellows and 1,357 Ordinary Fellows. Fellows are pivotal to the Societys delivery of public benefit activities, participating in its wide-ranging activities in various capacities. The many Committees which oversaw these activities comprised, although not exclusively, Fellows of the Society. These Committees covered both Operational and Management matters. Amongst other activities, Fellows freely gave of their time and lent their expertise in the selection of Research and Enterprise Fellowship awardees, the awarding of International Exchange visits and various medals, grants and prizes, as well as participating in the planning and execution of the
lectures, conferences and discussion forums, contributing to the Young Peoples programme, serving on Inquiry Committees, and providing evidence and advice to inform responses to policy and decision makers. A major highlight this year was the Summer Soire held at Edinburghs Telford College. The Soire followed the international conference marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Telford. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh honoured the Society by attending the Soire and unveiling a plaque in memory of Telford. Professor Quentin Leiper, President of the Institute of Civil Engineers gave a short presentation about Telford; the evening also featured an exhibition showcasing cutting-edge engineering in Scotland today. At the Soire, His Royal Highness presented Royal Medals to Professor Sir David Carter, Professor John Laver and Sir Tom McKillop for their contributions to Life Sciences, the Humanities and Social Sciences, and to Business and Public Service respectively. This recognises their outstanding achievements in these fields and which have had a profound beneficial influence on peoples lives, world -wide. His Royal Highness also presented the inaugural IEEE/RSE/Wolfson, James Clerk Maxwell Award to Dr
Andrew Viterbi, who was cowinner of the award with Dr Irwin Jacobs. This recognised their fundamental contributions, innovation and leadership which enabled the growth of wireless communications. Dr Jacobs will receive his Medal when he visits the RSE on 1 October 2007. Finally, the following prizes were awarded: - The Keith Medal to: Professor Felix Otto, Institut fr Angewandte Mathematik, Bonn, Germany; Professor Stefan Mller, Director, Max-Plank Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Professor Robert Kohn, Professor of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, USA; and Professor Antonio DeSimone, Professor of Scienza delle Costruzioni, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy, for their paper A compactness result in the gradient theory of phase transitions which was published in Proceedings A, Volume 131, Number 4, 17 August 2001 pp. 833-844. - The Alexander Ninian Bruce Prize to Professor Christopher Secombe FRSE, Head of School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, for his outstanding contributions to our
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understanding of the immune system of fish, particularly salmonids. - The James Scott Prize Lectureship to Professor Stephen Barnett FRS, FRSE, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, for his outstanding contribution to the field of Quantum Optics. Appendix II Fellowship Secretarys Report 2007 The following is a brief report on aspects of the current processes by which we elect Ordinary, Corresponding and Honorary Fellows and the outcomes of the 2006/07 cycle. Also provided is an update on the Review of these processes that is currently being carried out. Report on the 2006/07 Election Cycle Following the usual sequence of Sectional, Sector Group and Fellowship Committee meetings, Council agreed a list of proposed new Fellows for election. The introduction of a new, much earlier, opportunity for Fellows to comment on the list once again provided useful additional information that contributed further to the deliberations of the committees. As is now becoming well established, the final list went out for approval by the full Fellowship as a Postal Ballot (early December 2006). Almost half of
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the Fellowship used the opportunity to register their votes. The Scrutineers delivered the results of the ballot to Council on 5 February 2007. At the subsequent Ordinary Meeting on 8 March, the Society was able to announce the election of 55 Ordinary Fellows and ten Corresponding Fellows. Our new Ordinary Fellows are spread across the four discipline sectors as follows: Life Sciences 31%, Physical Sciences & Engineering 29%, Arts and Humanities 25.5%, and Business and Industry 14.5%. This represents a further step towards re-balancing some of the underrepresented subject areas within the Fellowship. In particular, the Society is keen to increase its representation in the Arts and Humanities and in the Business and Industry sectors, as these currently represent only 19% and 8% respectively of the Ordinary Fellowship. The current quotas for Fellowship provide for relatively more places for these candidates whilst keeping the strong Life Science and Physical Sciences & Engineering sectors evenly balanced. We would encourage Fellows to nominate more candidates from within the under-represented subject areas. Nine women were elected as Ordinary Fellows (16.4%); bringing the average percentage of women for the most recent five election cycles up to 18%. This
compares favourably with 15% of Professors/HoDs in the Scottish Higher Education Institutes being women (2005/06 data) suggesting we are redressing the past imbalance, albeit rather slowly. The overall proportion of women in the Society now stands at 8.4%. Noting the prominent role that women play in academic, professional and business circles, Fellows may wish to bear these statistics in mind when considering future candidates for election. The average age of this latest cohort of Ordinary Fellows is 52 matching the steady average for Fellows elected across the last 25 years. Introduction of New Fellows On the 30th April, all new Fellows were, once again, invited to attend an induction event held in the Society Rooms. We were delighted by the excellent attendance, which included 51 of the new Ordinary Fellows, one Honorary Fellow and five new Corresponding Fellows. The day commenced with the Fellowship Secretary giving an overview of the Societys activities and a summary of the contributions that Fellows can make. A sociable lunch was then hosted by the President, after which the new Fellows were all given the opportunity to meet the Societys staff and to tour the Rooms.
This was followed in the early evening by a ceremony at which they were formally admitted as Fellows, signed the Roll Book and received certificates acknowledging their Fellowship of the RSE. Review of the Election Processes A Review Working Group, chaired by the Fellowship Secretary, was established by the Council and started its work on 12 March 2007. The Review has the following two major objectives. 1. To ensure (a) that the current nomination and selection processes represent a sufficiently robust, fair and transparent system to satisfy the needs and expectations of the Society in these respects and (b) that these processes are fully consistent with relevant legislation. 2. To maintain a nomination and selection process that creates and sustains a Fellowship (a) of the quality expected for a National Academy and (b) which represents fully the balance of activity within the major disciplinary sectors acknowledged as within the Societys domain and reflects the relevant age, sex, ethnicity, and geographical distributions. The Group submitted an initial draft report to the Council for its meeting on 3 September 2007. A
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final report is to be completed shortly. In the meantime Fellows may be interested in some of the recommendations currently being considered. Size of the Fellowship The number of Ordinary Fellows has more than doubled over the last 25 years from 638 to 1357. This has accelerated over recent years as a consequence of the larger quota introduced to assist some rebalancing between disciplines. At the current rate, by the year 2030 the Fellowship would increase by a further 640 to over 2,000. The Working Group was concerned that this increase in numbers could undermine the reputation of the Society. A comparison with equivalent Societies suggests the RSE Fellowship could already be seen as relatively large, in proportion to the size of the population from which it is drawn. As a consequence, the Group is considering recommending a lower annual quota. Supporters To provide additional, and more independent information on Candidates, the Group is suggesting the Proposer should complete the nomination form, as at present, but two Seconders should each complete a further (new) form, structured to identify their own views of the candidates achievement. In addition, of these three Fellows, only one should
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come from the same Institution as the nominee. NB: This would require a minor amendment to the Societys Laws. Sectional & Group Structures The Working Group is looking into the possibility of creating a second Sectional Committee within Sector Group D (which is currently in the anomalous position of only having one Committee). This would be accompanied by some restructuring of certain Sectional Committees within Sector Group C. Any comments Fellows may have on the above points, or any other issues, should be addressed to the Fellowship Office and they will be forwarded to the Working Group. Obituaries and Fellows Deceased Deaths Session 2006-2007 Since the ASM in October 2006, the Society has been informed of the deaths of 26 Fellows. Obituary status for these is: Four have been published. Four are awaiting publication. Two are with authors. Authors have been invited for a further two and writers have not been agreed for the remaining 14. (Professor K W Bentley, Professor A G Brown, Professor F A Cotton, Dr G E Davie, Professor P R Halmos, Dr A L McLaren, Professor D Michie, Professor J A Roper, Professor A I Scott, Professor T L S Sprigge, Dr C
E Taylor, Dr H J Thomas, Professor Dr C F von Weizscker, Professor G Webb). The Fellowship Office is indebted to Fellows who have provided obituaries and have helped with sourcing writers, and would be grateful for offers of writers for obituaries of the14 Fellows above.
Total Obituaries Session 2006-2007 TOTAL Author needed Author invited With Author Published Submitted by Author Abandoned 49 14 2 4 22 5 2
Deaths and Obituaries since 2000 Year No of Deceased Fellows 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 22 37 43 19 31 35 31 20 238 Published No Progress 9 17 27 17 15 20 13 12 130 early stages 0 1 0 0 4 3 3 3 14 final stages 1 5 4 0 4 1 2 3 20
12 14 12 2 8 11 13 2 74
Acknowledgements The Society is extremely grateful to those Fellows who take the time to nominate candidates for Fellowship. We particularly thank the many Fellows who give of their time and expertise to serve on the sectional committees and sector groups, helping with the difficult task of assessing candidates for Fellowship. And thirdly, on a personal note, I express my
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considerable gratitude to Lesley Campbell and her very modest team in the RSE office for all the work they carry out in the course of each annual Fellowship election cycle and the support they provide me throughout the year. Professor Andy Walker Fellowship Secretary
TRUSTEES REPORT TO 31 MARCH 2007

The Council of the Society present their report for the financial year ended 31 March 2007. Structure, governance and management The RSE Council, chaired by the President, comprises twelve Trustees, including three VicePresidents, the General Secretary, the Treasurer, the Fellowship Secretary and five ordinary members. Subject to annual reelection, Council members serve for three years, except the General Secretary and Treasurer, who may serve for up to four years. All of the Trustees are unpaid. The Council is responsible for the strategic direction and policies of the RSE, and normally meets quarterly. An Executive Board has delegated responsibility from the Council for the delivery of the RSEs activities. It is chaired by the General Secretary, and also has as its members, the Treasurer, the Convenors of the main operational committees and the Curator, as well as the Chair of the RSE Scotland Foundation and senior executive staff. The Board meets quarterly and reports to the Council. The Council members and the office-bearers serving on the Executive Board are all elected annually by the Fellowship in a postal ballot. New members of Council and the Executive Board
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are given an extensive briefing pack and an introduction to the operations of the RSE through discussions with the Chief Executive and senior staff. Reporting to the Council through the Executive Board are several operational committees, including the International Committee, various Research Awards Committees, the Meetings Committee and the Young Peoples Committee. These Committees largely, but not exclusively, comprise Fellows of the RSE and are concerned with the operational delivery of the RSEs varied activities. All Fellows are actively encouraged to participate in the RSEs activities. Two other charitable trusts founded by and closely connected to the RSE, the BP Research Fellowships Trust (the BP Trust) and the RSE Scotland Foundation (the Foundation), are included in the consolidated accounts. The Foundation plays a leading role in the continued development of the RSEs public outreach activities and manages the premises in George Street. Its Trustees are appointed for three years by the RSE Council. The BP Trust was created following a donation of 2m in 1988 from BP to support a scheme of three-year post-doctoral research fellowships in specified subjects and which are awarded at the sole discretion of the RSE. The RSE
President, General Secretary and Treasurer are the BP Trustees, ex officiis. The Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC), whose members were appointed following open competition by the Council of the RSE, provided independent strategic advice on scientific issues to the Scottish Executive. Its funding, received as a separate grant from the Scottish Executive, was administered through the RSE. From January 2007, following the appointment of Professor Anne Glover as Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland (CSA) at the Scottish Executive, the RSE no longer has any responsibilities for the SSAC. The RSE remains ready to offer support in any matters relevant to the CSAs office. Statement of Councils responsibilities Under the Laws of the RSE, the Council is responsible for all matters concerning the affairs of the RSE and sets the overall strategy and policy. The Treasurer of the RSE has a duty to present to the Fellows at the Statutory Meeting the accounts for the preceding financial year to 31 March. Under charities legislation, the Council is required to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the RSE and
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of its financial activities during the year then ended. In preparing these accounts, the Council - selects suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently - makes judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent - ensures that the recommendations of the Statement of Recommended Practice (Accounting by Charities) have been followed - prepares the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume the RSE will continue its activities. The Council is responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the RSE and the Group and which enable it to comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. It has general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to it to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. Risk management The Audit and Risk Committee, operating on a joint basis with the Foundation, reports directly to
Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007
Council and the Foundation. Its Chair, if not an ordinary member of RSE Council, is invited to attend Council meetings as an observer. Its remit includes keeping under review the effectiveness of internal control and risk management systems in the RSE and its connected charities. The Council believes that the existing systems and the structure of decisiontaking and reporting through the staff management group, Executive Board and Council continues to provide assurance that risks are assessed and carefully managed. Objectives and activities The RSEs mission is the Advancement of Learning and Useful Knowledge. To fulfil this, it promotes learning and puts the multidisciplinary expertise of its Fellows to work for the good of Scotland and its people. Its role is to: - promote and recognise excellence in and the application of all areas of learning - be a source of independent and expert advice on matters affecting the wellbeing of Scotland and its people - advance public discussion on matters of national and international importance The RSEs 20042007 Corporate Plan set three strategic objectives: - to continue to deliver a range of core activities, including those
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covered by existing arrangements with funders and partners - within these activities, to prioritise selected action areas and, where necessary, seek the resources needed for development - to encourage wider Fellowship and public participation and better integration in the delivery of the RSEs programmes The RSE seeks to achieve these objectives through the delivery of Core Public Benefits, Fellowship, and Management Administration Programmes. Overview of the year This section describes the main achievements of RSE, the Foundation and the BP Trust, reflecting the fact that the Financial Statements are presented on a consolidated basis for this Group of connected charities. Their core public benefit programme activities are described in more detail below, according to the outcomes to which they contribute. Highlights in what was a successful year include: - The publishing of the RSE Energy Report in June 2006 with follow-on public events throughout Scotland between October 2006 and March 2007. This culminated in the Energy
Conference held in April at the RSE, and a summary report issued in June 2007. - The creation of the new James Clerk Maxwell Award in partnership with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and funded by Wolfson Microelectronics plc. The first award was presented in July 2007. - The initiation of a new programme of research awards in Arts & Humanities, starting with the funding of three Research Workshops to be held during 2007/2008. - The production of a CD-Rom sent to all schools in Scotland during February 2007, covering the Stem Cell Research Discussion Forum which took place during the year and including resources for teachers and a student debate pack. - Live and on-demand webcasting of some major events and plans to make on-demand viewing/web-casting a regular feature of RSEs future dissemination. - Significant growth in the RSEs international activities including new agreements signed with National Academies, and an increase in numbers of international exchanges. - The fourth Gannochy Innovation Award presented to Dr
Marie Claire Parker in October at the Royal Museum of Scotland. The financial result for the year was also positive, with net incoming resources ahead of budget at 246,000. This included expenditure in relation to 150,000 received and recognised as restricted income in 200506, where costs were incurred in 200607. This was offset by a further income recognised in advance of expenditure of 53,000. The result also included a legacy of 132,000 and a surplus of 202,700 in various Restricted Funds not available for the general running of the RSE. The net incoming resource (before transfers or investment gains) arising in the General Fund is 128,700. There were a few low points in the year. Professor John Swanson Beck, who served as Secretary to Meetings and then Programme Convenor from 1997 to 2004 died in January 2007. A few conferences were cancelled or postponed, mainly because of difficulties in raising the necessary external funds. Advertising of the Enterprise Fellowship scheme, funded by Scottish Enterprise, was put on hold while an independent review of the programme was carried out by Ernst & Young. This reported very favourably on the success of the scheme and it is hoped that Scottish Enterprise will
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fund a further phase of the scheme to enable new appointments to be begin in 200809. No appointments were made to the Science & Technology Facilities Council (formerly PPARC) scheme, but a good number of BBSRC appointments were made and the quality of the successful applicants remained encouragingly high. Following the appointment of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish Executive, the independent Scottish Science Advisory Committee was discontinued. The members of the Committee continue to meet to provide advice directly to the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser. Performance monitoring The performance of the Group, relative to the detailed output targets set in the Management Plan approved by Council, was reported quarterly to the Executive Board, and thereafter to RSE Council and to the Trustees of other connected bodies. The overwhelming majority (> 95%) of the targets were reached or exceeded; those that were not arose either through external factors or not being able to secure or apply the resources necessary. Progress was made in relation to establishing processes to evaluate the public benefit outcomes flowing from the output targets. This is being further developed
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during 200708 to enable the measurement of short, medium and long-term outcomes to become an integral part of the Societys performance monitoring systems. Achievements in the year Attracting and retaining worldclass research talent The RSEs Research Awards support some of Scotlands most outstanding young scientists and innovators. The benefits of their research are far-reaching, with work in areas such as healthcare, IT, electronics, engineering, arts and humanities, and improving the quality of life of our ageing population, all advancing the social and economic well-being of Scotland. It is through valuable partnerships with key bodies such as BP, the Caledonian Research Foundation, the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland and the Scottish Executive that we are able to provide these awards. We are grateful for the continuing support of each of these partners. Each year an award ceremony is held to announce the awards to an invited audience, including funders and policy-makers. In 2006 it was held at the RSE and combined the announcement of the 2006 awards with the opportunity for Fellows and researchers to meet and discuss the research currently being funded over poster presentations.
The following awards were made during the year: one BP Personal Research Fellowship three Scottish Executive Personal Research Fellowships three Scottish Executive Support Fellowships two Scottish Executive Science Fellowships for Teachers one Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland PhD Studentship one Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Personal Research Fellowship one Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Support Research Fellowship two Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Research Workshops eight CRF European Visiting Research Fellowships in Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences three Arts & Humanities Research Workshops Cormack Prizes: one Undergraduate Prize, one Postgraduate prize and seven Vacation Research Scholarships, plus one Piazzi Smyth Vacation Scholarship two Lessells Travel Scholarships Increased funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland meant the RSE could award new Research Workshops, where the
theme and discussions for each workshop focus on research which aims to improve the quality of life of the ageing population. Evaluation training and communication skills training are also now being provided for the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Research Fellows and students. The RSE has initiated a new awards scheme in Arts and Humanities. A pilot programme was developed offering research workshops to encourage collaboration between academic institutions and the Scottish cultural institutions. The scheme was very well received by the arts and humanities community and twenty nine applications were submitted for the pilot scheme. The Scottish Executive agreed to fund the first three Arts & Humanities Research Workshops in 2007 and the RSE plans to develop this award scheme into research networks as well as workshops. The Royal Medals of the RSE are its most prestigious award recognising research excellence and scholarship. The 2006 medals were awarded to Sir David Jack CBE FRS FRSE, for his outstanding contribution to the pharmaceutical industry and his contributions to scientific organisations concerned with drug design and development; and to Professor Sir John Ball FRS FRSE, for his outstanding contributions to applied mathematics and his
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public service to the international mathematics community. Awareness of Scotland as a world-class location for research and development The RSEs International Programme made considerable further progress this year. New agreements have been signed with a number of academies, and arrangements have been made for further agreements to be signed in the coming year. An informal agreement was signed with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and bilateral agreements were signed with the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The international exchange programme has also been very successful this year. Visits totalling sixty-nine weeks took place through our bilateral programme run with our sister academies in China, Poland, Taiwan, Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary (an increase from 55 weeks in the previous year). Visits totalling 180 weeks took place through our open programme, with visits to and from Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the USA and Venezuela. This is a significant increase from last year, in which
the RSE awarded exchanges on the open programme totalling 83 weeks. We also launched our Joint Project scheme with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC). The RSENNSFC Joint Project scheme is designed to facilitate international collaboration between researchers based in Scotland and China over a twoyear period. Two awards were made this year, to researchers based at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Stirling. The RSE International Programme also offered support to the Knowledge and Learning Network for International Development, run by Professor Paul Jowitt FRSE. The Network aims to increase awareness of and promote technological learning for infrastructure in Africa as a means of increasing capacity (especially skills) to maintain essential infrastructure such as water and sanitation and contribute to the delivery of the UN Millennium Development Goals. A workshop took place in Tanzania, sponsored by the RSE and facilitated by the Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology and Engineers Against Poverty. The workshop formed part of a conference on Engineering and Poverty Reduction organised by the Institution of Engineers Tanzania.
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The RSE has also been involved in several other high-profile and international events this year, including: - A joint event with the National Science Council of Taiwan, held in Taipei, on Developmental Biology. - The RSE Annual European Lecture, this year given by Mr Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, VicePresident of the European Parliament on Solidarity in the Enlarged European Union. - A lecture by Professor Jri Engelbrecht, President of ALLEA (All European Academies) on European Science Policy and Academia. - A Joint conference with the Norwegian Academy of Sciences on Vikings in Scotland held at the Royal Museum, Edinburgh. A culture that fosters knowledge transfer from a science and cultural base The Enterprise Fellowships schemes run by the RSE are designed to increase the commercialisation of academic research through technology transfer from academic institutions into spinout companies. This activity helps create sustainable businesses with high-value jobs and contributes to the Scottish economy in the long term. The RSE runs three Enterprise Fellowship Schemes, funded
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separately by Scottish Enterprise, Science and Technology Facilities Council (formerly PPARC) and BBSRC. Both the Research Council schemes operate on a UK-wide basis. The BBSRC scheme has attracted an encouraging number of applications. Following a rigorous selection process, two BBSRC Enterprise Fellows took up post in October 2006. During the year, three Scottish Enterprise Fellowships were awarded, commencing in October 2006, in addition to the three previously awarded who took up posts in April 2006. No Science and Technology Facilities Council (PPARC) Enterprise Fellowships were awarded this year, as there were no suitable applicants. The Gannochy Trust Innovation Award of the RSE is Scotlands highest accolade for individual achievement in innovation. It was created in 2003, in partnership with the Gannochy Trust, to encourage and reward Scotlands young innovators for work which benefits Scotlands well-being. The purpose of the award is to encourage younger people to pursue careers in fields of research and development which promote Scotlands inventiveness internationally, and to recognise outstanding individual achievement, which contributes to the common good of Scotland. In 2006 this award was presented to
Dr Marie Claire Parker in recognition of the contribution she has made to the development of protein-coated microcrystals for drug delivery. Public appreciation and understanding of science and culture Communications The RSE website is updated regularly and provides information for both Fellows and the public. Details of all the activities supported by the RSE are posted on the site, as are reports from events and press releases. The majority of application forms for Research Awards and Exchange Fellowships submitted are downloaded from the site and lecture tickets are available online. Media briefings and press releases are provided for all major events and launches and there has been appreciable media coverage of most of the significant activities in the RSE programme. Several events were web-cast during the year and were available to view live and/or on demand. The RSE plans increasingly to make this a feature of reporting on all events. Four issues of ReSourcE, the RSE newsletter, were published and distributed to the Fellowship and around 2,000 others, including business leaders, journalists, research institutes, schools, MPs, MSPs and interested individuals. Fellows also receive a monthly ebulletin, which enables them to
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keep up to date with and, if appropriate, further disseminate information on the RSE and its work. The fifth issue of Science Scotland (on Energy) was published in May 2006. Science Scotland aims to promote the excellence of Scottish research, particularly to an overseas audience and the sixth edition on Imaging was produced after the year end. Journals The RSE continues its long tradition of scholarly publishing with its two journals, Transactions: Earth Sciences and Proceedings A: Mathematics, which are published on behalf of the RSE by the RSE Scotland Foundation. Six issues of Proceedings A were published during the 2006/07 Financial Year on a regular bi-monthly schedule issues 136.2 to 137.1 inclusive. Six issues of Transactions were published Parts 2, 3 and 4 of volume 96 and parts 1, 2 and 3 of volume 97. Copies of the journals are also sent to over 300 University Libraries, Academies and Institutions world wide, as part of the RSEs long-standing exchange programme. The journals are highly regarded by academics as publication vehicles for their research, and they both maintain a respectably high impact factor in comparison to similar journals in their fields. As from 2007 (volume 98), Transactions has been retitled Earth and Environmental
Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and will be re-launched, with a new fullcolour cover design, with a Special Issue entitled Holocene Environmental Change Lessons from Small Oceanic Islands to reflect the environmental theme. Cambridge University Press now handles the subscription fulfilment, distribution and marketing for both journals. Events There were twenty RSE lectures open to the public including: - The Raymond and Beverley Sackler Distinguished Lecture on Calcium Signalling in Health and Disease by Sir Michael J Berridge; - The Festival of Politics RSE Lecture, Picture it if yous will: the Ambitions of Scottish Political Theatre by Professor Adrienne Scullion with students of the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, University of Glasgow and of the School of Drama, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama; - Biodiversity, Poverty and Sustainability for the 21st Century by Professor Peter H Raven; - How We Treat Young Offenders by Camila Batmanghelidjh; - The BP Prize Lecture on Protecting Human Dignity at the
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Beginning and End of Life by Professor Graeme Laurie; - Vikings and Scotland: The Northern World and its Significance for Scotland by Magnus Magnusson Hon KBE FRSE; and - The Robert Cormack Bequest workshop held at the RSE, including a lecture entitled the Cassini-Huygens mission at Titan by Dr Athna Coustenis, Astronomer, Paris-Meudon Observatory. Several full reports have been published and are available in hard copy from the RSE, or on the RSE website. As part of the fifteenth series of The Edinburgh Lectures, on the theme of Inspiring People, Professor Sue Black FRSE spoke on Forensic anthropology the journey from Culloden to Iraq. There were also five RSE Discussion Forums (including three as part of the Natural Disasters Earth, Wind, Fire, Water series) on: - Floods by Professor Edmund Penning-Roswell OBE and Professor Gareth Pender; - Earthquakes by Professor Robin Spence and Mr Pete Sweetnam; - Tropical Storms by Professor Brian Lee and Dr Julian Heming; - Cultural Policy and National Identity in Post Devolution Scotland by Professor Philip R Schlesinger FRSE, Professor
David McCrone FBA FRSE, the Right Reverend Richard Holloway FRSE and Vicky Featherstone; and - The Ten Years of Dolly: Past, Present and Future by Dr Donald Bruce, Professor Ian Wilmut, Professor Keith Campbell, Professor Grahame Bulfield and Professor Harry Griffin. These all met with an encouraging response, with numbers attending being over target in most cases. Five conferences organised by the RSE were: - Islam and Democracy, supported by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and The Edinburgh Institute for the Study of The Arab World and Islam; - Beyond the Human genome: Deciphering Biology and Disease, supported by the Caledonian Research Foundation; - Alternatives to Prison in partnership with encounter, supported by Scottish Executive, The Robertson Trust, The Airborne Initiative and the Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh; - The Vikings and Scotland Impact and Influence in partnership with Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, supported by The National Museums of
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Scotland, Historic Scotland, The Royal Norwegian Consulate General and The Strathmartine Trust; - Glasgows People: Transcending Poverties, supported by Glasgow City Council, The Herald Newspaper, Archdiocese of Glasgow, Mr Willie Haughey, The City Charitable Trust, Mr Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group, Mr John McGuire, Phoenix Car Company Ltd. In addition there were events primarily for Fellows. These included the New Fellows admission ceremony and induction in May; the Fellows Summer Reception in July and the Annual Statutory Meeting in October. Inspiring young people, primarily in the field of science, but also other areas covered by the wider school curriculum The RSEs Young Peoples programme covered the length and breadth of Scotland with: - Ten RSE@Schools talks. Lecturers visited schools throughout Scotland, from Dumfries to the Highlands, and covered diverse topics, including forensic science, astronomy, genetics and the chemistry used in common medicines. - RSE Discussion Forum. In June 2006 a Stem Cell Research Discussion Forum took place in Inverness. A CD-Rom, including
video material of all the presentations, resources for teachers and a student debate pack was then produced and sent to all schools in Scotland. This resource is also available on the RSE Website. - Two Science, Engineering and Technology Summer Schools. These took place in July and August 2006 in partnership with Heriot-Watt University and aimed to introduce Highers students to university life. Twenty RSE Maths Masterclasses. Maths Masterclasses involve Saturday morning games and puzzles for P6/7 students to encourage an interest in mathematics. This year the classes were held in the autumn term in partnership with Jack and Teresa Carr, Aberdeen City Council and the University of Dundee. Ten Computer Science Workshops in Glasgow. The 2006 RSE Christmas Lecture, given by Heather Reid, BBC Broadcast Meteorologist, took place at the University of Stirling on Tuesday 12th December. The lecture was entitled Weather Forecasting in the 21st Century and was given separately to local school students and the general public. Thirty-six RSE Startup Science Masterclasses. The Startup Science Masterclasses take place
40
on Saturday mornings in the form of workshops for S1/S2 students and emphasise the role of science, engineering and technology in society. These workshops ran in partnership with Dundee, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Heriot-Watt Universities in both the Autumn 2006 and Spring 2007 terms. A Road Show took place in Ullapool from 26th February to 1st March this year. The two-day event included science workshops for primary and secondary school students, talks for secondary students and a talk for the wider community. Energy Talks in Schools. Following the Autumn Discussion Forum which took place In October 2006 at The University of Aberdeen entitled Debating Scotland's Energy Choices, talks have been delivered in schools in particular regions throughout Scotland from January to April 2007. The first took place in Perth and was lead by Dr. Malcolm Kennedy, Professor Maxwell Irvine and Professor Roger Crofts. Arbroath Project. The proposal to create a programme of Sustained Activity for Arbroath gathered momentum with an initial meeting in January 2007. It is envisaged that the programme will run for one
academic year, in 2008, and will involve a wide range of activities for young people and the wider public, including specialist lectures, popular talks and discussions, classes and workshops for schools at secondary and primary levels, as well as exhibitions and social events. Informing decisions taken by Parliaments and policy-makers Following the launch of the RSEs Report into Energy Issues for Scotland in June 2006 and with an aim to facilitate public engagement and enhance understanding of energy issues, the RSE embarked upon a series of countrywide public and school discussion forums under the banner of Debating Scotlands Energy Choices. Such a dissemination exercise following the publication of its Report was a first for the RSE. Public and school discussion forums were held in Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries and the total audience numbers were over 435 for the public events and over 375 for the school discussions. The event series on energy concluded with a conference at the RSE in April 2007 attended by over 80 delegates. An Inquiry Update Report, Energy for Scotland: a call for action, targeted at decisionmakers, has been produced to reflect on recent decisions, and to
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summarise the public debates and school visits and concluding conference. It identifies the actions required to ensure achievement of the Committees strategic aim a secure, competitive, socially equitable and low carbon emissions supply of energy for Scotland. We are grateful to Scottish Enterprise for contributing towards the cost of the public and school discussion events. Also, without the dedication and expertise of Committee Members, particularly Professor Roger Crofts as Secretary, it would not have been possible to undertake the event series. The RSE has also begun developing ideas for a new inquiry into the Future for Scotlands Hill and Island Areas to help secure a prosperous and environmentally sustainable future for these important areas of Scotland. This is in recognition of the major changes taking place in agricultural support and the proposed expansion of both forestry and tourism in these areas. Using the expertise of its c.1400 Fellows, the RSE responded to various consultations and submitted evidence and advice to nine parties, including the Scottish Executives Science and Innovation Strategy and the draft Culture (Scotland) Bill. These submissions are available on the RSE website.
Some of these responses were carried out using small working groups of Fellows. A small working party on Avian Influenza was set up to consider the possible implications of an outbreak of this disease in Scotland. As part of their investigation, evidence was taken from some of the key decision-makers who would be involved if an outbreak occurred. The group concluded its research during the year and reported after the year end. Discussions were held with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and with MSPs to improve awareness of the Scottish Parliament Science Information Scheme. The Science in Parliament event in November again provided an opportunity to provide examples of the types of briefing that can be made available to inform MSPs on important topical subjects. The Fellowship Programme The RSEs Fellowship includes men and women from all parts of Scotland, the UK and overseas, and encompasses the full range of disciplines, including science, engineering, social sciences, arts, humanities, law, business and industry. In March 2007, the Society announced the election of 55 new Ordinary Fellows and ten new Corresponding Fellows.
This followed the scrutiny in 2006 of 175 candidates through a fourstage committee process, culminating in the postal ballot in December to the entire Fellowship. The addition of our new Fellows in 2007 brought the numbers in the Fellowship up to 1,465 - 67 Honorary Fellows; 43 Corresponding Fellows and 1,355 Ordinary Fellows. The discipline balance of the Fellowship is broadly represented by four cognate sectors. In the Ordinary Fellowship the current balance of these sectors is 36.1% (Life Sciences), 37.3% (Physical Sciences, Maths and Informatic Sciences), 18.9% (Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities) and 7.7% (Economics, Business and Industry). This represents a slight increase from 2006 in the representation of those from the latter two groups. The nomination and selection process for Fellowship is developed every year and the procedures are under review during 2007/08. The review does not seek to make major changes to what currently exists, but is examining the efficacy of the current system. The working party carrying out the Review is chaired by Professor Andrew Walker (the Fellowship Secretary), and includes Lord Cullen, Dr Ewan Brown and Professors Colin Bird, John Laver, April McMahon and John Spence.
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RSE Scotland Foundation In addition to the publication of journals detailed above, the Foundation has continued to facilitate the dissemination of useful knowledge through letting the conference facilities in George Street. Gross income from this activity was slightly up from the previous year; and although the numbers of lettings remained steady, the recovery of costs incurred improved due to new pricing structures. The Foundation is also responsible for letting surplus space to tenants and this has continued successfully, with a five-year renewal of the lease to Universities Scotland agreed with effect from July 2007. In pursuit of its scientific and cultural heritage objectives, the Foundation, in conjunction with the RSE, is working to promote awareness of the achievements of James Clerk Maxwell. The Foundation and the RSE are also facilitating a proposal to erect a statue of him in central Edinburgh. BP Research Fellowships Trust The income from the BP Trusts investments, which are managed separately from the RSEs own funds, continued to be sufficient to support the appointment of one new three-year postdoctoral research fellow in 2006-07; there were three such research fellows
in post during the year. The research fellowships are administered by the RSE. During the year, discussions took place with BP about the most effective use of the Trusts funds and possibilities for enhancing them. This culminated in an evening reception in April 2007, to which all former research fellows supported by the Trust were invited, to showcase their work and the outcomes resulting from their tenure of the research fellowships. Future plans Plans for 2007-08 have been developed in the context of a new Strategic Framework covering 2007-2012. The Society aims to make a difference and all of its activities are planned with a view to contributing to the following public benefit outcomes: - Increasing the number of worldclass science and culture researchers working in Scotland - Increasing Scotlands research and development connections internationally - Improving connections between business and academia - Increasing the number of people in Scotland who adopt science as a career - Enhancing the publics appreciation and understanding of science and culture issues
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- Informing and influencing public policy decisions The planning of activities will be guided by the strategic priorities, and these will also be the main focus of the activities. The strategic priorities over the next five years are: - Developing partnerships and connections with others - Providing independent advice on major issues affecting public policy - Developing arts and humanities activities and their interface with science - Broadening public engagement - Diversifying funding sources The RSE has three Operational Programmes for 2007/08. These are: Core Public Benefits; the Fellowship; and Support Services; all of the activities of which will contribute directly or indirectly to the public benefit outcomes listed above. Investment powers and policy The management of the investment funds of the RSE and the BP Research Fellowships Trust is carried out by Speirs & Jeffrey & Co on a discretionary basis. The objectives set by the Council are first to ensure a sufficient level of income to meet the target set annually by the Council and thereafter to invest for capital growth. The Council has delegat44
ed the detailed monitoring of performance to the Investment Committee, which includes at least one ordinary member of Council, and which makes comparisons against a composite benchmark reflecting the mix of assets held and the WM Charities Income Constrained Index. The income targets for both portfolios were exceeded and the total return values for each part of the portfolio exceeded the benchmark by 0.3% (RSE) and 1.1% (BP Research Fellowships Trust). Representatives of the Investment Committee meet twice annually with the investment managers to discuss their compliance with the constraints set by the Committee and risk environment. In the year under review no compliance issues arose which required to be reported to the Committee. Operating policies grant making The RSE makes grants to individuals in higher education institutions in support of research activities in the categories of postdoctoral research Fellowships, support research Fellowships, post graduate studentships, undergraduate vacation scholarships, Enterprise fellowships and international exchange grants. Each of these categories is specifically funded from various sources, including the RSE's restricted funds.
The basis of eligibility and selection varies according to the detailed scheme regulations, which are published on the RSEs website (www.royalsoced.org.uk). Grants are also made in support of research activities of Fellows of the RSE, including support for travel connected with research or scholarship, small scale specialist meetings, to assist research visitors to Scotland to undertake collaborative research work with a Fellow, to assist a visiting lecturer to come to Scotland, to assist research collaboration between two institutions in Scotland or between universities and industry and to assist in the publication of books written by Fellows. These grants are funded by the RSEs designated Grants Fund. The Grants Committee is responsible for making awards in accordance with the detailed rules set out by the Council of the RSE for the disbursement of the Grants Fund. Details of grant-making committee membership are to be found in the RSEs annual Directory and on its website. Reserves policy and funds The RSE holds a number of restricted funds resulting from bequests for particular purposes, details of which are set out in note 2 to the financial statements. The Council has created designated funds, from its unrestricted funds, the purposes of which are
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also set out in note 2 to the financial statements. The General Fund represents the balance of unrestricted funds arising from past operations, which are not invested in fixed assets or designated for a specific purpose. The Council has examined the requirement to hold unrestricted funds, and concluded that, whilst the present level of reserves gives adequate working capital for core costs, it would be desirable to have a General Fund reserve in the range of three to six months expenditure on central costs. They have also reviewed the purposes and amounts of each of the designated funds and are satisfied that it is appropriate to continue to allocate the unrestricted funds for the purposes described in note 2 to the financial statements. In particular, the RSE should continue to maintain a Development Fund to give flexibility to respond to new initiatives on a timely basis without the need for specific fundraising. Result for the year The overall result at the net incoming resources, or revenue, level was a surplus of 246,000, with the General Fund result contributing 128,800 of this sum. As well as non-recurring items, this result included 53,000 (2006150,000) of restricted purpose income
received in advance of carrying out the activities for which the income has been provided. SORP 2005 requires that such income be recognised as received and placed in a fund against which the future costs are set. The costs in relation to the 2006 income were incurred in the year to 31 March 2007 resulting in a 97,000 net deficit on the restricted income fund. The net movement in funds for the year after including gains on investments and FRS 17 pension movements, rose to 312,000 in the General Fund and 603,000 overall. This reflected the positive FRS 17 adjustment and the continuing recovery of the equity markets. Income and Expenditure Total incoming resources Total incoming resources of 3.6m decreased by 2.23% or 0.083m from last year. This comprised increases in voluntary income and investment income offset by a decrease in income for charitable activities. This reflected the accounting treatment adopted in 200506 on implementation of SORP 2005 where income is recognised on entitlement rather than in the period in which activities take place. 150,000 of income was recognised in 2005 06 in relation to activities taking place in 200607.
Voluntary income (note 4), which includes grants, increased as a result of a legacy of 132,000 from Mrs S M Heggie in memory of her husband, Dr James Heggie. Pending further discussion by the Council, this amount has been transferred to the Development Appeal Fund. Subscription income from Fellows, included generous support from voluntary contributions and associated Gift Aid tax recovery increased by 8,000 (4.5%). Investment income (note 4) comprised dividend income and interest received on cash; the majority of these assets are held in the designated and restricted income funds. Incoming resources from charitable activities (note 5) were reduced by 5.5% or 131,000. This reflected a net fall in research awards income of 47,000 due to the completion of phase 2 of the Enterprise Fellowships scheme, which led to a reduction in the number of appointments in the year and hence the income received, offset by the new level of grant from Lloyds TSB Foundation and increases in BBSRC Enterprise Fellowship income. In other activities the fall in income was mainly due to the conclusion of the Energy Inquiry income for which was collected in the previous year. Meetings Income was restored to a more normal
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level reflecting a full conference programme. Income in relation to evidence and advice includes a grant from the Scottish Funding Council for provision of advice on specified topics. The income in support of the SSAC declined due to the cessation of its activities administered by the RSE in December 2006. Resources expended Total resources expended increased by 7% (0.2m) from last year. This included the unmatched expenditure of 150,000 in relation to restricted income brought forward. Cost of generating funds (note 6) included the cost of the Fellowship Office, the costs of building management in respect of income from letting of surplus space as well as fundraising costs, both direct and management time in securing funding. Overall, expenditure on charitable activities increased by 142,000 (5%). Grants payable of 1.84m increased by 1.2% (0.02m). This results from increases in the numbers of postholders for awards funded by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland and BBSRC, offsetting the fall in Enterprise Fellows funded by Scottish Enterprise. Increased expenditure on meetings, evidence and international activities reflected the level of activity undertaken in the year.
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Governance costs remained at a similar level to 200506 and represent 4% of total income. The transfers between funds shown in the Statement of Financial Activities represented the release from the Capital Asset Reserve of a total of 101,000 to match the writedown of buildings and the capital repayment of the loan to the Foundation; there was also a transfer on consolidation from the RSE Scotland Foundation Restricted Fund balance to the General Fund equivalent to the net inter-entity income received in the RSE. Balance sheet Consolidated net assets increased by 5.4% overall to a total of 11.8m; the major reasons being a 4% increase in the investment portfolio, before the additional investment of cash of 600,000, and 169,000 increase in the FRS 17 pensions adjustment, turning the previously reported deficit to an asset of 49,000. Net current assets decreased by 11.8% to 1,468,000. The decrease resulted mainly from the transfer of 600,000 cash from the restricted and designated funds to the investment portfolio. Of the total cash balance, 280,000 (2006 714,000) was allocated to designated funds, the major part of which related to the Development Appeal Fund and the Building Maintenance Fund; a
further 663,000 (2006 860,000) related to restricted funds. Conclusion and future prospects The RSE has continued to strengthen its financial base. Further progress will come from increasing revenue growth and margins. This will be achieved through the development of innovative programmes which will fit within the RSEs priorities and which will, at the same time, attract funding from both public and private sector sources.
Achieving an increase in revenues will be a long haul process, but the organisational arrangements for doing so have now been put in place. The outlook for 2007/08 is for the present level of activity to be sustained and to generate a further contribution to the RSEs financial base. Signed on behalf of the Council Edward Cunningham CBE Treasurer 3 September 2007
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AUDITORS REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Independent Auditors report to the Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh This report is issued in respect of an audit carried out under Section 44 (1) (c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. We have audited the financial statements of Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) for the year ended 31 March 2007 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the group balance sheet, the charity balance sheet, the cash flow statement and the related notes. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out therein. This report is made solely to the RSE Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Section 44 (1) (c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the RSE Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the RSE and the RSE Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Auditors As described in the statement of Trustees responsibilities, the Council is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the Laws of the RSE, the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the Trustees Annual Report is consistent with the financial statements, if the RSE has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. We read other information contained in the Trustees Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited financial statements. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent
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ACCOUNTS
Group statement of nancial activities (incorporating the income & expenditure account) for year ended 31 March 2007
Note General Fund Income Voluntary income Activities for generating income Investment income 4 4 4 814,468 48,678 11,492 69,916 19,506 208,329 214,534 845,466 208,329 333,128 841,887 203,257 293,795 Designated Funds Restricted income Restricted funds 2007 Total 2006 Total
Incoming resources from generated funds Incoming resources from charitable activities Total incoming resources 5
863,146 122,230 985,376
81,408 81,408
1,891,454 1,891,454
442,369 238,393 680,762
1,386,923 2,252,077 3,639,000
1,338,939 2,383,183 3,722,122
Expenditure Cost of generating funds Charitable activities Governance Total resources expended 6 6 6 (121,976) (615,658) (118,956) (856,590) (8,606) (43,300) (18,032) (69,938) (1,988,353) (1,988,353) (76,458) (24,559) (207,040) (161,547) (181,955) (143,604) (377,045) (3,024,356) (2,845,533)
(478,062) (3,392,943) (3,171,092)
Net incoming resources before transfers Transfers between funds Other recognised gains/(losses) Gains/(losses) on investment assets Realised gains Unrealised gains Actuarial gains /(losses) on Lothian Pension Fund Net movement in funds Balance brought forward at 1 April 2006 Balance carried forward at 31 March 2007 20, 21
128,786 35,930
11,470 30,394
(96,899)
202,700 (66,324)
246,057 551,030
1,537 3,741
8,891 21,630
88,020 91,507
98,448 59,797 116,878 685,437
142,000 311,994
72,385
(96,899)
315,903
142,000 603,383
(58,000) 1,238,264
295,125
5,839,955
150,000
4,926,075 11,211,155
9,972,891
607,119
5,912,340
53,101
5,241,978 11,814,538 11,211,155
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R O YA L S O C I E T Y O F E D I N B U R G H
Trustees Report & Accounts 2006 2007

Group balance sheet at 31 March 2007
Note 2007 Fixed assets Tangible xed assets Fixed asset investments Investments at market value 15 6,439,309 10,600,922 Current assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Money Market deposits Designated funds Money Market deposits Restricted funds Money Market deposits General funds 16 177,465 445,409 262,236 663,850 273,914 1,822,874 Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 17 (354,345) (576,796) 176,516 303,379 714,060 860,288 188,252 2,242,495 5,624,323 9,902,807 14 4,161,613 4,278,484 2007 2006 2006
Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Provision for liabilities and charges Net assets excluding pension fund Lothian Pension Fund Dened Benet Scheme asset / (liability) Net assets after pension fund liability Funds General Fund Less: Pension reserve 18
1,468,529 12,069,451 (303,913) 11,765,538
1,665,699 11,568,506 (237,351) 11,331,155
23
49,000 11,814,538
(120,000) 11,211,155
19
558,119 49,000 607,119
415,125 (120,000) 295,125 5,839,955 5,076,075 11,211,155
Designated Funds Restricted Funds Total funds
20 21
5,912,340 5,295,079 11,814,538
The accounts were approved by the Council on 3 September 2007 and signed on its behalf by: Edward Cunningham, CBE Treasurer
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RSE balance sheet at 31 March 2007
Note 2007 Fixed assets Tangible xed assets Fixed asset investments Investments at market value Historical cost: 2006 2,006,102 2005 1,921,750 Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation 15(b) 1,891,136 7,435,669 Current assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Money Market deposits Designated funds Money Market deposits Restricted funds Money Market deposits General funds 16 60,541 380,941 262,236 663,850 273,914 1,641,482 14 15(a) 2,311,210 3,233,323 2007
2006
2006
2,365,581 2,539,320
1,937,944 6,842,845
95,435 222,502 714,060 779,411 269,129 2,080,537
Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Provision for liabilities and charges Net assets excluding pension fund Lothian Pension Fund dened benet scheme asset / (liability) Net assets after pension fund liability Funds General Fund Less: Pension reserve 19 558,119 49,000 607,119 Designated Funds Restricted Funds Total funds 20 21 5,912,340 1,864,682 8,384,141 415,125 (120,000) 295,125 5,839,955 1,848,580 7,983,660 18 17 (438,097) 1,203,385 8,639,054 (303,913) 8,335,141 49,000 8,384,141 (582,371) 1,498,166 8,341,011 (237,351) 8,103,660 (120,000) 7,983,660
The accounts were approved by the Council on 3 September 2007 and signed on its behalf by: Edward Cunningham, CBE Treasurer
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Group cash ow statement for the year ended 31 March 2007
2007 Cash ow statement Net cash inow/(outow) from operating activities Returns on investments and servicing of nance: Interest received Dividends received 84,824 249,345 334,169 Capital expenditure and nancial investment: Purchase of tangible xed assets Proceeds from sale of investments Purchases of investments Capital receipt (7,050) 1,125,478 (1,725,138) 10,257 (596,453) Net cash ow before nancing: Appeal receipts (Decrease) / Increase in cash in the year Reconciliation of net cash ow to movement in net funds (Decrease) / Increase in cash in the year Net funds at beginning of year Net funds at end of year (note 28) Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash outow from operating activities Net incoming resources before transfers Retirement benet scheme current service cost Retirement benet scheme past service cost Retirement benet scheme contributions Retirement benet scheme nance cost Appeal receipts Dividends receivable Interest receivable Depreciation Capital receipt from Mrs Silitto Capital distribution from Edinburgh Drug Absorption Foundation (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Movement on provision for liabilities Net cash inow/(outow) from operating activities 246,057 111,000 (21,000) (95,000) (22,000) (11,492) (248,304) (84,824) 123,921 (10,257) (1,989) (222,451) 66,562 (169,778) 551,030 81,000 (89,000) (6,000) (13,361) (224,827) (69,048) 122,773 (124,015) (41,872) 213,085 (50,422) 349,343 (420,570) 2,065,979 1,645,409 761,924 1,304,055 2,065,979 (432,062) 11,492 (420,570) (19,343) 429,971 (429,893) 124,015 104,750 748,563 13,361 761,924 69,048 225,422 294,470 (169,778) 349,343 2007 2006 2006
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notes to the nancial statements
1 Accounting basis
The accounts have been drawn up to comply with the provisions of the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charity Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and follow the recommendations of the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities (SORP) approved by the Accounting Standards Board in February 2005 and applicable accounting standards. The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost accounting rules as modied to include the revaluation of investments. The accounts comprise four primary nancial statements: the statement of nancial activities incorporating the income and expenditure account, the Group and RSE balance sheet and the cash ow statement. The consolidated nancial statements include the nancial statements of the RSE and of entities which are under its control: RSE Scotland Foundation and BP Research Fellowship Trust. As the objectives of each of these entities are narrower than the Society, they have been treated as restricted funds. No SOFA or income and expenditure for the Society has been presented as permitted by SORP.
Designated Funds Capital Asset Reserve Fund representing the book cost of the rooms at 22-24 George Street and 26 George Street together with the building project loan to the RSE Scotland Foundation. Building Maintenance Fund a reserve to support the future maintenance of the fabric of the rooms. Staff Restructuring Fund to provide exiblity in stafng arrangements Development Appeal Fund to provide development nance to implement the RSEs Corporate Plan. Programme Fund a fund created to act as a source of funding for meetings activities. C H Kemball Fund income from this fund is used to provide hospitality for distinguished visitors from other learned societies and Academies. Dr James Heggie Fund income from this fund supports the RSEs activities with young people. Grants Fund a fund created by contributions and legacies from Fellows and used to provide grants to support research activities to Fellows. Restricted Income Fund income funds received for expenditure on current projects. Restricted Funds Robert Cormack Bequest to promote astronomical knowledge and research in Scotland Lessells Trust to fund scholarships abroad for engineers Auber Bequest to fund research in Scotland and England by naturalised British citizens over 60 years of age Prizes Fund to fund various prizes Dryerre Fund to fund postgraduate scholarships in medical or veterinary physiology Fleck Bequest Fund to promote interest, knowledge and appreciation of science and its applications throughout Scotland. Piazzi Smyth Legacy Fund to fund high altitude astronomical research. Sillitto Fund to promote interest in physics among young people. CASS Fund to fund academic / industrial liaison Retailing Seminar Fund to fund a programme of seminars on retailing Edinburgh Drug Absorption Foundation Fund to fund a series of conferences on the broad theme of Drugs Futures. RSE Scotland Foundation a trust to advance the education of the public in Scotland in science, engineering and technology. BP Research Fellowships Trust a trust to fund postdoctoral research fellowships in Scotland.
3 Accounting policies
Incoming resources Voluntary income Subscriptions are accounted for on the basis of the subscription year to October 2007 and include income tax recoverable on the subscriptions paid under Gift Aid. Revenue grants are credited to income in the period in which the RSE becomes entitled to the resources. Donations of a recurring nature from other charitable foundations and one-off gifts and legacies included in other income are taken to revenue in the period to which they relate. Investment income Interest and dividends are accounted for in the year in which they are receivable.
Incoming resources for charitable activities Incoming resources for activities are accounted for on an accruals basis.
2 Funds
The RSEs funds are classied in accordance with the denitions in SORP into Restricted Funds, where there are restrictions placed by a donor as to the use of income or capital, Designated Funds where the Society has set aside sums from its unrestricted funds for a particular purpose and the General (unrestricted) Fund. The classications made are as follows: General Fund A discretionary Fund available to Council to meet the ordinary activities of the Society.
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Publication income receivable in foreign currencies is converted into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the date of receipt. Incoming resources for research fellowships are accounted for in the period in which the RSE becomes entitled to the resources. Income received for specic projects, and received in advance of the commencement of the project, is deferred. If the project were not to proceed as planned the RSE would not be entitled to retain the funds. For performance related grants, where entitlement to the incoming resource only arises with the performance of the specic outputs agreed under the contracts, income is deferred. Resources expended Expenditure and support costs All resources expended are included on an accruals basis, having regard to any constructive obligations created by multi-year grant commitments. Where directly attributable, resources expended are allocated to the relevant functional category. Overhead and support costs are allocated to functional category on the basis of direct staff costs in each area of activity. Cost of generating funds The cost of generating funds includes expenditure incurred in supporting the Fellowship and incurred on fundraising initiatives.
Charitable activities Grants payable are recognised as a liability when the RSE is under an actual or constructive obligation to make a transfer to a third party. Where grants are time related to future periods and are to be nanced by specic grants receivable in those future periods they are treated as liabilities of those periods and not as liabilities at balance sheet date. Such grants are disclosed as future commitments. Governance costs Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the management of RSE assets, organisational administration and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. Tangible xed assets, depreciation and repairs
The RSEs principal assets are its buildings in George Street, Edinburgh. Under FRS15 the Society depreciates the buildings assuming a 50-year life. It is the policy of the Council to maintain the buildings to a high standard. Provision is made to provide for upkeep of the buildings as required through a designation from General Fund. Any permanent diminutions in value are reected in the statement of nancial activities. Costs of repairs and maintenance are charged against revenue. Expenditure incurred in the improvements to 26 George Street is being depreciated over the period of the lease to the RSE Scotland Foundation from the date of completion of the refurbishment to 30 June 2047.
Minor equipment is charged against revenue in the year of purchase. Computer and audio-visual is depreciated on a straight line basis over 320 years. Investments Investments are stated at their market value at the balance sheet date. Gains and losses on disposal and revaluation of investments are charged or credited in the statement of nancial activities and allocated to funds in accordance with their proportionate share of the investment portfolio. Pensions The RSE participates in dened benet pension schemes which are externally funded. The cost of providing pensions is allocated over employees working lives with the Society and is included in staff costs.
56

4 Incoming resources Current year 2007
Voluntary income Fellows Individuals and legacies Companies Charitable trusts Scottish Executive Public sector bodies Bank interest Other interest Dividends Other 183,932 153,961 9,250 496,832 1,491 845,466 RSE Scotland Foundation Rental income
RSE Scotland Foundation Charitable activities
Activities for generating income 208,329 208,329
Investment 78,652 119,603 198,255 869 5,302 128,702 333,128
Promotion of research 330,784 617,281 473,884 1,421,949 1,421,949
Other charitable activities 26,197 12,200 181,813 317,780 53,744 591,734 238,394 830,128
Total 2007 183,932 180,158 12,200 521,847 1,431,893 527,628 78,652 119,603 1,491 3,057,404 208,329 238,394 869 5,302 128,702 3,639,000
845,466
RSE Scotland Foundation Interest BP Research Fellowships Trust Interest BP Research Fellowships Trust Dividends
Prior year 2006

Voluntary income Fellows Individuals and legacies Companies Charitable trusts Scottish Executive Public sector bodies Bank interest Other interest Dividends Other 176,022 41,361 143,942 479,000 1,562 841,887 RSE Scotland Foundation Rental income RSE Scotland Foundation Charitable activities RSE Scotland Foundation Interest BP Research Fellowships Trust Interest BP Research Fellowships Trust Dividends 841,887 203,257 203,257 63,999 101,806 165,805 838 4,211 122,941 293,795 Activities for generating income Investment Promotion of research 258,210 651,000 560,305 1,469,515 1,469,515 Other charitable activities 13,572 35,000 181,889 412,060 38,611 681,132 232,536 913,668 Total 2006 176,022 54,933 35,000 584,041 1,542,060 598,916 63,999 101,806 1,562 3,158,339 203,257 232,536 838 4,211 122,941 3,722,122
57


4 Incoming resources (continued) 4a Voluntary income
Contributions from Fellows Admission fees Annual subscriptions Income tax recoverable under Gift Aid Lessells Trust additional receipt Appeal receipts Legacies Scottish Executive Grant General activities Edinburgh Drug Absorption Foundation Sillitto Fund Other income 2007 15,400 145,416 23,116 183,932 9,250 11,492 132,212 496,832 10,257 1,491 845,466 2006 15,400 138,971 21,651 176,022 19,917 13,361 28,000 479,000 124,025 1,562 841,887
In addition to the donations set out above, the RSE receives donations made specically in support of activities which are included in activities income (see note 26d).
5 Incoming resources from charitable activities

2007 Scottish Executive Grant Research Fellowships Franco-Scottish PhD scholarships Caledonian Research Foundation Scottish Enterprise BBSRC Enterprise Fellowships PPARC Enterprise Fellowships Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland 617,281 24,000 30,784 316,859 133,025 300,000 1,421,949 Scottish Executive Grant re Scottish Science Advisory Committee Scottish Executive Grant International activities Scottish Executive Grant Science & Society Gannochy Trust Scottish Funding Council Meetings Inquiry income Gifts in kind (secondments of staff) International activities Educational activities Sale of sundry publications 131,893 185,887 105,000 24,402 115,977 5,183 22,724 669 591,735 RSE Scotland Foundation Journal publications RSE Scotland Foundation Conference facilities letting 115,153 123,240 238,393 2,252,077 Further information relating to grants, donations and receipts and their application is set out in note 27. 2006 651,000 12,000 21,410 426,550 83,932 37,823 236,800 1,469,515 170,626 170,001 72,060 96,277 40,906 105,000 8,750 15,102 2,410 681,132 110,038 122,498 232,536 2,383,183
58

6 Resources expended
2007 Direct costs Costs of generating funds Fundraising Fellows subscriptions Appeal donations 198 198 RSE Scotland Foundation Building management BP Research Fellowship Trust Investment fees Total costs of generating funds Charitable activities Prizes and grants Meetings International Science & Society and Education Evidence Publications and library Academic industry links SSAC 367 565 33,703 88,075 8,606 130,384 76,091 206,475 33,901 88,075 8,606 130,582 76,091 367 207,040 325 325 Support costs (Note 11) Total 2007 Direct costs
2006 Support costs (Note 11) 26,282 83,471 2,944 112,697 68,933 181,630 Total 2006 26,282 83,471 2,944 112,697 68,933 325 181,955
103,469 104,968 149,999 67,435 45,325 19,322 131,844 2,045,921
29,902 285,327 191,151 76,115 53,655 102,351 15,193 12,866 766,560 31,038 92,547 123,585 890,145
133,371 1,708,886 296,119 226,114 121,090 147,676 34,515 12,866 131,844 2,812,481 116,328 3,000 92,547 211,875 3,024,356
97,886 1,417,593 38,163 109,275 32,524 31,438 20,413 170,627 1,917,919 70,653 70,653 1,988,572
29,912 274,117 167,903 97,175 64,184 98,735 12,424 7,678 752,128 27,664 77,169 104,833 856,961
127,798 1,691,710 206,066 206,450 96,708 130,173 32,837 7,678 170,627 2,670,047 98,317 77,169 175,486 2,845,533
Promotion of research & innovation (note 8) 1,423,559
RSE Scotland Foundation Journal Publications Science & Society Conference facilities letting
85,290 3,000 88,290
Total cost of charitable activities Governance (note 10) RSE RSE Scotland Foundation BP Research Fellowships Trust Total governance costs Resources expended
2,134,211
24,406 1,800 1,116 27,322 2,162,098
112,582 21,643 134,225 1,230,845
136,988 23,443 1,116 161,547 3,392,943
14,538 1,785 1,057 17,380 2,006,277
106,286 19,938 126,224 1,164,815
120,824 21,723 1,057 143,604 3,171,092
Central support costs as set out in note 11 have been allocated to activities in proportion to the employment cost in each area of activity.
59


7 Grants payable
2007 Promotion of research (note 8) Prizes and grants 1,708,886 133,371 1,842,257 2006 1,691,710 127,799 1,819,509
8 Promotion of research and innovation

2007 2006
Scottish Executive Fellowships Arts & Humanities Workshop Grants Franco-Scottish PhD scholarships CRF European Fellowships Scottish Enterprise Fellowships Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Fellowships PPARC Enterprise Fellowships BRSRC Enterprise Fellowships Robert Cormack Bequest John Moyes Lessells Scholarship Auber Bequest Awards Henry Dryerre Scholarship Designated funds DS McLagan Travel Grant
538,064 33,139 24,000 26,941 278,640 280,962 127 115,512 4,262 9,370 276 4,250 1,315,543
513,322 12,010 17,332 373,331 221,772 35,521 71,607 5,314 19,060 5,600 16,484 1,802 1,293,155 1,789 1,294,944 122,649 1,417,593 274,117 1,691,710
Direct costs: General Funds Library RSE BP Research Fellowships Trust 1,315,543 108,016 1,423,559 Support costs (note 6) 285,327 1,708,886
An analysis of institutions and individual awards made under this expenditure heading is included in the Societys Review 2006,obtainable from the address on the back cover.
60


9 Publications
2007 Income Journals 2006
115,153
110,038
Expenditure Journals RSE Editorial and management costs RSE Scotland Foundation Publishing costs Support costs Editorial Support costs Publishing 19,322 72,954 15,193 31,038 138,507 Year book and directory Other publications 12,336 2,135 152,978 16,877 59,070 12,424 27,664 116,035 11,583 3,536 131,154
The RSE Scotland Foundation became publisher of the RSEs journals and year book with effect from the 1997 volumes. The RSE retains copyright and incurs editorial costs in respect of these publications. The RSE has made a donation to the RSE Scotland Foundation equivalent to its net decit on publications.
10 Governance
2007 Management and secretariat Audit fee Other professional advice from auditors 132,679 7,225 139,904 RSE Scotland Foundation Management and secretariat 21,643 161,547 2006 109,356 9,005 5,305 123,666 19,938 143,604
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11 Support costs
Total payroll Less: Paid by SSAC Salaries (note 12) Value of secondments Staff training, agency and recruitment costs Non- cash pension cost adjustments Other costs Establishment expenses Computer and equipment costs Communication, stationery and printing costs Travel and subsistence, hospitality Publicity Miscellaneous Professional fees Depreciation 150,866 23,949 56,767 15,183 22,969 2,959 27,413 123,921 424,027 Total central costs 1,230,846 129,120 16,751 53,378 19,506 19,196 1,796 11,827 122,773 374,347 1,164,815 2007 869,003 (59,163) 809,840 23,979 (27,000) 806,819 2006 842,023 (71,510) 770,513 8,750 25,205 (14,000) 790,468
Support costs have been allocated to activities in proportion to the employment cost in each area of activity as set out in note 6.
12 Employees
Total 2007 Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs 707,125 47,099 114,779 869,003 Funded by Foundation (81,054) (5,401) (15,782) (102,237) Funded by SSAC (46,017) (3,741) (9,405) (59,163) Funded by RSE 2007 580,054 37,957 89,592 707,603 Total 2006 545,934 40,137 88,359 674,430
The average number of employees of the RSE including those employed under joint contracts with the RSE Scotland Foundation was 28 (2006: 27). Of these 2 were employed in respect of The Scottish Science Advisory Committee. One member of staff earned over 60,000 per year and is a member of a dened benet pension scheme.
13 RSE income and result for the year

General fund Total incoming resources Surplus / (decit) for the year Transfers Gains / (losses) on investments Actuarial loss on Lothian Pension Fund Net movement in funds 1,214,180 195,111 (30,394) 5,277 142,000 311,994 Designated Funds 81,408 11,470 30,394 30,521 72,385 Restricted funds 1,990,621 (42,324) 58,426 16,102 RSE Total 2007 3,286,209 164,257 94,224 142,000 400,481 RSE Total 2006 3,378,892 477,874 359,794 (58,000) 779,668
62

14 Tangible xed assets
Group 22 24 George Street Purchase cost Cost At 1 April 2006 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2007 Depreciation At 1 April 2006 Disposals Charge for the year At 31 March 2007 Net book value At 31 March 2007 At 31 March 2006 RSE Net book value At 31 March 2007 At 31 March 2006 926,553 948,613 1,383,873 1,416,823 784 145 2,311,210 2,365,581 926,553 948,613 1,383,873 1,416,823 1,786,766 1,831,233 64,421 81,815 4,161,613 4,278,484 154,425 22,060 176,485 230,645 32,950 263,595 304,837 44,467 349,304 242,998 24,444 267,442 932,905 123,921 1,056,826 1,103,038 1,103,038 1,647,468 1,647,468 2,136,070 2,136,070 324,813 7,050 331,863 5,211,389 7,050 5,218,439 26 George Street Purchase cost Improvements Computer and equipment Total
15 Fixed asset investments

Value at 1 April 2006 (a) Fixed asset investments Managed Funds Fixed interest UK equities Cash deposits RSE Managed Funds Fixed interest UK equities Cash deposits BP Research Fellowships Trust 594,643 706,969 1,194,139 43,569 2,539,320 642,259 935,146 1,428,344 79,254 3,085,003 5,624,323 222,998 168,462 588,179 (379,860) 599,779 129,357 30,041 512,061 (671,578) (119) 599,660 (7,716) (426,334) 434,050 (83,139) (90,042) (518,246) 691,427 (336) 27,782 27,446 7,651 (6,555) 69,906 71,002 98,448 43,613 (31,883) 55,048 66,778 73,591 (31,770) 8,279 50,100 116,878 861,254 835,496 1,438,814 97,759 3,233,323 769,719 836,820 1,500,344 99,103 3,205,986 6,439,309 Investments made at cost Proceeds on sale of investments Gain / loss Revaluation Market value at 31 March 2007
The gain on sale of investments measured against their historical cost was 372,620 (2006: Surplus (181,526). The historical cost of investments was 5,257,470 (2006: -4,423,314).
63


15 Fixed asset investments (continued)
(b) Loan by RSE to RSE Scotland Foundation 2007 Due within one year Due after one year 46,808 1,844,328 1,891,136 The loan bears interest at 4% per annum, capped at the amount of rent received by the Foundation and is repayable over the period to 30 June 2047, the expiration of the lease of 26 George Street. 2006 46,808 1,891,136 1,937,944
16 Debtors
2007 General debtors Prepayments and accrued income Income tax recoverable RSE RSE Scotland Foundation - Debtors RSE Scotland Foundation - Prepayments BP Research Fellowships Trust Group 23,963 9,056 27,522 60,541 95,525 11,796 9,603 177,465 2006 65,361 5,827 24,247 95,435 63,734 6,492 10,855 176,516
17 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Group 2007 General creditors Accruals VAT payable University of Glasgow (note 22) Deferred income Symposia income deferred Advance receipts Publications 159,205 37,111 9,001 4,290 46,000 31,282 67,456 354,345 Deferred income and advance receipts analysis At 1 April 2006 Gannochy Trust award SSAC income French PhD scholarships Hills & Island Inquiry 105,000 11,698 60,000 176,698 Journal receipts Symposia income 91,522 44,350 Received in year 120,195 10,000 130,195 91,087 24,237 Recognised in year (105,000) (131,893) (24,000) (260,893) (115,153) (37,305) At 31 March 2007 36,000 10,000 46,000 67,456 31,282 2006 244,301 10,364 6,098 3,263 176,698 44,550 91,522 576,796
64


17 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year (continued)
RSE 2007 General creditors RSE Scotland Foundation current account Deferred income University of Glasgow (note 22) Symposia income deferred 151,505 205,020 46,000 4,290 31,282 438,097 2006 209,284 148,576 176,698 3,263 44,550 582,371
18 Provision for liabilities and charges

Commitments for research fellowships At 1 April 2006 Group & RSE New commitments: Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Research Fellowships Grants paid in the year At 31 March 2007 The provision represents amounts payable under a constructive obligation in respect of research fellowships due as follows: 200708: 167,045; 2008 09: 120,082; 200910: 16,786
237,351
300,886 (234,324) 303,913
19 General Fund
At 1 April 2006 Net movement in funds for the year from statement of nancial activities At 31 March 2007
295,125 311,994 607,119
65


20 Designated Funds
At 1 April 2006 Capital Asset Reserve Building Maintenance Fund Staff Restructuring Fund Development Appeal Fund Programme Fund CH Kemball Fund Grants Fund Dr James Heggie Fund 4,303,380 209,517 45,914 360,782 97,847 22,816 570,351 229,348 5,839,955 Investment income 9,079 1,990 15,802 4,240 1,076 26,909 10,820 69,916 Other income 11,492 11,492 Expenditure (18,032) (8,607) (22,498) (20,802) (69,939) Gains / (losses) 847 21,165 8,510 30,522 Transfers (101,818) 132,212 30,394
At 31 March 2007
4,201,562 200,564 47,904 511,681 102,087 24,739 595,927 227,876 5,912,340
The transfers represent the release from the Capital Asset Reserve of a total of 101,000 to match the depreciation of buildings and the amount of capital repayment of the loan to the Foundation.
21 Restricted Funds
At 1 April 2006 Robert Cormack Bequest Lessells Trust Auber Bequest Prizes Fund Dryerre Fund Fleck Piazzi Smyth Sillitto Others Restricted Income Fund RSE RSE Scotland Foundation BP Research Fellowships Trust Total 113,763 423,903 382,604 78,625 488,623 50,633 13,637 22,767 150,000 1,848,580 101,881 3,125,614 5,076,075 Investment income 5,367 19,999 18,051 3,709 23,053 2,389 643 1,075 5,375 79,661 869 134,004 214,534 Other income 9,250 10,256 1,891,454 1,910,960 446,722 2,357,682 Expenditure (5,893) (15,446) (5,761) (4,990) (11,255) (726) (195) (327) (1,988,353) (2,032,946) (311,408) (122,061) (2,466,415) Gains / (losses) 4,221 15,729 14,197 2,917 18,131 1,879 506 847 58,427 121,100 179,527 Transfers (66,324) (66,324)
At 31 March 2007
117,458 453,435 409,091 80,261 518,552 54,175 14,591 10,256 24,362 129,400 53,101 1,864,682 171,740 3,258,657 5,295,079
Edinburgh Drug Absorption Foundation 124,025
66


21 Restricted funds (continued)
Prizes Fund comprises The Keith Fund, The Neill Fund, The Makdougall-Brisbane Fund, The Gunning-Victoria Fund, The James Scott Prize Fund, the Bruce-Preller Lecture Fund, The WS Bruce Memorial Fund, The Dr DA Berry Fund, The Henry Duncan Prize Lecture Fund and The BP Prize Lecture in the Humanities Fund. Others comprise the Retailing Seminars Fund and The CASS Fund. The Restricted Income Fund represents restricted income received and expended in the year. Under the terms of the Lessells Trust the University of Glasgow is entitled to 10% of additional amounts received by the RSE from the Trust. The balance included in creditors at 31 March 2007 represents the total sum apportioned but not yet paid over to the University (note 17).
22 Analysis of assets between funds

Group General Fund balances at 31 March 2007 are represented by: Tangible xed assets Investments Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation Current assets RSE Scotland Foundation current account Deposits Cash Current liabilities Provisions for liabilities and charges Pension fund liability 784 112,855 60,541 (205,020) 273,914 380,941 (65,896) 49,000 607,119 RSE General Fund balances at 31 March 2007 are represented by: Tangible xed assets Investments Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation Current assets RSE Scotland Foundation current account Deposits Cash Current liabilities Provisions for liabilities and charges Pension fund liability 784 112,855 60,541 (205,020) 273,914 380,941 (65,896) 49,000 607,119 2,310,426 1,448,542 1,891,136 262,236 5,912,340 1,671,926 663,850 (167,181) (303,913) 1,864,682 2,311,210 3,233,323 1,891,136 60,541 (205,020) 1,200,000 380,941 (233,077) (303,913) 49,000 8,384,141 2,365,581 2,539,320 1,937,944 95,435 (148,576) 1,762,600 222,502 (433,795) (237,351) (120,000) 7,983,660 2,310,426 1,448,542 1,891,136 262,236 5,912,340 Designated Funds 1,850,403 4,877,912 (1,891,136) 116,924 205,020 663,850 64,468 (288,449) (303,913) 5,295,079 Restricted Funds 4,161,613 6,439,309 177,465 1,200,000 445,409 (354,345) (303,913) 49,000 11,814,538 2007 4,278,484 5,624,323 176,516 1,762,600 303,379 (576,796) (237,351) (120,000) 11,211,155 2006 Designated Funds Restricted Funds 2007 2006
67


23 Pension costs
(a) Universities Superannuation Scheme The RSE participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a dened benet pension scheme which is externally funded and contracted out of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme. The assets of the scheme are held in a separate trustee-administered fund. The fund is valued every three years by a professionally qualied independent actuary using the projected unit method, the rates of contribution payable being determined by the trustee on the advice of the actuaries. In the intervening years the actuaries review the progress of the scheme. It is not possible to identify each Institutions share of the underlying asset and liabilities of the scheme and hence contributions to the scheme are accounted for as if it were a dened contributions scheme. The cost recognised within the result for the year is equal to the contributions payable to the scheme for the year. The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme was at 31 March 2005. The most signicant assumptions, those relating to the rate of return on investments and the rates of increase in salary and pensions are as follows: Past service liabilities Investment return Salary increase Pension increase 4.50% 3.90% 2.90% Future service liabilities 6.20% 3.90% 2.90%
At the valuation date the market value of the schemes assets was 21,739.7 million and the value of past service liabilities was 28,308.1 million. The value of the assets represented 77% of the benets that had accrued to members, after allowing for expected future increases in earnings. The contribution rate payable by the RSE was 14.0% of pensionable salaries. The actuary has conrmed that it is appropriate to take the pension charge to be equal to the actual contribution paid during the year.
(b) Lothian Pension Fund The RSE also participates in the Lothian Pension Fund, a dened benet pension scheme established under Local Government Pension Fund Regulations. This scheme has determined that it is possible to ascertain the shares of assets and liabilities relating to individual admitted bodies. The assets of the scheme are held in a separate trustee-administered fund. The fund is valued every three years by a professionally qualied independent actuary using the projected unit method, the rates of contribution payable being determined by the trustee on the advice of the actuaries. In the intervening years the actuaries review the progress of the scheme. The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme was at 31 March 2005. The major assumptions used by the actuary were that, over the long term, the return on the schemes assets would be 6.2% per annum, salary increases would average 4.4% per annum and present the future pensions would increase at a rate of 2.9% per annum. At the valuation date the market value of the schemes assets was 2,089 million and the value of past service liabilities was 2,445 million. The value of the assets represented 86% of the benets that had accrued to members, after allowing for expected future increases in earnings. The contribution rate payable by the RSE was 315% of employees contributions of 6% of pensionable salaries, amounting to 18.9%. The actuary has conrmed that it is appropriate to take the pension charge to be equal to the actual contribution paid during the year.
68


23 Pension costs (continued)
(b) Lothian Pension Fund (continued) The valuation at 31 March 2005 has been updated by the actuary on an FRS17 basis as at 4 May 2006. The major assumptions used in this valuation were: 2007 % Rate of increase in salaries Rate of increase in pensions in payment Discount rate Ination assumption 4.7 3.2 5.4 3.2 2006 % 4.6 3.1 4.9 3.1 2005 % 4.4 2.9 5.4 2.9 2004 % 4.4 2.9 5.5 2.9 2003 % 4.0 2.5 5.4 2.5
The assumptions used by the actuary are the best estimates chosen from a range of possible actuarial assumptions which, due to the timescale covered, may not necessarily be borne out in practice.
Scheme assets The fair value of the scheme assets, which are not intended to be realised in the short term and may be subject to signicant change before they are realised, and the present value of the schemes liabilities, which are derived from cash ow projections over long periods and thus inherently uncertain, were: Value at 31 March 2007 000 Equities Bonds Other Property Cash Whole scheme assets 2,238,000 158,000 359,000 163,000 2,918,000 000 of which RSE share Present value of scheme liabilities Surplus/(decit) in the scheme Pension liabilities 1,347 (1,298) 49 Value at 31 March 2006 000 2,170,000 156,000 283,000 40,000 2,649,000 000 1,130 (1,250) (120) Value at 31 March 2005 000 1,616,000 134,000 193,000 146,000 2,089,000 000 485 (561) (76)
69


23 Pension costs (continued)
(b) Lothian Pension Fund (continued) The movement in the net pension liability during the year comprised: Value at 31 March 2007 000 Decit at beginning of the year Current service cost Past service cost, settlements and curtailment Employer contributions Net return on assets Expected return on employer assets Interest on pension scheme liabilities 86 (64) 22 Actuarial gains Actual return less expected return on pension Experience losses on Scheme liabilities Changes in assumptions underlying present Actuarial gains/(losses) Surplus / (Decit) at end of the year History of experience gains and losses 2007 Difference between the expected and actual return on scheme assets: Amounts (,000) Percentage of year end scheme assets Experience gains and losses on scheme liabilities: Amounts (,000) Percentage of year end present value of scheme liabilities Total amount recognised in statement of nancial activities: Amounts (,000) Percentage of year end scheme assets 142 10.9% (58) (4.6)% (1) (0.2)% 15 3.5% (1) (0,1%) (30) (2.4)% (1) (0.2%) 8 0.6% 171 15.2% 13 2.7% 48 13.9% 2006 2005 2004 8 (1) 135 142 49 171 (30) (199) (58) (120) 13 (14) (1) (76) 39 (33) 6 29 (26) 3 (120) (111) 21 95 Value at 31 March 2006 000 (76) (81) 89 Value at31 March 2005 000 (84) (68) 74
(c) Pension charge The total pension charge for the year, including FRS17 adjustments, was 87,779 (2006: 94,593).
24 Transactions with Council members

No member of Council received any payments other than reimbursements of expenditure on travel and subsistence costs actually and necessarily incurred in carrying out their duties as Councillors and Ofcers. The aggregate of such reimbursements to those Council members who charged expenses amounted to 1,738 (2006: 5,022).
25 Connected charitable trusts

(a) RSE Scotland Foundation The RSE Scotland Foundation is a charitable trust, recognised in Scotland as Scottish charity number SCO24636. It was created in March 1996 with the object of advancing the education of the public in Scotland in science and engineering and in so doing to conserve the scientic and cultural heritage of Scotland. The President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Curator and a Vice-President of the RSE are ex ofciis Trustees of the Foundation, which draws on the resources of the RSE in carrying out its objects. The Foundation also has ve nominated Trustees. The Foundation became publisher of the RSEs journals under a Publications Rights License effective from 1 January 1997.
70


25 Connected charitable trusts (continued)
(a) RSE Scotland Foundation (continued) On 1 July 1997 the RSE granted to the Foundation a 50-year lease over 26 George Street carrying an obligation to refurbish the building within a three-year period. The Council of the RSE agreed to make funding of up to 2.3 million available to the Foundation in support of the refurbishment. The agreed terms of the loan are as described in note 13. (b) BP Research Fellowships Trust The BP Research Fellowships Trust funds a scheme of three-year post doctoral fellowships administered by the RSE.
26 Supplementary information: grants, donations and receipts

(a) Scottish Executive Grants Income 2007 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong learning Department Promotion of research Scottish Science Advisory Committee Activities grant International activities Science and Society Other departments Meetings Floods Discussion Forum; Alternatives to Prison 617,281 131,893 496,832 185,887 12,000 1,443,893 651,000 170,000 479,000 170,000 72,060 1,542,060 2006
Direct costs Scottish Science Advisory Committee Meetings Science & Society and Education Publications Promotion of research Joint Scottish French PhD studentships Evidence International activities Management and secretariat Buildings Establishment expenses Maintenance 131,893 12,000 15,080 19,322 538,064 12,000 149,999 878,358
Staff and other costs 159,144 53,655 15,193 79,217 60,952 35,888 112,582 30,872 18,032 565,535
2007 Total 131,893 171,144 68,735 34,515 617,281 12,000 60,952 185,887 112,582 30,872 18,032 1,443,893
2006 Total 170,000 182,553 96,647 35,642 651,000 12,000 74,081 170,000 106,286 30,565 13,286 1,542,060
The Scottish Executive provides grant-in-aid under the powers of S.23 National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985 to meet the costs of Scottish Executive-funded Research Fellows, the cost of maintaining the RSEs premises and a share of the RSEs staff and other costs.
71


26 Supplementary information: grants, donations and receipts (continued)
(a) Scottish Executive Grants Income (continued) At 31 March 2007 the nancial commitment in respect of Personal and Support Fellowships awarded subject to Scottish Executive funding in the years 200708, 2008 09 and 200910 amounted to 348,000, 255,000 and 89,000 respectively. These amounts are treated as obligation of future years to be nanced by specic funding expected to be made available from the Scottish Executive. (b) Scottish Science Advisory Committee Expenditure in relation to the Scottish Science Advisory Committee comprised: 2007 Balance brought forward Chairmans fee, salaries and other staff costs Establishment Ofce costs Travel and subsistence Committee and working groups R&D in Business COSE E-Health Initiative PR and publicity Printing Professional services Income for the year Balance carried forward Grant received (11,698) 86,808 12,083 545 3,863 3,426 (2,202) 12,103 1,907 2,585 6,561 4,214 131,893 120,195 2006 (12,324) 93,995 14,528 2,154 5,452 7,624 39,447 2,444 4,982 170,626 11,698 170,000
(c) Recurring donations in support of activities Expenditure in relation to the Scottish Science Advisory Committee comprised: Caledonian Research Foundation Income Promotion of research & innovation Receipts Meetings income 30,784 35,162 65,946 316,859 316,859 300,000 300,000 Scottish Enterprise Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
Costs Promotion of research Lectures Conferences RSE administration and staff costs recovery 26,941 6,283 20,380 12,342 65,946 278,640 38,219 316,859 280,962 19,038 300,000
72


26 Supplementary information: grants, donations and receipts (continued)
(c) Recurring donations in support of activities (continued) The Caledonian Research Foundation supports postdoctoral fellowships in biomedical sciences and European visiting fellowships; a prize lecture and an international conference. The Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland supports postdoctoral fellowships, postgraduate studentships and lectures and conferences to fund and disseminate research aimed at improving the quality of life for an ageing population. (d) Other donations in support of activities The RSE gratefully acknowledges all those who make donations in support of activities. The companies, trusts and other bodies which made donations of 1,000 or more in support of activities in the year ended 31 March 2007 were as follows: Airborne Initiative Ltd Anglo Irish Encounter British Academy Strathmartine Trust The Robertson Trust Kingdom Holding Royal Norwegian Academy Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Foreign & Commonwealth Ofce Historic Scotland
27 Analysis of net funds/(debt)

At 31 March 2007 Cash ows At 1 April 2006
Cash at bank Deposits general Deposits designated funds Deposits restricted funds
445,409 273,914 262,236 663,850 1,645,409
142,030 85,662 (451,824) (196,438) (420,570)
303,379 188,252 714,060 860,288 2,065,979
73
Royal Society of Edinburgh Schedule of Investments- movements at valuation. Year Ended 31 March 2007 Closing No. Opening Market Value Purchase Cost Sales Proceeds Gain/(Loss) on Sale Revaluation for Year Closing Market Value
Investment Current Holdings
Gilts 7.5% Treasury 2006 7.25% Treasury 2007 Treasury 5.75% 2009 Treasury 5% 2012 Treasury 5.5% 2008/12 Treasury 5% 2014 Treasury 4.75% 2015 0 4,632 105,000 130,000 130,000 130,000 130,000 133,288 8,052 4,944 111,364 134,227 133,138 135,676 0 7,716 (336) 0 (156) (3,545) (5,030) (3,074) (5,933) (5,268)
4,788 107,819 129,197 130,064 129,743 128,020
Other Fixed Interest R B of Scotland 7.387% 2010/49 European Inv't Bank 4.75% 2018 70,000 135,000 35,174 76,370 103,198
0 (3,258) (5,619)
73,112 132,753
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
75
69,703 140,000 45,000 5,000 57,000 65,000 27,600 24,000 153,295 81,188 52,988 33,425 133,380 0 168,498 125,160 32,845 11,824 11,000 68,000 14,000 0 4,984 5,000 79,635 72,375 96,560 77,070 60,053 33,268 69,301 53,654 22,382
Investment & Unit Trusts Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Aberforth Geared Cap & Int Trust Aberforth Smaller Co Trust plc Dunedin Income Growth Inv Trust Henderson Far East Income Trust Murray International Trust Scottish Mortgage & Trust
4,509 1,237 5,825 18,810 (382) 8,694 4,920
155,400 54,225 39,250 152,190 152,913 177,192 130,080
Financials Barclays HSBC Holdings Ord US$ 0.50 Legal & General Group Ord 2.5p Lloyds TSB Group Provident Financial Prudential Royal Bank of Scotland Ord 25p
(6,399)
5,616 (7,375) 11,560 1,330 0 2,492 7,517
85,251 97,845 108,120 78,400 0 35,760 99,200
Royal Society of Edinburgh Schedule of Investments- movements at valuation. Year Ended 31 March 2007 Closing No. Opening Market Value Purchase Cost Sales Proceeds Gain/(Loss) on Sale Revaluation for Year Closing Market Value
Consumer Burberry Group Diageo Unilever Ord 1.4p 0 8,000 3,213 4,732 72,520 42,066 4,891 159
0 9,840 7,125
0 82,360 49,191
Pharmaceuticals Astrazenica Glaxo Smith Kline Ord 25p 886 7,000 49,929 51,388 49,394 29,348 3,654
(1,471) (1,533)
24,223 97,790
76
0 3,850 0 6,354 2,300 10,224 0 30,835 18,700 28,057 44,775 24,748 50,967 45,189 16,353 30,395 0 0 26,105 32,021 43,348 51,204 11 20,000 39,000 0 0 52,442 50,596 7,446 0 42,628 116,400 143,556 0 23,205 23,180
5,778 (16,455) 6,048
0 9,230 0 9,146 (1,288) (11,138) 0 7,856 11
Services BAA Firstgroup GUS Home Retail Experian Group Ord $0.10 Northgate Ord 5p Rank Group Sainsbury (J) Ord 25p unilever
0 25,583 0 0 37,203 24,817 20,883 0
Teleommunications BT Group Ord 0.50 Vodofone Group Ord $
8,308 2,249
60,750 52,845
Utilities National Grid Transco Scottish Power
27,156
16,754 0
59,382 0
Industrials BOC Group
(25)
0 0
Royal Society of Edinburgh Schedule of Investments- movements at valuation. Year Ended 31 March 2007 Closing No. 25,567 4,377 Opening Market Value Purchase Cost Sales Proceeds Gain/(Loss) on Sale Revaluation for Year Closing Market Value 29,944
Johnson Matthey Ord 1
1,900
Resources BP Amoco Ord US$0.25 Rio Tinto Royal Dutch Shell 'B' 0.07 (UK list) Total SA 20,000 2,000 6,400 2,600 58,617 0 51,517 64,330 55,241 68,131 89,125
0 (12,547) 2,799 (11,424) 3,480
110,400 58,040 108,224 92,605
TOTALS
1,454,213
2,495,748
979,639
434,050
27,446
66,778
3,135,562
77
Schedule of Investments
PRIZE LECTURES
BP Prize Lecture Professor Graeme Laurie, FRSE Chair of Medical Jurisprudence, School of Law, University of Edinburgh Protecting Human Dignity at the Beginning and End of Life 15 January 2007
Graeme Laurie is Professor of Medical Jurisprudence and Co-Director of the AHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law, both at the University of Edinburgh. His work lies in the areas of medical law and the law of intellectual property, with a particular emphasis on the medico-legal aspects of human genetics. Among his numerous publications is a ground-breaking book, Generic Privacy: A Challenge to Medico-Legal Norms. In addition to his academic work, Professor Laurie serves on a number of governmental committees, and has convened a working group for the World Health Organisation on the legal protection of genetic databases. In 1990, British Petroleum provided an endowment to create a Prize Lectureship in the Humanities. The first Prize Lectureship was awarded in 1991. It is awarded biennially to a person working in a Scottish Higher Education Institution. It is awarded sequentially in the following subject areas: Language, Literature and the Arts; Archaeological and Historical Studies; Social Studies; Philosophy, Theology and Law. It is one of the deep ironies of advances in medical technologies that while they often make it possible to extend life, they may do nothing or little to improve the quality of life in the interim. New medical technologies can thereby give rise to new dilemmas about whether such advances should be deployed at all, or whether they should ever be removed once deployed. These dilemmas are the focus of this lecture. When should medical care be withheld or withdrawn when to do so will lead to the cessation of life? More particularly, what is the role of human dignity in this process? There has been a significant increase in appeals to this concept in recent years as a means to assist medico-legal decision-making. This lecture assesses how useful such appeals are. We now live in a human rights culture whereby we are able to
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make direct appeal in our courts for the protection of the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights since the passing of the Human Rights Act 1998. It is often said that respect for dignity underpins all of these rights, but it has not held any sway to date in the rights enjoyed by UK citizens. For our purposes, I would define dignity as the state or quality of being worthy of respect. But one of the problems with dignity is its elusive nature. The rhetoric of dignity is immediately appealing to most audiences largely because it is possible to read many different meanings into the term. Indeed, dignity is a concept which is capable of embodying opposite ideals, making it potentially dangerous in the hands of lawmakers who might say one thing and intend another. A famous French case illustrates the point: Is it acceptable to ban the practice of dwarf-throwing for entertainment even when the dwarves themselves agree to the practice as a means to earn a living? Is it undignified behaviour from which individuals should be protected, or is it an affront to dignity to prevent this class of persons from exercising individual choices about how they use their bodies? The tension is between (subjective) autonomy perspectives about dignity as self-determination and (objective) paternalistic
perspectives abut dignity as a state of worth for all persons. The French court adopted an objective position, upholding a view of dignity as aspiration for all of us and not as choice for a few of us. In the medico-legal context the issue is one of how far patient choices should be respected, especially in the face of futile treatment, and the added complication of how to deal with patients who cannot consent or refuse care because of incapacity, such as the newborn or the mentally incapacitated adult. Trends in judicial decision-making in recent years have placed increasing emphasis on the need to respect patient autonomy and choice, but this must not be allowed to become a crude equation of what the patient wants the patient should get. Appeals to subjective dignity as choice should not lead to a situation where health care professionals are required to administer care which they consider to be futile and against their better judgment. When appeals to autonomy cannot be made, as with the newborn or the mentally incapacitated adult, then the law falls back on a paternalistic assessment of patient best interests. Although this was once the exclusive domain of the medical profession, recent trends in the case-law make it clear that medical best interests
80
Prize and Bequest Lectures
are but one part of the assessment, and that a patients best interests can encompass a very wide range of social, ethical, physical, mental and welfare considerations. Notwithstanding, there remains a lack of clarity about the basis upon which a final decision to withhold or withdraw care should be taken. Is it when the provision of care would be futile? Is it when the continuation of life would be intolerable? Or, might it be when the decision to keep someone alive but in a severely reduced state of quality of life would be uindignified? It has been accepted by the courts, for example, that over-intervention with medical technology can put someone in a state which, it is judged, is not of sufficient value. But this raises a question which is at the crux of this debate: what are the limits of our authority to speak or act on behalf of someone else? The best interests test makes it clear that our prima facie respect should go to the patient but nontreatment leading to death is an option and we should not shy
away from that reality. An intolerability test sets a high hurdle in favour of life, but this is usually judged in terms of pain or harm and it may not admit the full range of considerations. In particular, if life with dignity is not achievable, perhaps our focus should shift to death with dignity which is now common rhetoric. But what would be the legal reality? To admit the possibility of arguments based on dignity opens up considerably the scope of considerations when we may remain very unclear on what we mean by the term. It was once famously said of dignity by Justice Brennan of the United States Supreme Court: I recognise it when I see it. And this probably sums up the position for most of us. We can recognise an undignified state of being. The question is whether we have the courage of our convictions to act on it and whether sufficiently robust legal provisions could be framed to prevent against abuses when dealing with such a vague and potentially malleable concept.
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The Gannochy Trust Innovation Award Prize Lecture Dr Marie Claire Parker XstalBio Ltd, University of Glasgow 12 March 2007 Protein-Coated Microcrystals and Drug Delivery of Biologics The Gannochy Trust Innovation Award of the Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotlands highest accolade for individual achievement in innovation. Carrying a prize of 50,000, it was first awarded in 2003. Established in partnership between The Gannochy Trust and The Royal Society of Edinburgh, the purpose of the award is to encourage younger people to pursue careers in fields of research which promote Scotlands inventiveness internationally, and to recognise outstanding individual achievement which contributes to the common good of Scotland. The prestigious award also seeks to promote Scotlands research and development capability in new technologies and areas of social importance. Dr Parker began the work on protein-coated microcrystals in collaboration with Dr Barry D. Moore from University of Strathclyde leading to an initial patent filing in 1999. A Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Award was obtained to develop the technology and this was followed by the award of an RSE/Scottish Enterprise Enterprise Fellowship to Dr Parker to commercialise the innovation. A spin-out company, XstalBio Ltd, was incorporated in 2002 and patents put in place to cover the pharmaceutical applications of PCMC. The company obtained an exclusive license to the technology from the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow in 2004. Dr Parker is currently full-time CEO of XstalBio (www.xstalbio.com) and is aiming to develop it into an internationally leading company in the formulation and delivery of biopharmaceuticals.. XstalBio received a SMART Award in 2005 to support development of a novel continuous manufacturing process. I hope that this lecture will be somewhat of a journey for you, a journey that we have been on for the last eight years essentially. Hopefully the journey for you will be without the headaches and the stress and the anxiety and the pain sometimes of taking something through from the lab to
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essentially a commercial product. Innovation, which is what the Gannochy Trust is all about. What I want to do is give you a flavour of what is involved in delivering biologics. By biologics I mean proteins essentially. What are the main issues with delivering
biologics? Where did the technology come from that weve been developing over the last few years? How has that progressed and where are we at the moment? And then to end, Ill let you know how the funds that the GT have given to me will be used, and are being used at the moment. Administering protein-based medicines. All protein-based medicines are delivered by injection. For anyone taking medicine, the preferred option always is to pop a pill. That isnt possible with biologics because your body just treats it as any other piece of meat essentially and will degrade it in your GI tract and so it wont reach the site of action. For patients who have chronic conditions, generally you find that there is poor patient compliance. This is generally associated with the stress and anxiety that accompanies having to take medicine three or four times per day. Often they are in hospital for 2-3 hours being infused with the drug, so theres a big drive to look at other ways that you can deliver biologics, that are much more patient friendly, and that obviously has a large number of benefits for everybody. One of the things that were looking at - and Ill talk a little bit more about this later - is using your lungs as a way into the body, a gateway into the body, so
youre taking a dry powder inhaler, something like an asthma inhaler, and thats being absorbed through your lungs and into your systemic system to get to the site of action. You could take drugs via the nose and again thats something that were looking at, potentially to deliver biologics to the brain. Needle-less injection, sustained release, where the drug will circulate in your body for longer periods of time and often simple things that pharmaceutical companies have real difficulty with, for example making high concentration suspensions. One of these problems high concentration suspensions is often associated with antibodies because antibodies have to be delivered at such a high dose that when the patient goes to the doctor youre looking at an injection so viscous, that the doctor cant actually physically get the plunger down in the needle, because there is so much in the solution to be injected. So if you can make a suspension a nice milky fluid thats easily injected then that obviously overcomes that barrier. The technical hurdles in actually making that are actually quite significant, although its quite a simple problem or sounds a simple problem.
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So all of these routes of administration rely on being able to formulate your biological molecule into a particle, and protein coated microcrystals which Im obviously speaking about today, is essentially a particle engineering technology. Another problem that the industry faces is the cold-chain and vaccines. The cold-chain - which is taking the biologic from the point of production to the point of delivery - is often quite a long journey. Its a problem in the western world and a significant problem in the developing world. You can imagine the tortuous trip that a lot of vaccines take from the point of production. The costs associated with maintaining the cold-chain are not insignificant. 200m dollars per annum in maintaining the cold-chain keeping the vaccines refrigerated. 100m dollars wasted in vaccines and the WHO estimates between 17% and 37% of providers actually dont store their vaccines under proper conditions. So again something that were looking at is making stabilised vaccines whereby you can eliminate the cold-chain. These are stable at room temperature, stable at higher temperatures and also stable under conditions of stress, such as high humidity and high temperature.
So whats out there in terms of treating diseases with proteinbased drugs? Insulin. Everyone has heard of insulin, developed in 1923 by Bantine and Best for the treatment of diabetes and Ill talk some about that towards the end because there have been some very interesting developments with inhaled insulin. Human growth hormone hormone replacement therapy. Erythropoietin for treatment of anaemia. Interferon for hepatitis C. DNAse (often called Dornase) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. This breaks downs proteins in the sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis so that its reducing the viscosity of the sputum, which can often cause coughing and distress in patients with Cystic Fibrosis. Calcitonin for osteoporosis. Herceptin. Again a molecule thats been in the news for a variety of reasons. This is an antibody herceptin used to treat breast cancer. It has to be infused for 2-3 hours in hospital, so again if there are other ways that you can avoid distressing patients, and time, etc, then all to the better. There are over 350 biotech medicines, targeting over 200 diseases, in late stage development.
84
It is estimated that by 2010, 60% of the revenue created by large pharmaceutical companies will be as a result of biologics. Its growing at roughly 13% per annum which is 13 times greater than the small molecule business, which is the traditional mainstay of pharmaceutical companies. Antibodies are growing at a phenomenal rate of around about 26% - so it is an exciting time to be working in biologics, and an exciting time to be working in drug delivery. I want to tell you a little bit about where the technology came from. My background is not in drug delivery, my background is in biocatalysis, which is more like industrial chemistry. What we were doing about seven or eight years ago was looking at ways in which you could stabilise enzymes - which are proteins - under conditions in which theyre not normally found, so in organic solvents for example. Most enzymes are quite happy in water, but if you can get an enzyme into an organic solvent, you can use that enzyme to produce lots of interesting reactions. Because it is in an environment in which its not, I wont say not comfortable with, but its a different environment, so you have to think about how you keep
the enzyme active and functioning. There are three things you have to think about in keeping the enzyme active. The dynamics of the molecule here were talking about how much water is associated with the protein. Its conformation - how has that protein been treated in the past, and whats called the protonation state, - what ions are associated with the protein under those low water conditions and how do these factors all interplay to control the activity of that molecule. So we did some experiments and we took a protein that was immobilised in a common material that you find chemists use all the time, called silica gel. So the protein was immobilised in the silica gel and we found that if you dried it either in the air or freeze-dried it, then the activity of the resultant molecule was very very low, very inactive. If instead we took this immobilised enzyme in the silica gel which is in water and instead employed a different dehydration step, - we used a solvent to rinse it - we found that the activity was extremely high. Often 1000-fold increase in activity over this route of drying. So that was telling us something about the way that you treat proteins. How you dry them can
85
affect their conformation and resultant activity. But we didnt know whether it was this support material that was having an effect on the activity because when you dry it shrinks. Does that affect the conformation of the protein? Is there an interplay there? How can we work out what is actually happening? So we did a quick experiment where we took particles we took a simple salt, which we thought would be quite a good support material - and we took the protein and we added it to an organic solvent. So we had an aqueous solution of a co-precipitant - the salt, the protein, we added it dropwise stirring into a water-miscible organic solvent. And immediately we got a nice white fine precipitate forming. We looked at the activity and found it was over 1000 times more active than the air or freeze dried particles. So we thought everything was working. And then what we did, which I guess was probably not something we intuitively thought would be useful to do, but just out of interest and curiosity, because actually what we thought was, we had an agglomerated particle. So we took the particles and we looked at them under an electron microscope and we didnt expect to find what we found, i.e.
crystals. So this was a bit of a strange moment. Not only did we see crystals, but we thought we could see something on the surface which didnt look as if it should be there. What was it? Where was the protein? We saw what were hints of protein on the surface of the particles. This technique cant tell you where the protein is, because its an electron beam and soft biological materials are degraded under an electron beam so we decided to employ a different technique - atomic force microscopy - to work out where our protein was. Atomic Force Microscopy works in a similar way to a record player. The protein sits on a hard surface and you take a tip made of silicon nitride and you scan that tip across the surface. And as you scan the tip across the surface you fire a laser which measures the topography of your surface, so you can look for very very small features on the surface of different materials, often down to atomic scale. Its a technique thats very useful for biologics, especially on surfaces. So we took our salt and dropped it down onto a surface and we imaged the particles by AFM. We looked for a crystal which was lying flat on the surface, brought the Atomic Force Microscope down and imaged
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across that particle to see what was there. We then did the control experiment - imaging without any protein present. And this confirmed our expectations, exactly what you would expect from a clean crystal surface. What happens in the lab is noone says eureka, You might say, thats a bit strange, thats funny, thats weird and everyone in the lab will turn round and look at you. and then you talk through it and nine times out of ten youve forgotten to add something in, or youve made a mistake, so that was a bit of a moment when we looked at our particles and we found that indeed the protein weight was there on the surface. So these particles that we were forming were water-soluble particles with protein on the surface. We looked at the literature and we couldnt find anything in the literature. We did an experiment with Paul Chapman, we demonstrated the process, because we couldnt actually believe that it was such a simple process and it hadnt actually been done before and at that point we decided there was probably something here and we filed the first patent in 1999 on this system. Just to prove that it is actually protein, what you can do is you can use your stylus of your Atomic
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Force Microscope, bring it down hard on the surface and actually use it to scrape away the protein. You can use a technique like that to determine how thick your protein layer is on the surface. So moving on a couple of years, a couple of research grants later, proof of concept later, we found that we could not only form salts but we can use sugars and amino acids to form the core crystalline material. The protein can be any protein a small peptide, like insulin or smaller, a large protein, as large as plants and DNA. So what we were starting to find was a generic method of immobilising proteins on micron-sized surfaces; micronsized particles. I guess the key thing here when youre looking to commercialise, is that obviously your looking for novel intellectual property, so novel composition of the matter is key if you want to license it out to pharmaceutical companies. It is highly differentiated, not like the other methods that are around for drying proteins, like freeze- or spraydrying and everything you put in there is whats called grass, which is generally regarded as safe. All the reagents, the amino acids, the sugars, any other compounds that might be in there, the solvent that you use to dehydrate, which is often ethanol, theyre all generally regarded as safe. So the process ticks all the
boxes in terms of technology that a pharmaceutical company would be interested in using. Our key focus is formulation and drug delivery. So when we filed the first patent there were lots of applications in that patent - that spanned from industrial biocatalysis to using the particles in detergents, foodstuffs and screening, using the particles in cosmetics, latterly chromatography, nanotechnology and others, but obviously there are only so many hours in a day and you cant, in the early days, think about commercialising these areas. You had to stay focused on something that was high value, would deliver at the end of the day and so this was formulation in drug delivery, so only now are we starting to look at these other areas in terms of revenue generation. The Gannochy Trust awarded us for innovation. I googled innovation and came out with about 10 million hits. But the best definition that I found is actually from the Department of Trade and Industry : innovation is the successful exploitation of new ideas. Its amazing how such a small sentence can really compact so many different concepts into it. Starting first of all with new ideas, then leading on to exploitation, then leading on to success, and
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only when you have put all these in a row do you end up with innovation - none can work without the other, but the journey from new idea to exploitation to success, to innovation is a long journey. So the new idea was the proteincoated micro crystals. Exploitation for us, was continuing to develop the technology through a combination of research grants, through the university, proof of concept through Scottish Enterprise. I obtained a Royal Society of Edinburgh/Scottish Enterprise Enterprise Fellowship in biotechnology and a key driver in all of this was that we actually had early commercial interest from a pharmaceutical company. So that really was absolutely key in the early days of moving the company along and moving the technology. Success comes with licensing and developing of product and then ultimately youve innovated. So how does the company work? What do we do? We have a formulation technology. Our customer is the pharmaceutical industry, vaccine companies, so the Pfizers and the Glaxos of this world, together with large biotech. The two go together to make a product and, depending on what is required, it can be delivered by a number of different routes. The way that we generate income and
develop the technology further is initially through feasibility income, followed on by development phase R and D, where we obtain licence fees, development fees, milestone payments. And then commercialisation, you would class as youve made a product and you are starting to generate revenue in terms of royalties and potentially cost of goods depending on what it is youre trying to do. So weve looked at a whole range of molecules for our ProteinCoated Micro Crystals, peptides, proteins, DNA, vaccines. Again materials that are compatible with pharmaceutical processes and mainly here were looking at sugars and amino acids. So lactose is a material thats commonly found in pharmaceutical products, as is glycine, histidine, etc. Simple amino acids which form the core, and using solvents that are regarded as safe, that we can dehydrate our particles with. This is a list of the types of proteins that weve used simply to demonstrate that its a generic method because were spanning from very small molecules such as peptides with a small molecular weight, up to DNA which is very large. Plasma DNA through to vaccines, tetanus and diphtheria and a whole range of molecules that weve worked with with a range of clients.
One of the first molecules that we looked at was insulin. A small hormone, insulin is quite a difficult molecule to test the bioactivity of one of the ways that you can do this is to use an effect that is seen in insulin and that is dilation. Insulation dilates blood vessels, so what we do in this experiment, is take smooth muscle arterial tissue from a rat. We put it between two wires of 40microns wide so it is held between these two wires. These wires are attached to a micrometer and we flow a constrictor across the blood vessel, which makes the blood vessel constrict, and then a dilator across the blood vessel which makes it dilate. So thats measuring the potency of the insulin. If the insulin is active youll see a change in the force thats required to keep the wires apart. That force can then be fed into the data that you collect to measure the potency. So as you flow a certain concentration of insulin over the surface of the constricted smooth muscle arterial tissue, you can see it dilating and the degree of dilation is related to the activity of the insulin. The control. We measured insulin straight from the bottle. We made our insulin Protein-Coated Micro Crystals, and our Protein-Coated Micro Crystals mapped on pretty well to the insulin straight from the bottle, which youd expect to be 100% active, so our Protein-
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Coated Micro Crystals of insulin we can say are active and functioning. The interesting thing about our Protein-Coated Micro Crystals is that they had actually been stored on the bench for a year and remained fully functional. So we havent made any attempt to control the humidity or the temperature, we just simply left them on the bench. I wanted to talk a little bit about inhalation now. Ether anaesthetics has obviously been around for a very long time. It was first reported in 1846 and it was used in a number of patients for teeth extraction and removal of various tumours. It is one of the first examples of inhalation of a drug. Other examples - the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland also experienced the effects of inhalation, but obviously not in the beneficial way that you observe with ether. Beaver hat makers in England round about the 1840s, used a kettle to soften up the leather and the material that they used in the kettle was mercury. Mercury creates a very fine mist and aerosol of mercury vapour. That was inhaled by the mad hatters and obviously affected the central nervous system. So inhalation of different types of molecules has been around for a large number of years. Nature is very good at producing aerosols and thats always what
your trying to mimic natures efficiency in making aerosols. If youve ever tapped on a puffball mushroom, youll know that when you do tap it the spores come out very readily and form a nice fine powder. If the wind is blowing then theyre carried off to go forth and multiply. So when you look at spores from mushrooms under a microscope this is really what were trying to replicate when were making our particles. Were trying to make particles that have the same characteristics as spores and that can be readily inhaled. These types of particles are ideal for inhalation. So what do you do for inhalation of dry powders? If you want to use your lungs as a way into your body, there are a number of things that you have to think about. Particle size is absolutely crucial here, because if youre inhaling a dry power of particles, if the particles are too large then they impact at the back your throat. If you get them past the back of your throat and theyre still too large, they lodge in your upper airways. If your particles are round about 3 microns, they can travel through your bronchiae to the alveoli, which are the small sacs at the bottom of your lung. These small sacs have a surface area of 145sq metres, which is equivalent
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to about the size of a tennis court. So they provide a very very large surface area for getting these molecules through this membrane which is about 0.2 microns in size and into your bloodstream. So if you can make particles of the right size they can travel efficiently to the alveoli, and then into your bloodstream so using your lungs as a gateway into your body. And using a device which is not dissimilar to an asthma inhaler to do this. Insulin for injection vs insulin for inhalation. Exubera is a product which has just been approved in the US and EU. It is not on the market in the UK because NICE hasnt approved it yet but I guess its the first product thats out there for inhalation so its really setting the standard in terms of delivering proteins to the lung. It has not been without its issues. People who take exubera - Type I diabetics, people that are born with diabetes, and Type II diabetics who develop diabetes later on in life - are approved for this. There are issues with people who smoke as their lung function is different, as well as children and people with asthma. But the data so far really suggests that people that are taking insulin via the lung are really seeing the benefits of it. It is used as a top-up in conjunction with injection.
Artificial lung a pharmaceutical standard, used to measure how well particles are performing for inhalation. Essentially it is like a giant sieve. You attach the device, loaded with the protein, to a gelatin capsule. You activate the device and then you mimic how you would take a breath, roughly about 60 litres per minute and you measure the amount of powder thats taken from the gelatin capsule that flows through all the stages. So youre looking to maximise the amount of protein that you measure in the bottom stages, as thats where it would go to if it was in your deep lung, and to minimise the amount of protein or particles that are left in the device, in the neck or the upper stages, so again particles in the three micron range. Our core material in this case is valine and it is coated with insulin on the surface. The particles are about five microns in size. Ive been saying three, so five microns sounds quite large. But what we find is that these particles are actually very thin plates, so when theyre in a turbulent air stream, i.e. being respired, they actually break up into smaller particles. Theyre actually very effective in terms of inhalation. 40% 50% of the particle that you actually inhale will reach the bottom of the lung. One of the key things here as well, is that if you have a drug and it is
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in someones bathroom, it has to survive daily stresses your child getting hold of it and throwing it in the bath, the dog getting hold of it, being in your bathroom cabinet, being exposed to high temperature and high humidity. So the particles have to retain the same characteristics after six months or a year as they do on day one. And one of the things that can happen with dry powders, when they start off as dry powders, is that after time they can agglomerate. Like you see sugar agglomerating in your kitchen if it is left for too long. It becomes a sort of sticky mass. So what weve found with our particles is that theyre very effective in terms of resisting that stress. We were able to make our particles, put them through that artificial lung then take our particles, hydrate them up to about 80% humidity, which is a pretty high level of humidity, dry them back down, and check if they showed the same characteristics as they did at the very beginning. They did. Obviously it has to maintain activity as well. We can make a rich variety of structures, not unlike the things that you see in biomineralisation, i.e. shell formation, where the protein can affect the type of structure that you get. These are the valine particles that I talked about earlier which are very good
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for inhalation. Here we have again plates, and here weve made particles that are actually quite dense, and here some nice propellors. We can control the process very carefully, very accurately, to form particles that we want to be in the right size range. Needles are not good for inhalation, by altering the process, perhaps changing the solvent, or some characteristic, we can make rod or brick-like particles which have the right particle size and would be suitable for inhalation. One of the things that I wanted to do with the funds that were awarded from the Gannochy Trust was to improve on our process for producing these particles. If you remember back to the very beginning, I showed a pipette dropping in solution to make the Protein-Coated Micro Crystals. This is a very inefficient way of producing particles because its not something that you can scale up. You cant get a 500 litre glass flask with a large magnetic stirrer. So you have to think about how to translate what you do on the bench when making mgs, into making kgs. So there are obviously a lot of modifications you have to do to make things on a large scale. And the process that we came up with is fairly straightforward. What we do is we take a stream of
our aqueous solution the solution that contains our amino acid and our protein. We take a stream of our solvent - dehydrating agent - which is removing the water from the system. We can sterile-filter these solutions, so maintaining sterility in the two solutions. You flow these into a dynamic mixer. This all happens in a matter of microseconds, and your particles flow out straightaway. So the whole process is over really in a matter of minutes and we can produce round about 0.5kg of particles per hour, which is a million-fold scale-up from what we were doing on the bench in terms of mgs. This process is fairly well developed and is something that were working on in conjunction with Boehringer Ingelheim. One of our first clients is the actual scale-up of this process, but to produce vaccines. What you often have with vaccines is an adjuvant, something that increases the potency of the vaccine. Typically thats something called alhydrogel. So we have to look to introducing a third line here, which obviously will complicate this process here. So Im using some of the money from the Gannochy Trust to look at how we can do that. The way that Ive split the funds is round about 60% of the money, Im directing towards the scale-up
and thats going into a larger fund of about 0.5M to develop this process here for vaccines. The rest of the money Im using for marketing the Protein Coated Micro Crystal technology, mainly in North America and Asia, so the money goes towards us presenting the technology at conferences. That can either be poster presentation or it can be oral presentations. We generally find thats the most efficient way of accessing scientists in large pharmaceutical companies and getting hook-in to further develop. Finally there are quite a few people Id like to thank. First and foremost, Barry Moore, whos co-inventor and co-founder of the company. Some of my colleagues in the company JanVoss, Joanne Partridge, Clair Lyle, and the rest of the team who work very hard. The University of Strathclyde, The University of Glasgow, The Royal Society of Edinburgh whove given great support to me over the last five years, and Scottish Enterprise, who funded lots of small projects, as well as the initial proof of concept. And of course - the reason Im here this evening - the Gannochy Trust who very kindly entrusted 50k to continue the innovation.
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Caledonian Research Foundation Prize Lecture Baroness Onora ONeill of Bengarve President, The British Academy 28 May 2007 The Royal Museum Can Information be Personal1? In 1990, as part of an agreement with the Caledonian Research Foundation, the Society created an annual Prize Lectureship in Biomedical Science. In 1994 it was agreed that the Prize Lectureship would alternate annually between Biomedical Sciences and Arts & Letters subjects. Prize Lecturers are expected to be of the highest international repute and this years recipient is certainly no exception to that rule. Onora ONeill writes on ethics and political philosophy. She has particular interests in international justice, in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, questions of bioethics and conceptions of accountability and trust in public life. From 1992 until 2006 she was Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, and is a Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge. She sits in the House of Lords as a cross-bencher, is President of the British Academy and chairs the Nuffield Foundation. The title of this talk is deliberately provocative, and my claim to expertise is slender. I am not a lawyer but a philosopher, I have no special insight into UK data protection legislation, which is meant to protect personal information, and thereby aspects of personal privacy.2 My practical experience of the legislation has led to no more than average frustration that is to say, to considerable frustration but little clarity. However, I have chosen this topic because I think it is too important to be left solely to those with legal expertise. I shall argue that current legislation
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saddles us with a cumbersome, dysfunctional and sometimes incoherent approach to informational privacy, sketch an explanation of why the legislation fails to achieve its aims, and suggest some reasons why alternative approaches might do better. Data protection legislation, in the UK as elsewhere, is based on the idea that we can protect informational privacy by establishing special systems for handling data or information that are personal, which we do not need to handle data and information that are not personal. I shall argue that this
distinction cannot be well drawn, and that by making it the basis of legislation we have saddled ourselves with a deeply frustrating and in many respects impossible task. In effect, the legislation seeks to base informational privacy on an inept, if not impossible, classification of informational content. In arguing against this approach to data protection, I do not challenge the thought that privacy, including informational privacy, is important and should be secured. Rather I shall argue that it might be better secured not by regulating speech content, but by regulating speech acts. Informational Privacy and Data Protection Data protection legislation aims to secure informational privacy by regulating the processing of specific types of information that are seen as intrinsically personal, or in some cases as both personal and sensitive. It does so by imposing obligations on those who hold the relevant type of information (data controllers) and assigning rights to those to whom the relevant type of information pertains (data subjects).3 In effect, the UK Data Protection Act 1998 construes informational privacy as a matter of individuals having rights to control their personal information by prohibiting its processing for purposes to which they do not consent, unless there are special
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reasons for setting aside demands for prior consent (such reasons might include audit, or criminal investigations). The notion of processing used in data protection legislation is something of a term of art, since it covers activity such as acquiring, organizing, altering, retrieving, consulting or using data. Indeed, the accompanying Legal Guidance to the Act states that The definition [of processing] in the Act is a compendious definition and it is difficult to envisage any action involving data which does not amount to processing within this definition.4 Given that almost any use of data is to count as processing, it is important to have a clear way of picking out which information is to count as personal, or as personal and sensitive, and so is to be regulated. Yet the Act is not helpful in explaining what personal data are. It states that they are data which relate to a living individual who can be identified (a) from those data, or (b) from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller.5 What are data that relate to a living individual? And when do data and other information make an individual identifiable? Neither idea is particularly clear.
Relating to a Living Individual who can be Identified What is meant by the phrase data relating to a living individual who can be identified? At least one point is clear here: data protection does not extend to the dead, to whom it affords no protection. But everything else is far from clear. Clearly, not all information that is true of a living individual counts as personal. A lot that is true of each of us is general information that is equally true of all or of many others. Each person has red blood cells, and each was born at some time in the past. Personal information does not cover this sort of general information that is true of all individuals. On the other hand, personal information cannot be confined to information that is uniquely true of a person to whom it pertains. For example, I was the first person born in the Townland of Aughafatten for over a century but that fact isnt personal, and could be ascertained from the public record in the (Northern) Irish Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Clearly a lot of the information that we think ought to be private is not unique to the individuals to whom it pertains: everyone with cancer might well reasonably hold that this fact about their health is personal and ought to be treated as private. So informational privacy cannot plausibly be
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construed as privacy for those matters in which we are unique. So the crucial element in the legislative definition of personal information must lie in the idea that certain information makes an individual identifiable. Yet it is not clear how we are to determine when an individual can be identified (a) from those data, or (b) from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller. The other information held by, or likely to be held by, somebody holding (supposedly) personal information will vary, and the inferences that can be drawn and the identifications that will be possible will vary correspondingly. Even the most commonplace piece of information about an individual may be the crucial bit of evidence that makes him identifiable to those who hold other information which allows them to make an identifying inference. If the police are holding blond and brownhaired suspects, reliable evidence that the perpetrator had brown hair may make him identifiable and enable investigators to infer whom to release and whom to detain. The emphasis on data that render individuals identifiable by data controllers in the Data Protection Act 1998 has led to great controversy, particularly in the area of
medical research. On one view, if medical data are anonymised or pseudonymised i.e. reversibly anonymised they will not count as identifiable, and so will not count as personal. The individuals to whom the data pertain cannot be identified by those without access to the code or key, since they will be unable to reverse the anonymisation. However, those with the key will be able to identify the individuals to whom the information pertains, and this fact leads others to conclude that reversible anonymisation is too little to satisfy data protection requirements. This unclarity about what makes data identifiable and so personal, or personal and sensitive, can play havoc with medical research, where data are often used for impersonal ends. Epidemiologists, and those who do secondary data analyses, typically have no specific interest in particular individuals, or in finding out to whom the data that they use applies. However, the data must be indexed to identifiers in order to link different bits of information about the same individual. Without linked data, many lines of inquiry in epidemiology and many secondary data analyses would be impossible. Reversible anonymisation, which does not destroy the possibility of linking information, was traditionally thought to provide adequate
informational privacy. However, the Data Protection Act 1998 applies to all uses of data in which the data subjects are identifiable even by indirect means,6 and some interpreters of the legislation conclude that research may be done without consent only if personal data are subjected to a stronger form of anonymisation, which removes links that could be used to identify data subjects. In that case the data must be delinked or irreversibly anonymised, nobody can reverse the anonymisation and the data subject will be unidentifiable not only by the researcher but by others. Irreversible anonymisation or de-linking of data makes many sorts of research on human subjects in biomedicine and the social sciences impossible. Moreover the burden of these requirements not only affects complex research, for which elaborate processes of consent might perhaps be devised and implemented. Exactly parallel problems can arise when a doctor wishes to revisit information about the treatment of a past patient in order to inform treatment of a current patient. Such valuable and routine activity will apparently breach data protection requirements, unless consent is obtained from all the past patients. Of course, sometimes consent can be obtained, but it is unclear why data about medical
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treatment used for impersonal purposes should be regarded as personal data. Each of us is always treated on the basis of information obtained by treating earlier patients, so why should any of us be thought to have a right to refuse to allow reversibly anonymised information about his or her own case to be used to inform treatment of future patients? My suspicion is that compliance is fortunately poor! Interlude: Some Stories The problems that I have sketched may seem arcane. In fact they are everyday affairs, as can be illustrated by few short stories that highlight some problems generated by data protection approaches to informational privacy. Suppose that you are waiting at your GPs surgery and the receptionist calls out your home address in front of other patients. In doing so she discloses personal information, which the surgery legitimately hold for purposes connected with your medical care, but which they should not have communicated to others or used for other purposes without your prior consent. Yet on the other side of town there is an electoral register containing your name and address, which is there for the public to consult without needing your consent. So is your home address personal information? Or
is it not? Note that in this case the information that was disclosed was not medical information, but simply personal information that happened to be held in a medical setting. Conclusion: Data cannot be reliably classified as personal or non personal. The second story recounts an episode that happened at the GPs surgery where I am registered, which installed an electronic indicator board on which a notice flashed up the words Mr Smith Wart Clinic. The notice did not read Mr Smith has a Wart. Arguably it disclosed no personal information pertaining to Mr Smith. Arguably it could have been interpreted as a request to Mr Smith to go to the Wart Clinic possibly to take a message or to deliver supplies. Yet anyone reading it would probably infer on the basis of a routine understanding of the way things are done that the said Mr Smith had a wart, and was about to have it looked at, or perhaps removed. There was a certain amount of fuss about this notice, despite the fact that it did not strictly speaking state anything about Mr Smiths warts, or disclose personal information but it did make Mr Smith identifiable as a patient with a wart. Since that fuss the indicator board carries more guarded notices such as: Mr Smith Room 3. What people
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come to know from a given piece of information depends on what else they can infer using available information and assumptions which vary for different persons. Conclusion: we cannot define personal information as information that makes someone identifiable. Thirdly, consider that timehonoured medical practice, the taking of a family history. Imagine that you are talking to your GP, who asks you whether any member of your family has heart trouble. Without any hesitation you start telling her some medical details about your relatives without seeking their prior consent; and your GP then writes some notes containing (unverified and possibly inaccurate) medical information about living persons who have not consented to its disclosure or to its being recorded, and who do not even know that their health problems are now known to your GP, listed in your medical records, and may become known to others. Medical practice routinely uses information that is personal to A in treating B, thereby violating the requirement to use information only for the purposes for which it was originally provided. Conclusion: it is normal to use information for purposes for which it was not originally obtained, and hard to prevent this.
Finally consider the case of a doctor who treats a series of patients with an unusual disorder and wants to write a case note. Strictly speaking, the information contained in each patients file was provided only for the use in that patients treatment so should not be used for further purposes without prior consent. Of course, the identity of the patients referred to in a case note would be duly (reversibly) anonymised in the published case-note, and the patients would probably be pleased that information about the treatment of their disease is being made more available. Yet, strictly speaking, such publication will meet data protection standards only if each patient provides explicit consent to publication. Conclusion: Clinicians and researchers routinely reuse and publish information that was collected in order to treat a given patient, thereby violating the requirement to use information only for the purposes for which it was originally collected unless there is specific consent to a further use. Each of these everyday stories is about a use of information that is taken to be personal for purposes other than those for which it was originally collected and held. If we are to decide how to handle these and many other cases, we need to be sure that we can distinguish personal from non-
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personal information, and that demands for consent to any further uses of information are workable. Yet this is surprisingly hard. What could be done? Rethinking informational privacy It is important to bear in mind the reasons why Data Protection legislation was enacted. Both the European Directive and the UK Data Protection Act 1998 responded to changes in the way that we acquire, store and use knowledge. The acquisition, processing and linking of information have become amazingly fast and cheap, with significant practical implications for informational privacy. It was no doubt tempting to try to deal with this problem by restricting and regulating the use of specific types of personal information, thereby securing a better standard of informational responsibility than prudence and economic competitiveness alone were likely to secure. So there were good reasons for enacting new protection for informational privacy. However, looked at with hindsight, this objective might have been secured by other approaches. In particular, it might have been more coherent to focus on regulating what is done above all on regulating communicative transactions rather than regulating all types of activity
(processing) that use supposed, yet ill-defined types of informational content. Speech acts are more readily regulated than speech content. An alternative approach could focus on the communicative actions and transactions by which information is obtained and communicated, and the norms and obligations relevant to such communicative transactions. Obligations of confidentiality provide a good example of communicative obligations that bear on what is done with information, rather than on the processing of all information of some putative type. We generally think that communicative transactions must meet a range of standards. For example, they must be intelligible and relevant to their intended audiences, accurate and honest; the commitments entered into by means of communicative transactions must be observed. Ethical, professional and legal requirements for confidentiality provide good examples of obligations to use information of any sort only as agreed. Confidentiality may provide a more coherent and robust basis for securing informational privacy than can approaches that rely upon putative privacy rights over ill-specified types of informational content and their correlative obligations.
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Obligations of confidentiality are generally said to hold where there is a well-defined not necessarily legally defined relation between two or more parties. They may hold between friends and relations; between business partners; between doctors and patients; between lawyers and clients; between bankers and account holders; between employers and employees; and so on. In a confidential relation, the confider discloses, or permits the confidant to acquire, information not taken to be a matter of public knowledge. The information acquired may or may not count as personal information, in various meanings of that obscure term. In return, the confidant assumes obligations not to use that knowledge to harm the confider, and not to communicate that knowledge to third parties without the consent of the confider. The basic aim of the law of confidentiality was classically set out by Lord Denning, in discussing whether legal action could be brought for breach of confidence in cases where no explicit contract exists between confider and confidant. He took the view that the legal notion of confidentiality depends upon the broad principle of equity that he who receives information in confidence shall not take unfair advantage of it. He must not make use of it to the prejudice of him who gave it
without obtaining consent.7 Although the law of confidentiality traditionally governed confidential disclosure in professional and commercial contexts, recent court judgments extend its scope beyond formally constituted or legally recognized relationships to relationships of other sorts.8 Confidential relations and confidential communication whether protected by law or not, can be of value to confider and confidant, as well as to third parties. For example, patients might be reluctant to seek medical treatment, and clients reluctant to seek legal advice, without confidential relations between client and professional. Businesses would be at risk unless employees could be told facts in confidence, which it would be damaging for competitors to know. Confidentiality and the laws that define it arose in well-defined relationships, but are now being interpreted more broadly by the courts as applicable in contexts where there is no formal relationship, but there is a reasonable presumption that certain information is not for wider consumption and will be not be made available to others or used for other purposes without the agreement of the confider. Informational privacy may be better protected by requirements of confidentiality than by ill-defined requirements for data protection.9
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This protection reflects the fact that relations of confidentiality impose substantial obligations. A confidant may not tell others certain things that he has come to know, and in particular may not use that information to the disadvantage of the confider, unless the confider consents. If this obligation is met, confiders will have reason to trust confidants not to publicise or communicate information that was imparted in confidence without their consent. Like other trust relationships, confidential relationships may be supported by systems of accountability which add legal and regulatory force to obligations of confidentiality provided that these systems of accountability are well designed for this purpose (and some are not). The basic principles that underlie confidentiality are quite different from those that underlie data protection. Confidentiality focuses on regulating types of action specifically types of speech act rather than on all processing of types of information. An approach to informational privacy based on extending the law of confidentiality does not require anyone to determine which information is or is not personal, or which is personal and sensitive, and does not require anyone to determine just what it takes to make an
individual identifiable to one or another party. Rather than defining and protecting intrinsically personal content, confidentiality is a way of protecting content of many types that the parties to a communicative transaction seek to protect, have agreed to protect, or are required to protect. It can be invoked for specific aspects of professional, commercial or other relationships, and can be waived by seeking consent from the confider. Confidentiality also standardly receives second-order professional and legal backing. Some Conclusions Data protection legislation creates substantial difficulties for medical and social research, and especially for research that re-uses legitimately acquired, lawfully held data (so-called secondary use). Such re-use is held to breach informational privacy rights, unless informed consent is given to the relevant further uses of the information. Given the breadth of the conception of processing in the Data Protection Act 1998, clinicians and researchers are apparently required to seek specific consent even where the purpose of an investigation is not to find out anything about, or to do anything to, the individuals to whom the data refer. It is hardly consoling that the legislation permits such investigation when all source subjects consent to
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them, and (in the case of medical research) exceptionally if permission can be obtained from the Patient Information Advisory Group. Obtaining further consent from all source subjects is often impractical, while selective reconsenting is likely to damage research findings by skewing their statistical basis. Moreover, even where it is in principle possible to re-contact and to seek renewed consent for some range of further work, doing so may not be feasible given the gaps between the informational complexity of the consent required and the real capacities and limitations of human individuals to understand complex information. I conclude that there are good reasons to rethink informational privacy and its enforcement. We could best do so by focusing on the epistemic and ethical requirements on communicative
transactions, rather than upon supposedly distinctive types of information content. If we focus on communicative action and transactions, and so on speech acts rather than speech content, we can make use of a robust framework for thinking about epistemic and ethical norms for informational, and in particular for communicative action. Norms of epistemic responsibility, ethical norms, and second-order legal and institutional requirements that reinforce norms of both sorts, constitute obligations; they define and clarify rights. Action in accordance with such norms can protect the informational privacy that data protection legislation is meant to protect, without invoking the flawed and ill-defined assumption that some types of information have intrinsic ethical significance while others do not.
Baroness ONeill also spoke at the University of Stirling on 24 May 2007, on the subject of Autonomy in Clinical and Research Ethics. Abstract: The rise and rise of autonomy has been one of the most striking ethical developments of the last 50 years. It represents a surprising change in the fortunes of what had previously been a rather specialised notion. Nowhere has this rise been more evident than in medical and research ethics, where the ethical treatment of patients and of research subject is often equated with respecting their autonomy. Yet a sober look at what is proposed suggests that autonomy in medical and research practice is often equated with using informed consent procedures. Moreover these procedures have been developed in ways that often make impossible demands, that are not ethically required. A sober look at informed consent requirements suggests that their importance has more to do with avoiding come classical sorts of wrong doing such as coercion and deception, than with any robust conception of autonomy.
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Notes 1 This text formed the basis of a lecture given on 28th May 2007 at The Royal Museum, Edinburgh. I am grateful to the Caledonian Research Foundation for sponsoring this and other lectures given that week, and to the Royal Society of Edinburgh for organising them. The work draws on one strand of the argument of Neil C. Manson and Onora ONeill, Rethinking Informed Consent in Bioethics, Cambridge University Press, 2007. The work that underlies this book and a range of related papers was supported by the Wellcome Trust. 2 For the full text of the Data Protection Act 1998 see http:// www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ 19980029.htm ; see also Data Protection Act 1998: Legal Guidance at: www.ico.gov.uk/documentUploads/ data%20Protection%20Act%201998%20Legal%20Guidance.pdf 3 Schedules 2, 3 and 4 of the Data Protection Act 98 confer on data subjects rights of access to data held that pertains to them; rights apply to a Court to order a data controller to rectify, block, erase or destroy personal details if they are inaccurate or contain expressions of opinion based on inaccurate data; rights to ask data controllers not to process their data if doing so will lead to damage or distress; rights to prevent use of their data for direct marketing purposes (here the SNP recently faced some problems); and rights to compensation for damage or distress caused by breaches of the duties of data controllers. 4 See Data Protection Act 1998: Legal Guidance., p. 15 Data%20Protection%20Act%201998%20Legal%20Guidance.pdf 5 Data Protection Act 1998, Part I, Section 1. This formulation is closely based on that of the European Directive 95/46/EC which states that personal data shall mean any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject) (Chapter 1, Article 2 (a)). 6 For definitions of identifiable data and of reasonably identifiable data see Department of Health, Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice, 2003, p 9; http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/06/92/54/ 04069254.pdf; the Code has been endorsed by the Data Protection Commissioner. 7 Lord Denning, Seager v Copydex Ltd (No. 1) [1967] RPC 349 8 Gavin Phillipson, Transforming Breach of Confidence? Towards a Common Law Right of Privacy under the Human Rights Act. Modern Law Review: 66, 5 (2003) 726-758. 9 See note 8, and also Mr. Justice Scott, who notes that the law of confidentiality can, in conjunction with the law of trespass and the law of nuisance, go a long way to remedy the
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alleged absence of a right to privacy under English law in his introduction to Confidentiality and the Law, p. xxiii; Gavin Phillipson and Helen Fenwick, who argue that the legal doctrine of confidence is able to offer far more protection [of privacy] than is generally recognised and explore how the legal notion of confidence can do work in protecting the Article 8 right to respect for private life in their Breach of confidence as a Privacy Remedy in the Human Rights Act Era. Modern Law Review, 63,5 (2000), 660-693 (p. 662).
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Henry Duncan Prize Lecture The Highlands: Scotlands Great Success Story Professor James Hunter Director, UHI Centre for History Monday 3 September 2007 Professor Hunter is Professor of the History of the Highlands and Islands, UHI Millennium Institute. For three decades he has had a scholarly interest in the economy and culture of the Highlands and Islands. His path-breaking study in 1976 of the emergence of the crofting communities onto the Scottish and British political and economic stages in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries remains one of the key reference points for subsequent research on the modern development of the region. This scholarship led him on to an interest in the waves of emigration that were partly caused by economic failure and partly by the erosion of Gaelic culture. One of the conclusions he has drawn from his ethnographic studies of the descendants of these migrants is that a story told in Scotland as one of lament often appears in a North American context as one of striking success. Hunters policy work most notably as Chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise between 1998 and 2005 has drawn on this scholarship, turning it into persuasive advocacy on behalf of the Highlands and Islands. The fruits of this strategy have become evident in the reversal of centuries of population loss and in the remarkable transformation of the regions economy. In 1979, just prior to that years unsuccessful devolution referendum, the paper I worked for despatched me to Sutherland. There, one evening, I was in conversation with a crofter, an elderly man, a bodach as is said in Gaelic. He was, this man, devoted to the Gaelic language, to much else thats distinctively Highland. Which is why I assumed that, like me, hed be voting for Scottish home rule. But no, not at all. He was unalterably against it. Why, I
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asked. Well, he said, in London they might not give a damn about Highlanders. But in Edinburgh they hate us. There are good historical explanations, some of which Ill touch on later, as to why that crofter thought the way he did. Once Highlanders were hated here in Edinburgh. At other times, theyve been feared, thought inferior, romanticised, pitied. Now, or so Im going to argue, its time
that Edinburgh, that all of Scotland, began to think of the Highlands, and of people who live there, in a new, a different way. Todays Highlands and Islands are a place of great achievement; a place of enterprise, initiative and growth; a place in which the rest of Scotland can take pride. Suppose I were to ask you, on your leaving here this evening, to make an inventory of everything you own. A comprehensive inventory. Each book, each cup, each plate, each piece of cutlery; each picture, rug, chair, pillowslip and duvet. Your car, your clothes, your CDs and the like. An item-byitem inventory of all of your possessions. The task would take you a long time. But back in 1844, when members of a Royal Commission then visiting the Isle of Skye, made just such inventories of what they found in island homes, the job took minutes. Here are the Commissions notes of their meeting with Murdo MacLeod, a crofter at Colbost, not far from Dunvegan: Has one half of a croft. Four children. No stock of any kind One bedstead with straw and very poor bedding A little bit of something like an old horserug One course earthenware dish, one half of a plate. No furniture to be mentioned. Two of the children nearly naked. Today absolute poverty of this kind is nowhere found outside the most afflicted parts of Africa.
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But as that 1844 Commission discovered, it used to be characteristic of much of the Highlands and Islands. There, on the tiny plots left to them after clearance and eviction, people like Murdo MacLeod grew just one crop potatoes. Potatoes are of high nutritional value, tolerant of poor soils, high rainfall. Throughout the Highlands and Islands, whole populations had become reliant on them. Then, in the summer of 1846, and in several summers following, the potato crop in all of this large region was almost totally destroyed by blight. Conditions of the kind the Royal Commission had found two years before conditions that had then seemed little short of desperate were now recalled as a longed-for age of plenty. In August 1847 a Lowland clergman on a factfinding trip to the Hebrides crossed the ford between North Uist and Benbecula encountering there a crowd of people scavenging, at low tide, for the shellfish that were just about their only source of sustenance. The visiting clergyman wrote this: The scene of wretchedness which we witnessed was heartrending. On the beach the whole population of the country seemed to be met, gathering the precious cockles I never witnessed such countenances starvation on many faces the children with their melancholy looks, big-
looking knees, shrivelled legs, hollow eyes, swollen bellies God help them, I never did witness such wretchedness! Children with melancholy looks, biglooking knees, shrivelled legs, hollow eyes, swollen-like bellies: we know them from a thousand Oxfam posters; from media coverage of faraway disasters. But in the 1840s, a pre-camera era, the Lowland minister Ive quoted had no inkling of what hunger does to kids until, in the Highlands and Islands, he saw its impact at first hand. In those years in this city, sums worth millions at present-day values were forthcoming for famine relief for famine relief in the Highlands and Islands. This money was spent on oatmeal. Adult males got one-and-a-half pounds daily, women threequarters of a pound, children below twelve rather less. From Skye, this account of how those rations were doled out: At the appointed time and place the poor creatures troop down in hundreds, wretched and thin, starved and wan. Some have clothing, some almost none, and some are a mass of rags. Old and young, feeble and infirm, they take their stations and await their turn. Not a murmur, not a clamour, not a word but they wept aloud as they told of their miseries.
All ages ago, you might think; another world. And yet this world, if approached by way of family background, can look suddenly quite close. I come from the North Argyll locality of Duror, where I was born in 1948. Sharing our home for my first fourteen years was my late mothers father, John Cameron. Hed been born in 1872 and his father, Allan Cameron, my great-grandfather, was born in 1815 in a community towards the foot of Gleann na h-Iubraich near Strontian a community which, not long after, would cease to exist when Gleann na h-Iubraich, all of it, went under sheep. Allan Camerons photograph hangs on my wall. Stories of Allan Cameron reached me from his son, my grandfather. And so theres just one other person in the threeman chain that has myself at one end and, at the other, a nineteenth-century Highlander for whom hunger, clearance and the like were everyday matters of fact. Sometimes, travelling through the Highlands and Islands, observing indications of our areas newfound success, reflecting simultaneously on all thats gone before, I find it almost miraculous that prosperity is at last arriving in places of the sort where, just a couple of lifetimes back, Allan Cameron and his wife raised my grandfather and his several siblings in a home only its walls now standing with a total floor
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space smaller than the floor space of my sitting room. In part, perhaps, my amazement at whats happening now in the Highlands has to do with history being my business a circumstance, I guess, that makes me more than usually aware of how far we have come, and how quickly. But if youre a Highlander of my age, its not necessary to know much history in order to grasp the extent of the change thats occurred. After all, much of whats altered so dramatically in the Highlands has altered in my lifetime. As I said, I was born in North Argyll in 1948. I grew up there in the 50s and the 60s. In much of Britain, Western Europe, North America, those were what Eric Hobsbawm, my favourite historian, has called capitalisms golden years; a period of unprecedented plenty; a period when a British prime minister could truthfully tell his electorate that theyd never had it so good. But from this boom the Highlands stood apart. To be sure, the horrors of the previous century had faded. Highlanders no longer starved; neither were they forcibly deprived of homes and homesteads. Relative to the rest of the UK, however, the Highlands and Islands in the twenty or so years following the Second World War were doing very badly. Although Shetlands population was
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collapsing, as family after family quit 1950s Shetland for New Zealand, the island groups unemployment rate remained one of Britains highest. In the Hebrides and on the Highland mainland, a similar mix of joblessness and out-migration had hollowed out entire communities. In north-west Sutherland, where total population had fallen by a quarter in just twenty years, a crofter named Kenneth MacKenzie, giving evidence in 1952 to yet another Royal Commission, pointed to the Assynt township of Clashnessie as an instance of a wider, and grim, trend. In 1910, MacKenzie said, there were 138 people in Clashnessie; now there are only twenty. The youngest boy is 28 and the youngest girl will not see 45 again. Given facts like these, its not at all surprising that those of us then starting school in the Highlands and Islands were everywhere encouraged to believe that, if our aim was to get on in life, we had best begin by getting out. So it had been for generations. 1773: Stornoway. On a single day, between seven and eight hundred Lewis folk, some ten per cent of the islands population, take ship for Britains colonies in America. 1923: Stornoway again. On a further single day, exactly 150 years later, 260 people leave for Canada on a liner called the
Metagama. Their average age is 22. During the 1980s, when working for the Scottish Crofters Union, Id find myself in houses that were home to ageing couples. Often, on the mantlepiece or on the dresser, were framed photos of the couples sons and daughters.. This is Donald, Id be told. Hes a doctor in Vancouver. This ones Margaret. Shes teaching now in Glasgow. Heres Neil. Hes in Brisbane, doing well out there with the police. Advancement, in the Highlands and Islands, had become synonymous with being elsewhere. To be still in your own locality in your mid-twenties was, almost by definition, to have failed. And externally of course from the perspective, for example, of policy-makers or opinion-formers here in Edinburgh Highland prospects looked no better than they did from the inside. We might have scenery; but we had no worthwhile economy. We might have had a stirring past; we certainly had no future. Such was the almost universal perception of Scotlands Highlands and Islands. Its a perception so well founded on so much that went so badly wrong that its proving hard to change. But its also a perception, I suggest this evening, thats now seriously out
of date. Todays Highlands and Islands are no longer a disaster area. Theyre Scotlands great success story. And so to Gigha. Much of whats happened historically on Gigha conforms to a wider pattern. Like the rest of Argyll, this little island, between Kintyre and Islay, was colonised some fifteen hundred years ago by Gaelic-speaking immigrants from Ireland. Next came the Vikings; then the Lordship of the Isles; then, following the Lordships fall, various chiefs and lairds of Hebridean background until, starting in the 1860s, Gigha, like much of the rest of the Highlands and Islands, began to be bought, sold, bought and sold again by mostly new-made men from England. Of these, say Gigha folk, the best and most benevolent was James Horlick, who arrived in 1944 and who spent heavily on the place. But paternal ownership of this sort, however beneficial in the short run, is invariably unstable. And so it was on Gigha. Between 1972 and 1992, the ownership of Gigha changed three times. One laird, Malcolm Potier, lasted just three years before first going bankrupt and then being jailed in Australia where hed hired a hitman to kill his ex-lover and her boyfriend. Potiers successor, Derek Holt, was a nine-year proprietor, placing the
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island once more on the market in August 2001. Gighas community, by that point, seemed headed for extinction. The islands population, 400-plus a century before, had dipped below one hundred. Reasons for this exodus are clear. On Gigha almost everything, not just the land but virtually all the housing stock as well, belonged to a single, privately-owned estate. This estate, after the Horlick era, became increasingly run down its proprietors lacking the capital, the inclination or, because ownership changed so often, the time to engage in meaningful development. When, in 2002, the 42 estateowed homes on Gigha were professionally surveyed, threequarters were found to be below the officially tolerable standard. Of the remainder, all bar a single dwelling were in serious disrepair. Its understandable, then, that Gighas people were one by one quitting an island where economic activity was minimal and opportunity next best to non-existent. Its also understandable that, on Gigha being put up for sale by Derek Holt, and on the notion of its people bidding for it first being floated, this notion failed initially to find much backing. In contracting and demoralised communities, risk-takings hard to contemplate. In such communi-
ties, pessimism is more prevalent than its opposite. Gighas asking price was just below 4 million. At a meeting in August 2001, fourteen of Gighas residents voted for the proposition that they should make an offer for their island. Many more than fourteen were either hostile to community ownership or thought it wouldnt work. But in ensuing weeks, following much exploration of the possibilities, opinion shifted. At the beginning of October, a postal ballot of the 89 people on Gighas electoral roll was organised by Argyll and Bute Council. 82 of 89 voting papers were returned. And 58 of the 82, a 71 per cent majority, now wanted a community bid to go ahead. With financial backing from the Scottish Land Fund, and from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which as it happens I then chaired, the necessary funds were raised. The bid was made; it proved successful; and, in March 2002, Gigha came under the ownership of a locally-elected grouping, the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust. Shortly afterwards, at a Scottish Land Fund meeting, Kenny Robison, a Gigha farmer, reflected on what had occurred. As a community, Kenny said, we had lost the feeling that we could control anything Our population was declining Our tenanted farms were being abandoned. When I came to the
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island twenty years ago there were 28 children in the primary school and now there [are] only six. We had reached a point when we were faced with collapsing completely as a community or taking our destiny into our own hands. But as Kenny Robison well knew, buying Gigha, as Heritage Trust chairman Willie McSporran put it, had been the easy part. As Willie said on the day that Gigha became the property of its people, We are at the outset of an enormous challenge. One immediately challenging task was the requirement that, within two years of taking charge, the Trust had to repay a Land Fund loan of 1 million. This was done. Much else has been accomplished since. Earlier this year, the Heritage Trust reported on its first five years, starting with Gighas previously disastrous housing situation. At that point, six months ago, nine houses had been refurbished; nine were being or were about to be refurbished; twelve more refurbishments were in the pipeline. On an island where, prior to community ownership, just one new home had been built in thirty years, eighteen new houses for rent had been completed or were well on their way to completion. And in an island where previous lairds had refused to sell sites for houses, a number of such sales had gone ahead
with five new owner-occupied homes resulting. Among the Trusts own business ventures were Britains only communityowned hotel and Britains first community-owned and gridconnected wind farm. The latter consists of three turbines, known in Gaelic as Faith, Hope and Charity and in English as the Dancing Ladies. In its first full year of operation, this wind farm made a profit for the Trust of more than 100,000 all of it destined for local reinvestment. After five years of community ownership, moreover, ten new privately-owned businesses were up and running. Farmland had been reorganised. Sixteen jobs had been created. And a twocenturies-long decline in population had been spectacularly reversed. Gighas primary school roll, previously down to six, was over twenty. Total population, was up by more than 50 per cent. And on an island formerly bereft of anyone in their twenties or their thirties, there was a growing number in this economically most active age-group. Even if Gigha was a one-off, it would deserve attention. But hearteningly, intriguingly, Gighas transformation though exceptional in its rapidity is by no means unique. In a manner, I repeat, that sometimes seems to me miraculous, and to an extent that Scotland as a wholes been
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slow to cotton on to, the Highlands and Islands are today on the way back, on the way up. Some successes: Orkney. A homegrown jewellery industry think Ortak thats trading internationally. Food products that are doing really well. A container mega-hub potentially in Scapa Flow. Plus EMEC, the European Marine Energy Centre at the forefront of trying out tidal and wave energy devices. Inverness. Lifescan Scotland. Integral to a Highlands and Islands health science sector involving twenty separate companies and institutions. Lifescan employs about eighteen hundred people 150 of them in cuttingedge R&D. Inverness. Near Lifescan. The Centre for Life Sciences. A 22 million project with world-class facilities for healthcare training and for biotechnology research. North Harris, Assynt, the Isle of Eigg, Abriachan, Galson, South Uist, Knoydart. Some more of the localities accounting for 370,000 acres where, as in Gigha, lands gone into community ownership. Kintyre. Where Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer, employ 200 people. Great Glen House. New base of Scottish Natural Heritage. Completed under budget and an exemplar of sustainable design attracting the highest environmental rating ever
awarded by the relevant assessment body. Some famous brands. Walkers shortbread. Baxters soups. Plus Talisker, Glenmorangie, Bruichladdich, Highland Park, Laphroaig. Viking Energy. A Shetland Council partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy, SSE. Looking to build one of the worlds largest wind farms and to provide the council with development funds akin to those derived from offshore oil. Glendoe. The site of Scotlands first big hydro scheme in forty years. Inverness Airport. Passenger numbers double those of 1999. Soon to have a major business park. The Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company. Investing widely in community-controlled renewables. Eden Court Theatre. Reopening shortly after a rebuild thats Scotlands biggest arts sector project of this decade. Taigh Chearsabhagh, Lochmaddy. An Lanntair in Stornoway. Two of numerous arts centres and performance venues of tremendously high quality. Fis an Eilein; InvernessFest; Bls; Tartan Heart at Belladrum; Celas; Touchwood; Celtic Media Festival; The Outsider; Rock Ness; Mountain Bike World Championships; Fort George Military Tattoo: all helping make up Scotlands Year of Highland Culture. UHI. The prospective University of the Highlands and Islands. A region-
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wide partnership. Now providing 7,000 students with universitylevel education. Already a UK research leader in marine and environmental science. Developing research capacity in fields like health, renewable energy, fisheries and dare I say it history And finally Sabhal Mr Ostaig in Skye. A UHI partner. Thirty years ago a derelict farm steading. Today a still expanding set of splendid buildings. Where more than a hundred full-time students take degrees taught through the medium of Gaelic. Where hundreds more come for short courses. Home to several spin-off businesses. Accounting altogether for 85 full-time, and as many parttime, jobs. Sabhal Mr is in the Sleat penisula, once the most depopulated corner of a desperately depopulated island. This from a study published in 1955: [Population] decline has continued without a break [in Skye] since 1841 In Sleat the population is down to a fifth of its maximum Further decline in population is inevitable. In the mid-nineteenth century, Skyes population was 24,000. By the 1960s, it was nearer 6,000 and this downward trend, as that 1950s study emphasised, seemed set to last indefinitely. In fact, the opposite has happened. Thanks partly to Sabhal Mr Ostaig, Skyes population, just like Gighas, is up by some 50 per cent and not just
Sleat, but the whole island, is awash with new-built homes. Whats true of Skye is true of much of the Highlands and Islands. During the last forty years, a period when Scotlands total population has mostly been static, or even in decline, the population of the Highlands and Islands has risen by around a fifth. During the last five years, to be sure, Scotlands overall population has started to edge upwards. But in the Highlands and Islands, the rate of increase has been three times faster than that of the nation at large. In Skye and neighbouring Wester Ross, the rate has been seven times greater. Of course, the star performer demographically is Gigha doing nearly a hundred times better than Scotland. But then, as youll have gathered, Gighas very special. A few more facts and figures. In recent years, Inverness has been one of Britains fastest growing cities. In the Highlands and Islands, proportionate to our population, we have more business start-ups than does the rest of Scotland. Our regional unemployment rate, once a multiple of the all-Scotland figure, has for several years been well below it. The Highlands and Islands are the UKs only region where more than 80 per cent of the potential workforce is employed. This compares with less
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than 70 per cent in London. Total Highlands and Islands population is approaching 450,000. Its one of HIEs aspirations, as the agencys chairman Willy Roe states strongly, to have this figure reach half-a-million by 2020. Can this happen? Absolutely. For the first time in centuries, after all, many more people are moving into the Highlands and Islands than are leaving. Some from the rest of Scotland; more from other parts of the UK; large numbers from further afield. Among kids now in Highland Council primary schools, first languages other than English now total more than fifty. And last year in the Highlands and Islands, over a six-month period, national insurance registrations involving immigrants from overseas were averaging eleven or twelve each working day. As Ive said, my trade is history. And its in historys nature, its what keeps historians in business, that our perspective on the past is constantly in flux. Someone I know is an authority on Russia. Back in the 1980s, he tells me, he could produce a dozen explanations as to why, whatever happened in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union would endure. Now, he says, hes equally convincing on why Soviet disintegration was inevitable. Which isnt to accuse this man of intellectual dishonesty. When Soviet power gave way to Soviet collapse, prior events
required a lot of re-examining. The outcome of any excursion into history, then, depends on where you start from. In a Highlands and Islands context, for reasons that Ive touched on, new starting points, I think, are overdue. And it isnt just historians, incidentally, who could benefit from fresh perspectives on the Highlands. Social scientists, policymakers, media commentators could benefit as well. When the Highlands and Islands looked to be heading for hell in a basket, as they did in the nineteenth century, and for much of the twentieth as well, it was reasonable to focus both on failure and its causes. There are no end of published explorations, then, of clearance, famine, population loss and other calamities of that kind. But look for comparable analyses of why the Highlands have of late been doing better, and youll find little of real substance. Thats why I welcome the Royal Society of Edinburghs decision that, over the next year or two, current developments in the Highlands and Islands will constitute one of the societys key themes. Quite what this will mean in practice has still to be nailed down. But in broad terms the Royal Society is looking to:- Engage with people central to the transformation thats been happening in the north;
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- Celebrate this transformation; - Account for it, and from it learn lessons relevant to other parts of Scotland. Taking forward this agenda will necessitate debate. By way of an initial contribution, I now move on from the fact of Highlands and Islands renewal to a tentative identification of some factors that have made renewal possible. One of the most basic of these, I believe, has been the longstanding willingness of successive governements whether British or Scottish and irrespective of party to involve the state in the cause of Highland betterment. This, I know, is an unfashionable thing to say. To attribute Highland success, even in part, to state intervention in our regional economy is to be at odds with much of the recent thrust of economic theory, and economic policy, across the the western world and beyond. Nevertheless, its my conviction that, had governments not done what they did in northen Scotland over the last 120 or so years, the upturn Ive described could not have happened. The actions that I have in mind include: - The granting in 1886 of security of tenure to crofters by a Liberal government;
- The establishment in the 1890s of our first development agency by a Conservative administration which also embarked on large-scale public investment in railways and other infrastructure; - Early twentieth-century land reform much of it Conservative in inspiration which led to thousands of new crofts; - The setting up in 1943 of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board brainchild of Tom Johnston, a Labour minister in Winston Churchills wartime coalition; - The creation in 1965 by Labour of the Highlands and Islands Development Board. Many of those measures, to be sure, were anything but instantly effective. Making further clearance impossible, as happened in 1886, or creating new crofts on land bought for this purpose by the state, as happened in the 1920s, was all very well. But only with the more recent growth of the wider economy of which crofters are part has it begun to be apparent as we see today in Skye that a smallholding system of the crofting sort can be the basis of a countryside thats simultaneously prosperous and, in comparison with places like the Borders or Dumfries-shire, thickly peopled. Similarly with Johnstons Hydro Board. Its determination to take
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mains electricity to every home in the Highlands and Islands didnt, of itself, stop out-migration. But in the absence of whats now a basic service, more people would have left and all sorts of later developments just couldnt have occurred. Of course, the Hydro Board, and the still more critically important Highland Board, were products of an era of big government. But even when that era ended, even when government elsewhere was in retreat, politicians some of them otherwise committed to the market were as interventionist as ever when dealing with the area beyond the Highland Line. Thus Margaret Thatchers ministers ensured that the HIDBs sweeping powers, to which Ill return in a moment, were inherited by Highlands and Islands Enterprise subsequent Tory governments going on, in the person of the devotedly Thatcherite Michael Forsyth, to launch the Convention of the Highlands and Islands, to endorse the beginnings of community land ownership, and to back the push for UHI. More recently, postdevolution governments of Scotland have behaved in much the same pro-Highland fashion. Thats why SNH is based in Inverness, why theres been additional land reform, why we have a Year of Highland Culture why, last month, our new government committed itself to the
introduction of Road Equivalent Tariffs on island ferries. And so to an intriguing question. Bearing in mind that a lot of expert opinion, including civil service opinion, was hostile often very hostile to several of the measures and initiatives Ive mentioned, from Willia m Gladstones Crofters Act, by way of Michael Forsyths support for UHI, to jobs dispersal of the SNH variety, why have such policies so frequently prevailed? Obviously, reasons varied over time. But of these reasons, one has been remarkably consistent. Its most explicit in a comment made by the late Willie Ross when introducing to the House of Commons the Bill that ushered in the Highland Board. For two hundred years, Ross said, the Highlander has been the man on Scotlands conscience. Read Gladstone, read Tom Johnston, read the Scottish Parliaments debates on land reform always, in one guise or another, that sentiment is present. At its core there lies a stillenduring sense that, irrespective of the writings of revisionist historians, the Highlands and Islands, in the past, were dealt the rawest of raw deals. Moreover, this raw deal, its widely thought, was such, as Willie Ross implied, to have imposed on the wider nation of which the Highlands and Islands are part, whether that nation is Britain or Scotland, a
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continuing need to attone for previous neglect or worse. Personally, Im suspicious of the notion that todays rulers are responsible for actions taken by long ago predecessors. Many things are arguably the fault of Tony Blair. But the Irish Famine, for which Mr Blair apologised in 1997, isnt one of them. That said, I can see where Willie Ross was coming from. For when you take account not just of the nineteenth-century horrors mentioned earlier, but of the Highlands and Islands experience over a thousand or more years, its hard to avoid the conclusion as expressed, youll recall, by my crofter friend in Sutherland that Highlanders, from the middle ages onward, suffered more than somewhat from anti-Highland thinking here in Edinburgh. Once the Highlands and Islands had their own self-governing principalities the Kingdom of Moray, the Earldom of Orkney, the Lordship of the Isles to name but three. And by contemporary standards, these performed most successfully. Read the Orkneyinga Saga, or go look at Castle Tioram, if you doubt this. The earldom, the lordship and the rest were swallowed up by an aggressive, an expansionist, an imperial Scottish state. And its inherent in imperialism, Scotlands brand included, that imperialists disparage the societies they take over for only
by so doing can they argue, as empire-builders always do, that their mission is to bring enlightenment, civility and progress to places where such qualities were formerly unknown. From the middle ages forward, then, first Scotlands ruling orders, then those of the UK, whether King James VI or Patrick Sellar, endeavoured to devalue and dehumanise the clans that James was out to crush, the communities Sellar cleared. Sellar and James were separated by three hundred years. But both thought Highlanders barbaric people whose Gaelic culture merited nothing but contempt. Imperialist success, of course, is followed by romancing the now safely neutered enemy. Once, in the US, the only good Indian was a dead one; today that self-same Indian is a sort of pioneer ecologist. Likewise in Lowland Scotland where tartan, formerly detested, has become the national dress. But as with Native Americans, so with Highlanders what began, in the nineteenth century, to be romanticised was a supposedly heroic tribal past, not life as it was lived on Indian reservations or in postclearance crofting townships. In Victorian times and later, Highland misfortune, Highland poverty, were frequently put down to Highland failings failings rooted, it was said, in the Gaelic culture that King James and
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Patrick Sellar so confidently dismissed. Which brings me back to Willie Ross and to the Highland Board. When people are told, as Highlanders were told for generations, that everything about them, starting with their Gaelic language, is second-rate, of no account, those people cant but end up lacking self-esteem. And where there isnt self-esteem, there cant be enterprise, initiative, advancement. Thats why a key contributor to renewal in the north has been the realisation, on the part both of the Highland Board and HIE, that, in a Highlands and Islands context, developmental measures shouldnt be confined to building factories, aiding business and the like. Because of whats gone before in the Highlands, policies of that sort have had to be accompanied by a commitment to restoring our formerly demoralised populations sense of worth. And so its mattered greatly that the HIDB and HIE were equipped, both by Ross and his Tory successors, with the capacity to engage in ventures well outside the strictly economic sphere to which most development agencies are limited. Hence HIE investment in Sabhal Mr Ostaig, Gaelic playgroups, folk festivals, book festivals, the Year of Highland Culture, community facilities of every type. Such investment encourages folk to take pride in their background.
And it shows that the Highlands and Islands, so long and so habitually dismissed as backward and benighted, are actually rich in music, literature, archaeology and much else. Equally critical in this regard has been an overturning of the previously prevalent and deeply cynical notion that nobody can live on scenery. Instead, its widely realised that, in our landscapes, our environment, we Highlanders have assets of great value some part of this value deriving, of course, from surroundings of the Highland sort having elsewhere been despoiled. Across the Highlands and Islands, then, a growing appreciation of the many merits of our heritage both cultural and natural is helping people to once more feel good about themselves. Thats making for enhanced selfconfidence as evidenced by phenomena as varied as our business startup rate, our flourishing music scene and whats been going on in Gigha. At the same time, and just as crucially, the advent of new communications and new information technologies has made it easier than formerly to be in northern Scotland with its increasingly attractive lifestyle and, from the same locality, do business in a global market. Its in this sense that todays Highlands and Islands need to be seen, whether inside the region or
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beyond, as a place of tremendous opportunity. Internationally, after all, the most advanced, the most exciting, enterprises are more and more located in areas where people can both earn a good living and have access to environments of the very highest quality. Hence the success of American regions like the Pacific North West or Colorado. Hence my belief that where those areas have led, the Highlands and Islands can follow. Indeed are following already. The former Labour minister, Brian Wilson, tells how he once accompanied the late Donald Dewar on a visit to Lewis. After the political formalities, it was decided that the party should call on Brians mother-in-law at her home in Uig on the islands west coast and at the end of many, many miles of single-track road. On Mr Dewar being shown into the house which, as Brian puts it, is the last home this side of Newfoundland he stood for a while by the window, looking at the Atlantic; then, turning to Brians mother-inlaw, he said, with all the feeling of a man as urban as he was urbane, Youre very remote here. The old lady, not trying to be cheeky or smart, something no island woman of her generation would think of for a moment, replied, in genuine puzzlement, Remote from what? Earlier I touched on the Lordship of the Isles, the Earldom of Orkney. Now some120
thing from much further back something that, like Brians story, subverts the way that most of us have thought about the world. This something is the Book of Kells the wonderfully illuminated manuscript thats perhaps the most significant surviving artefact from Europes early middle ages. The Book of Kells, now on display at Trinity College, Dublin, was created in the Abbey of Iona. This matters. If, nearly fifteen hundred years ago, a Hebridean monastery could be as Iona then was an internationally significant centre of learning and of creativity, then its demonstrably not the case that the supposed peripherality of the Highlands and Islands is an unalterable fact of geography. What marginalised the Highlands what made the area prone to famine, clearance and the rest was not where the region is located on the map. What truly marginalised the Highlands and Islands was the way they were governed in the centuries following the destruction of Ionas abbey, the demise of Orkneys earldom, the overthrow of the lordship centuries when power, decision-making and, ultimately, people were drained away and concentrated elsewhere. Now all of this has begun to be reversible is beginning, indeed, to be reversed. Where that process will end, I dont know. But it has the potential, I believe, to go very,
very far. It could make of Inverness a Scottish, a UK, Seattle. It could turn Scotland, almost literally, upside down. One of the greatest of English historians, Thomas Babington Macaulay, the grandson as it happens of a Highlander, famously imagined a future traveller from New Zealand [who] shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St Pauls. I
dont say that another New Zealander, en route for some metropolis in the Highlands, will pause on a deserted Mound to sketch the broken-down remains of Princes Street. But this I do say. Theres no reason why, in the century just starting, Scotland shouldnt have new centres economic, cultural and otherwise to rival Edinburgh and Glasgow. New centres in the north.
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IEEE/RSE/Wolfson Microelectronics James Clerk Maxwell Award Lecture Dr Irwin Jacobs Chairman, Qualcomm 1 October 2007 Reflections on the Amazing Ubiquitous Cellphone The IEEE and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, with funding from Wolfson Microelectronics plc, created a joint award in November 2006 to recognise groundbreaking contributions that have had an exceptional impact on the development of electronics and electrical engineering or related fields. The annual IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award includes a US $20 000 (or British pound sterling equivalent) honorarium, a gold medal, and a certificate. The award is named in honour of the 19th century Scottish mathematician and physicist James Clerk Maxwell who laid the foundations of electromagnetic wave theory, radio propagation, microwave techniques, and radio communications. Wolfson Microelectronics plc is a leading global provider of high performance, mixed-signal semiconductors to the consumer electronics market, with headquarters in Edinburgh. Dr Irwin M Jacobs and Dr Andrew J Viterbi, co-founders of Qualcomm Incorporated, were jointly awarded the first IEEE/RSE/Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award in 2007, for fundamental contributions, innovation and leadership that enabled the growth of wireless communications. QUALCOMM, founded in 1985, has set global benchmarks in digital wireless communication systems and products, based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technologies they pioneered. Under their leadership QUALCOMM grew into a Fortune 500 company, now with annual revenues in excess of $7.5 billion. Dr Jacobs received his award at the IEEE Annual Honors Ceremony held in Pennsylvania, USA on 16 June 2007. Dr Viterbi was presented with his medal by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at the 2007 Fellows Summer Soire held at Edinburghs Telford College on 2 July 2007 to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Thomas Telford.
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Wireless telecoms pioneer Dr Irwin Jacobs was in Edinburgh in early October to receive the IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award. And as he shared his thoughts on the amazing and ubiquitous cellphone, no-one switched off - with the speakers blessing For a man who retired 22 years ago, Dr Irwin Jacobs has been keeping fairly busy, with a range of impressive endeavours, including the creation of a company called Qualcomm which had revenues of US$7.5 billion last year. Before he and six other industry veterans set up Qualcomm in 1985, chairman Dr Jacobs worked for Linkabit Corp., but when he sold his interest in the company and sat down to enjoy a life of leisure, the call of the wireless world was simply too loud to resist Founded in 1969 by Dr Jacobs and his long-time business partner Dr Andrew Viterbi, Linkabit was one of the stars of the American telecoms industry. It grew from a few dedicated parttimers to more than 1,400 employees by the time it merged with MA-COM and achieved several industry firsts, including the introduction of commercial TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) wireless phones. In fact, many leading telecoms companies, including Qualcomm, are
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branches of the Linkabit family tree. Linkabit was a hard act to follow, but Dr Jacobs and his partners soon put Qualcomm on the map in wireless telecoms by developing a product called OmniTRACS, a satellite-based mobile system for the transportation industry. While the rest of the industry was focusing on TDMA, Qualcomm emerged as the leader in another new technology called CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) - a way of maximising available bandwidth for data and voice by using different codes for different channels, instead of different frequencies or time slots. With CDMA, the bottom line was highquality, high-capacity bandwidth for cellular phones, and Qualcomm was the company that proved it was a practical commercial solution by solving the technical problems involved. Two years after demonstrating CDMA in action, Qualcomm put the complex electronics onto silicon, and two years later the technology became a new industry standard. Then, following successful trials in Hong Kong and Korea, CDMA debuted in the US in November 1995 - a total of seven years from proof of concept to commercially viable product. According to Dr Jacobs, in the course of such projects, the pace of technological progress is often amazing. For example, he said,
you can double how much you can put on a chip, roughly every two years. And by the time Qualcomms new product was launched, the communications component used only 20 per cent of the chip, enabling the company to add a range of innovative appliances, including powerful computers and digital signal processors, as well as GPS (Global Positioning System) and video coding/decoding devices - on a single chip using one very small battery. At this point, Dr Jacobs said, we were able to incorporate the same computing power as a super-computer from 10 years before. For Dr Jacobs and his industry partners, the explosive growth of the mobile phone market has been nothing less than amazing, and today there are three billion wireless subscribers worldwide, including 500 million using thirdgeneration technology. Annual shipments total roughly one billion cellphones, many of them featuring Qualcomm technology. Qualcomms product portfolio now includes over 6,000 US patents and patent applications for CDMA and related technologies, and its solutions are currently licensed to more than 130 telecoms equipment manufacturers worldwide. And as well as describing the move to new
third-generation solutions, Dr Jacobs took his audience on a whirlwind tour of some of the landmarks along the way, reminding everyone how far we have come since the launch of the first mobile brick in the late 1980s. Technology is moving ahead very fast, said Dr Jacobs, but now its time to focus on the best uses for the technology. The new generation of cellphones packs in much more power and many more features than ever before, including 10-megapixel cameras and the ability to broadcast 30-frame-per-second video signals. They are also more intelligent, enabling us to download new applications, including games, financial software, educational programs and medical data. Dr Jacobs described how consumers can be tracked to specific locations and receive a message telling them about special offers in nearby shops or restaurants, thanks to GPS systems on chips which know where they are. Other applications include using sensors attached to a cellphone to monitor heart rate or blood sugar levels, combined with GPS to automatically alert the emergency services when theres a critical problem. Integrated with robotics, doctors can use mobile networks to carry out remote diagnosis and interact with
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patients on the opposite side of the world, including help with surgery. Dr Jacobs revealed that such techniques have already been used by doctors in America to deal with brain injuries in military hospitals in Germany. Television is the next frontier for cellphones, said Dr Jacobs, with current networks capable of carrying 25 channels broadcasting multimedia programmes in real time, and up to 100 channels in total. Wireless technology is also having an increasing impact on life in developing countries, empowering citizens in remote areas by providing information on demand such as healthcare advice, financial news so fishermen and farmers can get the best prices for produce, and educational programmes. Qualcomm, Dr Jacobs
said, is committed to numerous projects worldwide using Wireless Reach in countries such as India, Thailand, Peru and Brazil, so people can transcend the social and economic challenges they face in their communities. Closer to home, it is also involved in educational projects, including using wireless to improve the maths skills of students in North Carolina. In the last 22 years, Dr Jacobs has not only witnessed a revolution in wireless technology - he is one of the people who started it rolling two decades ago and continues to drive it today. Retirement has become a distant memory There are lots of possibilities, concluded Dr Jacobs, and more fun to come in the decades ahead.
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Professor Jri Engelbrecht President, ALLEA 25 October 2006 European Science Policy and Academia Professor Jri Engelbrecht, the President of ALLEA (All European Academies) visited the RSE on 25 October 2006 to give a public lecture on European science policy as part of a series of high profile events arranged by our International Committees European Policy Forum. ALLEA is a self governing association of the leading national academies in Europe and the RSE was admitted to membership in 2002. The RSE is greatly honoured that Professor Engelbrecht should visit the RSE so soon after his election at the General Assembly this year. He is a distinguished physicist and mathematician and former President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the European Research Advisory Board and the Governing Council of the European Science Foundation, and was a member of the European Research Council Identification Committee. Amongst numerous books and articles, he was editor of the ALLEA Report on National Research Strategies in Smaller European Countries. The concept of the European Research Area and its targets is widely discussed, but progress needs to be faster. From the view of academia, the cornerstones are: - quality of research - a solid system of information leading to innovation - good education systems There are many instruments and stakeholders this raises the question of coherence between them. There are also issues to resolve about how funding should be channelled, and how to combine national and international interests. In the EU, launching the European Research Council to support basic research is a very important step. The European Science Foundation has a role in generating new ideas and various grass-root initiatives show the willingness of academia to respond. To build a coherent European Science Policy requires an understanding of how member states have formulated their own strategies. Professor Engelbrecht described several examples, including from Estonia, his home country.
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Prasanta K. Pattanaik Carnegie Centenary Professor 2006 6 November 2006 Rights, Freedom, and Welfare in Economics
Welfare economics is the area of economics that is concerned with judgements about social welfare and criteria for public policy. Since these issues are clearly ethical, welfare economics studies alternative ethical criteria for making such welfare judgements and taking decisions about public policies. The purpose of this lecture is to outline how the ethical criteria used by economists have evolved over time, and how, starting with utilitarianism, welfare economists have extended the ethical foundations of their subject to include considerations of individual rights, freedom, etc., which traditionally did not figure in welfare economics. More than two centuries ago, in his Fragment on Government Bentham (1976) described how he learnt to see that utility was the test and measure of all virtue and that the obligation to minister to general happiness, was an obligation paramount to and inclusive of every other. This principle of utility, or utilitarianism as it was to be called, about which Bentham wrote with such fervour, influenced economics deeply. For a long time welfare economists
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firmly believed that the only information required for judgements regarding social welfare and the assessment of public policies was the information about peoples utilities (Professor John Hicks called this belief welfarism). Indeed, a considerable amount of welfare economics relied almost exclusively on the Pareto principle, which constitutes a particularly weak implication of most forms of welfarism and which stipulates that, given a set of feasible social states, a feasible social state, say x, must never be chosen if there is another feasible social state y which gives no less utility to anybody in the society as compared to x, and gives strictly more utility to some people in the society as compared to x. Even when welfare economists tried to go beyond the Pareto principle, they still remained within the confines of welfarism. Thanks mainly to the pathbreaking contributions of Professor Amartya Sen, welfare economics has slowly emerged from this self-imposed restriction. Over the last four decades or so,
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welfare economists have: (i) formulated models of individual rights; (ii) studied possible tensions between the respect for individual rights and the Pareto principle, which constitutes one of the weakest criteria in the welfaristic tradition; (iii) explored non-utilitarian conceptions of an individuals well-being; and (iv) introduced freedom as an important dimension of the well-being of an individual and studied the problem of measuring freedom.
Nor have these changes in welfare economics been confined to abstract theory. They have influenced the formulation of economic policies, especially in developing countries, in a significant fashion. The lecture outlined some of these developments in welfare economics and indicated a few of the tensions that arise in this richer but more complex ethical framework.
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Professor Norman Hammond FSA FBA Department of Archaeology, Boston University, USA 14 November 2006 Recovering Maya Civilisation British Academy Albert Reckitt Archaeology Lecture The Maya created one of the most notable and surprising civilisations of the ancient world, in what are now the Yucatan Pensinsula of southern Mexico and the adjacent countries of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Best known from great cities such as Tikal, Copan, Palenque and Chichn Itz,the Maya reached their apogee in the Classic Period of AD 250-900, when many small polities flourished and fought across this part of Central America. The Classic is bracketed by a Postclassic, ending with the Spanish conquest of the midsixteenth century, and a Preclassic (or Formative) period extending back to the beginnings of settled agriculture in the second Millennium BC. The Maya Area has three major regions: the volcanic and metamorphic highlands of Chiapas and southern Guatemala; the flat, arid limestone platform of the northern Yucatan Pensinsula, where annual rainfall rarely exceeds 500mm; and the central region of Belize, the Petn of northern Guatemala, and northern Chiapas with abundant rainfall (up to 4000mm), large
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permanent rivers such as the Usumacinta, and a tropical rain forest vegetation with a canopy up to 40m high. Initial human penetration occurred around 10,000 years ago, but the first forest clearance by maize farmers occurred around 3500 BC on the Pacific coast and 2500 BC in Belize, documented by pollen cores. The oldest villages on the Pacific side date from around 1700 BC and in the central zone are present by 1200 BC, where Cuello (excavated 1975-2002) documents the development of domestic architecture, pottery and stone-tool technology, and subsistence based on maize, root crops, deer hunting and the domesticated dog. Long-distance procurement of jade and obsidian, and their presence in some burials, attest the emergence of interdependent communities ruled by lites who commissioned the first public buildings at sites such as Cival: the foundations of Maya civilisation were laid between 650 and 400 BC. Early in the Late Preclassic (400 BC-AD 250) the existence of Maya
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hieroglyphic script as a tool of governance is found at San Bartolo, where murals dating, from the second century BC in naturalistic style, document complex myths and rituals including royal accession. The existence of such monarchies prior to the Late Classic, where the evidence of major royal constructions including palaces and funerary temples had long been evident and formed the bulk of the visible remains of Classic Maya civilisation, had been doubted. The San Bartolo murals with their accompanying short texts, the coeval development of much larger communities such as Nakbe, El Mirador and Edzna with massive public works, and the discovery of proto-palaces at Uaxactun Groups E and H, as well as at San Bartolo's Tigrillo complex, demonstrated an early Late Preclassic origin for kingship. At Copan, a series of tunnels, totalling more than 3 km in length into the Acropolis, uncovered a nested sequence of Early Classic dynastic temples and royal tombs, providing concrete evidence that the sixteen-ruler
dynasty portrayed on Altar Q had been an historical reality. Decipherment of hieroglyphic texts on royal monuments in many cities has also shown that in the period between AD 562 and 695, the states of Tikal and Calakmul had fought a long series of wars. The initial success of the Calakmul alliance in encircling Tikal was eventually negated by the latter's victory under Hasaw Chan K'awil. Such internecine warfare between Maya polities persisted through the ninth century, and is seen as a major factor in the collapse of Classic civilisation. Natural, rather than cultural, factors have long been suggested as operative in the collapse process, the most recent being the impact of severe drought during the period AD 800-1000. A recent core from the Cariaco Basin refines this argument, in demonstrating four multi-year (<6) episodes of exceptionally severe drought at roughly half-century intervals between AD 760 and 910. The Maya collapse remains mysterious in its finality, but the multiplicity of causes underlying it are becoming much clearer.
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Michael J Berridge Laboratory of Molecular Signalling, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge 27 November 2006 Calcium Signalling in Health and Disease
Calcium (Ca2+) is a highly versatile intracellular signal capable of regulating many different processes. To achieve this versatility, the signalling system operates in many different spatial and temporal modes thus enabling it to function over a wide dynamic range. At any moment in time, the level of intracellular Ca2+ is determined by a balance between the ON reactions that introduce Ca2+ into the cytoplasm and the OFF reactions during which this signal is removed through the combined action of buffers, pumps and exchangers. Cells have access to a very extensive Ca2+ signalling toolkit from which each cell type expresses a unique set of components to create Ca2+ signalling systems with widely different spatial and temporal properties. Spatial properties are particularly relevant for fast responses where components of the ON reactions and their downstream effectors are closely associated. This spatial contiguity is less apparent for the slower responses such as gene transcription, fertilisation and cell proliferation, where Ca2+ signals tend to operate more globally and
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where temporal properties of signalling become increasingly important, with signalling represented as repetitive Ca2+ transients and waves. Such Ca2+ signalling systems are not fixed in stone, but are constantly being remodelled to adapt to changing circumstances to ensure that each specific cell type continues to deliver the Ca2+ signals that characterises its unique function. It seems that Ca2+ itself plays a critical role in this internal assessment mechanism by remodelling its own signalling pathway. A number of important disease states (hypertension, congestive heart failure, manic depressive illness, Alzheimers disease) may result from abnormal remodelling of Ca2+ signalling systems. A good example is congestive heart failure, a major cause of human morbidity and mortality, which is controlled by a number of signalling pathways of which Ca2+ seems to play a prominent role. One of the characteristics of cardiac hypertrophy is that there appears to be a process of de-
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differentiation in that the hypertrophic stimuli activate a programme of foetal cardiac gene transcription. It is proposed that phenotypic stability is maintained by the normal cardiac cell Ca2+ transients. However, a change in the properties of these transients may alter transcription to bring about the phenotypic remodelling that occurs during hypertrophy. A major problem with trying to understand cardiac hypertrophy is the fact that the heart is not quiescent, but continues to contract regularly, driven by periodic Ca2+ signals that flood through the cytoplasm and nucleus every few seconds. The extrinsic factors that drive this hypertrophic response (e.g. mechanical load, loss of myocytes and endocrine factors) act against this background of repetitive Ca2+ pulses. How do normal cardiac cells avoid triggering a hypertrophic response? It seems that subtle changes in the characteristics of the individual
Ca2+ transients (e.g. increases in amplitude or width) induced by hypertrophic stimuli may be sufficient to activate the novel transcriptional events responsible for the phenotypic remodelling that leads to hypertrophy. While the initial hypertrophy is driven primarily by extrinsic factors, the transition to congestive heart failure may depend upon intrinsic control mechanisms designed to maintain phenotypic stability. This more speculative aspect of the working hypothesis proposes that the increase in Ca2+ signalling that occurs during the initial hypertrophy phase triggers a progressive down regulation of the cardiac signalsome such that it fails to deliver the strong Ca2+ pulses necessary to maintain the cardiac pump cycle. It is this failure of the Ca2+ signaling system that is responsible for the failing heart.
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Professor George Henderson Emeritus Professor of Mediaeval Art, University of Cambridge Dr Isabel Henderson OBE Former Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge 4 December 2006 Visual Theology in Pictish Art Early commentators on Pictish sculpture tended to misconstrue the figurative subjects, applying inappropriate cultural contexts and interpretations, being ignorant of the exegetical techniques practised by early mediaeval scholars and artists. Reiterating and extending arguments put forward jointly by George and Isabel Henderson in their book The Art of the Picts (Thames & Hudson, 2004), this lecture put the case for recognising the presence of learned and sensitive Christian imagery in many of the principal visual monuments surviving from the Pictish period, c.600 ADc.850 AD. At its clearest and most direct, in the cross-slab No 7 at St Vigeans, the pediment of the Nigg cross-slab, and the fragmentary cross-slab at Meigle, No 27, Pictish sculptors literally visualised canonical scriptural and hagiographical texts written by the Apostles Paul and James and by the Church Father St Jerome. What is even more striking is the way in which Pictish artists went beyond their immediate literary sources, to gloss and underline one pictorial image by others, so
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that by conflation or combination of imagery the stone sculptures themselves comprise homilies, explorations of and meditations on theological themes. The great cross-slab at Nigg does not only respond accurately to a close reading of St Jeromes narrative account of the life of the Desert Fathers, the founders of western monasticism, but is unique in its mystical representation of the moment of the consecration of the sacred elements in the Mass, while another portion of the cross-slab investigates in a wholly original way the scriptural theme of Gods judgements, dashing down and raising up. Pictish sculptors were obviously familiar with basic Early Christian motifs, such as Jonah and the whale and Daniel in the lions den, symbolising Christs death and resurrection, but there is a boldness and freedom in how these motifs are employed, supporting the thesis that Pictish art carries us into the core of Pictish intellectual life and makes up for the loss of other forms of evidence, Pictish poetry and scriptural commentaries. A moral pastoral dimension is apparent in
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Pictish sculpture, for example in the sculpture at Meigle anticipating the later mediaeval illustrations of the Gospel story of Dives and Lazarus, and in the emphasis on the redemption of the sinner, grandly conveyed by the huge cross -slab, Meigle No 2. The high intellectual level of the visual programmes planned and executed by Pictish sculptors helps to explain what has in recent years become generally accepted, namely that Pictish designers set standards for the representation of sacred subjects, notably the
symbols of the Evangelists, which were thereafter followed by the illuminators of the famous early Insular Gospel Books, of Durrow, Durham, Cambridge, and Echternach. Pictish artists were recogniseably at the receiving end of exotic visual material, from far off in Europe and beyond, which has left few or no traces in the contemporary arts elsewhere in Britain. The eighth century,the age of the Iconoclastic controversy, saw Pictish artists at the forefront of the orthodox cause, unprecedentedly inventive in the use of visual imagery in the service of the Christian faith.
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Professor Sue Black OBE FRSE Head of Unit, Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology, University of Dundee 11 December 2006 Forensic Anthropology The Journey from Culloden to Iraq Forensic Anthropology In the real world. The Edinburgh Lectures Few disciplines have suffered as much from the intrusion of popular media culture as forensic anthropology. From the smiling skull uncovered for Taggart or reconstructed for Morse to the heroines of Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. Every now and again we have to even stand up to Amanda Burton and good old Quincy. The cameras have been admitted into our isolated academic world and sometimes it is difficult to live up to the publics expectations. So what is forensic anthropology? One curmudgeonly Sergeant was overheard to comment in words similar to What the heck do we want an anthropologist for were not looking for the Amazon? It is the frequent misconception by the public that forensic anthropology must deal with long lost peoples from unknown civilisations, isolated somewhere up an equatorial rain forest. The other misconception is that it is a subject that just deals with dry old bones but both are far from the truth. The word forensic is derived from the Latin forensis meaning pertaining to the court and anthropology literally means the study of man. Therefore by definition, forensic anthropology is the study of man for the purposes of informing the court. Whilst the discipline operates to assist the investigative forces, its ultimate lord and master is the courts of justice. The practitioners of this subject are expert witnesses whose testimony in court carries considerable weight and therefore their training must be intensive and lengthy. Within the UK, forensic anthropologists assist the investigative forces in the identification of the deceased. The victim may have passed from this world recently or it may show significant decomposition or indeed be skeletal or fragmented in its presentation. The forensic anthropologist must be able to carry out their work regardless of the manner in which the body is presented. Our prime function is not to determine the cause or manner of the death (that is the remit of the forensic pathologist) but rather it is to assist in the identity of the deceased. The remit of the job has expanded in the last 1015
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years as we are more frequently asked to assist the international community in the investigation of war crimes, abuses of human rights and humanitarian repatriation. The mass graves of Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Iraq require our assistance as much as the disasters of the World Trade Centre, the Asian Tsunami or the London bombings. Wherever the deceased require to be identified, there is work for the forensic anthropologist. This is not a profession for the weak or the mildly interested. There is no such thing as a typical day and there is no such thing as an easy job. One case may find you in the wilds of Scotland excavating an abandoned quarry for the skeletal remains of a mother and child who have been missing for 27 years with no more to worry you than the midges.
But it may equally find you in the depths of Sierra Leone being surrounded by armed guards whose sole aim is to prevent the rebels from capturing you as a hostage. Glamorous? Oh dear me no! Nobody looks good in a scene-ofcrime paper suit. Demanding? Unquestionably. 12 hour shifts for six weeks without a break. Interesting? Absolutely no doubt. No two cases or two days are ever the same. Addictive? Without question. Each and every case is the challenge that demands to be conquered. Would I encourage my daughters to follow in my footsteps? Dont be silly!
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Heather Reid BBC Broadcast Meteorologist 12 December 2006 RSE Christmas Lecture (University of Stirling) Weather Forecasting in the 21st Century The Suns energy warms the Earth and causes air to rise. This simple process, coupled with the Earths Rotation leads to complex global weather systems. Predicting the weather has challenged meteorologists for centuries. Modern forecasts rely on the latest technology, world-wide observations and a network of satellites. The days of damp seaweed are long gone! Forecasters can access computer models, satellite and radar, and real-time observations. However, our climate appears to be changing and global warming may provide the greatest challenge yet. This presentation explored weather forecasting in the 21st Century, and took a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation of TV forecasts.
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Dr Fiona Watson, Director, AHRC Research Centre for Environmental History, University of Stirling 16 January 2007 Environmental Choices Regional Lecture (Perth Concert Hall) Using History and Science to Understand Scotlands Changing Biodiversity, 1600-2000 Environmental scientists are well aware of the importance of the past in understanding the present, but historians are rarely involved in analysing landscape change, despite their disciplines ability to help establish not only what happened but why. Dr Watsons own work with an interdisciplinary team in the Centre for Environmental History at the University of Stirling seeks to unravel the highly complex relationship between nature and human activity in the Scottish uplands over the last four hundred years. The results provide a fascinating insight into the shaping of the landscape and the attitudes of those who inhabited the wildernesses we love today.
This lecture was organised jointly with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) and Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
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Professor Anne Glover Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland 13 February 2007 The 2007 ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture Does Science Matter? At the 2007 ECRR Peter Wilson lecture in February, Scotlands first Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Anne Glover, posed the question: Does science matter? Her conclusion? In a word: Yes! But her argument was, of course, slightly more complex It started with the Big Bang and ended with a plea for Scotlands scientists to stop being silent on the issues affecting us all, but Anne Glovers lecture on Does science matter? was sound advice for everyone concerned about the image and the future of science. Professor Glover explained how science helps us understand the world we live in, from the birth of the cosmos to the ongoing search for dark matter. Along the way, she also covered microbiology, climate change, cancer, renewable energy and nanotechnology (including glass that cleans itself), concluding that even though science may cause many problems, it also provides good solutions. Controversy was never far away in the course of the lecture, including the worry that water may be the new oil (thus the need for the
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self-cleaning glass), and the popular notion that scientists are not just boring but bad for the planet. For Professor Glover, science is not just a cure for the ills caused by humans, its one of the symptoms of the human condition. Her argument is that because we are good at reproduction and live in large communities and interact with our environment, we cause lots of damage including global warming. To counter this, as we have well developed brains, we also have a drive to solve problems (whether theyre our fault or not) and need constant stimulation, which is why we need both the arts and the sciences. What concerns Professor Glover is that we are more removed from science today than we have been for decades. We may be on the verge of catapulting spacecraft out of the solar system, but can we cure cancer or reverse climate change? Professor Glover remains optimistic, however. For example, in the study of microbes, she not only sees healthy progress in pure understanding but also important
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technological spin-offs. While trying to make microbes glow in the dark, so they can observe them better, microbiologists have in the process developed a number of new applications, including biosensors which may help us measure toxicity or even prevent germ warfare attacks and develop new drugs without animal testing. Industrialisation may have caused global warming, but Professor Glover also sees hope in new technologies such as carbon capture and renewable energy. Science has identified the problem, she said, and enables us to do something about it. According to Professor Glover, the role of science, and her own position as the Chief Scientific Advisor, is likely to grow in the future, as the issues we face become increasingly complex. Science is the past and the present, and it will certainly be the future, she said. In Scotland, we produce some of the best science in the world, and we have a legacy to build on, developing new policies pinned on solid scientific evidence. The questions raised after the lecture reflected this broad philosophical tone, touching on everything from ethics to bad education. Asked about the profit-driven nature of much scientific research,
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Professor Glover said commercial pressures can stimulate development, while ethical pressures can also have a positive impact. The role of the Chief Scientific Advisor herself also came under the spotlight, including the comment that good scientific advice will often produce contradictory views while bad advice can lead to even greater complications. Professor Glover then turned her attention to government and education, saying it is hard for those without a solid scientific background to embrace scientific advice, stressing how she saw the need to strengthen the science base in the Executive and communicate science much better. Government is not very smart at procuring advice, she commented, adding that part of her job was to filter conflicting advice and draw on the support of other specialists. Do too many scientists overclaim achievements in the scramble for funding? In defence of her colleagues, Professor Glover said the media were sometimes to blame, more interested in squeezing out sensational headlines than difficult and complex things like scientific truth. And education lies at the root of the problem, she added.
The way science is taught in our schools is not very exciting, she said. We must declutter the curriculum and place more emphasis on hands-on experiments. Finally, Professor Glover called on Scotlands scientists to speak up
and express their views and stop being so frightened of being misinterpreted, so that what really matters in science (including dark matter) is better understood not just by politicians but by everyone.
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Professor Alan Heavens Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Edinburgh 27 February 2007 RSE Roadshow Public Lecture (Ullapool High School) Black Holes and Small Bangs What happens to a star? Big stars are in delicate balance, kept alive by a big nuclear reactor in the middle. But what happens when the fuel runs out? Some stars dont take it very well, and explode violently in a supernova explosion. Others may collapse dramatically into a Black Hole. Here we explore the strange properties of curved space around Black Holes and dip our toes into wormholes, time travel and the physics in the movies.
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Professor Jerome McGann The John Stewart Bryan Professor of English, University of Virginia 8 March 2007 Philology in a New Key: Humane Studies in Digital Space
Professor Janet McDonald introduced Professor McGann with a brief biography of his writings on Byron and his editing of the poets seven volume definitive standard writings. She outlined Professor McGanns central role in the digitisation of texts and promotion of online open source material for scholars. His development of a digital project on Dante Gabriel Rossetti has led to the launching of the NINES (Networked Infrastructure for Nineteenth-century Electronic Scholarship (www.nines.org)) online programme for digital interpretation and peer-review. The digital transformation of our museums and archives and its impact upon traditional paperbased publication has come to the attention of scholars in recent times. The rise of digital technology is already impacting upon scholarship and education and a practical, accessible way of maximising its usage and accessibility must be put in place. Professor McGann has been seeking to find out more about what the instruments in this
evolution are, how they should be used and what they will look like. The library, especially the research library, is the cornerstone, if not the very foundation, of modern humanities. It is undergoing right now a complete digital transformation. In the coming decades the process has already begun the entirety of our cultural inheritance will be transformed and re-edited in digital forms. Do we understand what that means, what problems it brings, how they might be addressed? The largely digitally illiterate academic world puts many scholars on the margins. Across several prestigious American universities, including Harvard, Princeton and Cornell, there is not a single faculty member engaged in any digital research in spite of exponential development of the web. There are vast repositories of information, yet there remains a lack of strong infrastructure to digitise written material and create an accessible forum for 19th century romantic literature scholars in particular.
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To learn a foreign language, one must do more than study books. One must immerse oneself in the language and culture and use it effectively. Understanding and recognising the importance of the digital revolution demands handson collaboration and real participation. There is, argues Professor McGann, a deeply imbedded ideological conflict that frames the crisis in humanities scholarship. Critical theory is in a dismal state, according to Bruno Latour, which points up the need to retrieve a realist attitude. While general book publishing moves forward and responds to steady demand, the academic marketplace has drastically shrunk as consumer demand has decreased. While American scholarly publishers of the 1990s produced print runs of around 1000 to 1500 copies, the number has now plummeted to around 100 to 150. This trend will not be reversed. As scholars produce more and more work, they pass it to a delivery system with a diminishing capacity to sustain its publication. Many now realise that online publication is the natural and inevitable response to this general problem of scholarly and educational communication, not only for accessing existing academic publications but as a medium for
new publishing and peer-review. The learning curve is steep and the upfront costs are substantial in a medium which, unlike paperbased publishing, is not yet strongly established. Instead, digital publishing, even the best of it, is all more or less atomised, growing like so many Topsies. Worse, these creatures are idiosyncratically designed and so cant easily talk to each other. The lack of funding resources also contributes to the challenge of ensuring their maintenance, development and survival. The work regularly passes without much practical institutional notice. Accepted professional standards do not control the work in objective ways. Most of it comes into being without oversight or peer-review. Among universities, humanities and education faculties will not take digitisation seriously until procedures for initiating it are expanded. During the last decade or so, the needs of research scholars have developed and extended so that they need more than basic software. What is required now is a full online publishing structure with the facility to connect paper-based material to digital format. With this need clearly identified, Professor McGann began working on two projects that would test and develop his understanding of how digital technology might
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work. First, he digitally edited and keyed-in published material at the Californian Institute of Technology. Then he began work on the Dante Gabriel Rossetti archive. I learned a lot more when the Rossetti archive got underway. I could see that digital devices in all their complexity are required and that we should put published books online. The IVANHOE, JUXTA and COLLEX systems grew out of the Rossetti project, the premise for which was to create an integrated an open-source social space and system. There is a tension a collision between paper-based books and digital material and that can be very enlightening. I could see the benefits of digital tools in pushing us to better understand books. The NINES initiative establishes an online environment for publishing peer-reviewed research in nineteenth-century British and American studies. Primarily an institutional mechanism for digitally-organised research and scholarship, NINES also includes pedagogical and classroom components. NINES acts as a professional facilitator and as an advocacy group to protect the interests of scholars and educators. Its purpose includes liaison with interested publishing venues and a coordinated group of editorial boards oversees the work. NINES
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is a model and working example for scholarship that takes advantage of digital resources and internet connectivity. It provides scholars with access to a uniformly coded textual environment and a suite of computerised analytic and interpretive schools. Crucially, NINES is more than an academic exercise. It has a very practical purpose that includes modelling a technical and institutional framework that integrates our inherited archive of paperbased materials, both primary and secondary, with emerging forms of digital scholarship and criticism. It also begins to provide a suite of user-friendly procedures and accessible digital tools to help scholars and students to produce interesting work in digital form. Digital technology offers remarkable new possibilities for studying, analysing and interpreting our cultural inheritance in ways both individual and collaborative that have not been possible previously. NINES includes a markup schema designed specifically for literary and cultural studies materials. Digital tools to provide complex interpretive operations help scholars to transpose paper-based functions into a digital environment. A text comparison tool called JUXTA allows comparison and collation of textual similarities and differences in a given set of equivalent documents. IVANHOE
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offers online collaborative space for organisaing interpretive investigations of traditional humanities of any kind. COLLEX develops tools to allow users to assemble and share virtual collections and to present annotated exhibits. Professor McGann describes himself as a book scholar, about as traditional as you get and points to Swinburnes line on humanism: Glory to man in the highest, for man is the master of things which, he says, is very much to his taste. He is convinced, however, that the road ahead is
inevitable, whether or not we chose to take it: we should all be clear about the slow train thats coming and that wont be sidetracked in terms of digital transformation of research archives. A range of questions featured issues on IP and copyright control; how internet content could be effectively supervised; the risk of individual universities demanding their own unique systems; how the quality of submissions might be overseen and the ontological differences between a paperbased publication and its online equivalent.
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Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas FRS Hon FREng Hon FRSE Honorary Professor, Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge and former Director, Royal Institution of Great Britain 30 April 2007 The Unpredictability of Science and its Consequences Tales of the unexpected No-one knew what to expect when they arrived for the RSE lecture in April by Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas on The unpredictability of science and its consequences. But as the evening unfolded, his insights into scientific discovery proved that happy accidents drive human progress just as much as clever calculations The clue didnt come till the end of the lecture. Sir John then revealed his secret he had spent four years advising the cabinet office on the future of technology and science, and almost none of his predictions had come true. Thomas and his fellow committee members had managed to identify the enormous potential of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and confocal light microscopy, but most of their other predictions ended up in the shredder, while many other key developments (including the spectacular rise of the shredder) didnt even appear on the radar. Speaking of radar, this was one of the technologies missed by a similar US Commission appointed by President Roosevelt in 1937 to
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identify the major developments in science and technology over the next 30 years. Roosevelt wanted to plan for the future and optimise deployment of his national resources, but the commission failed to notice many imminent breakthroughs, such as radar and lasers, fax machines, biotechnology, antibiotics and jet planes, despite the fact that all of them already existed, at least in the text books some of them, like fax machines, for more than a century. Some members of the US Commission had probably spent too much time reading Scientific American, the academic publication which had confidently predicted in 1920 that steam planes were the way to fly in future. This echoed the remarks of the eminent Scottish scientist Lord Kelvin, who once declared that heavier-than-air flying machines were impossible. Another of Sir Johns heroes, the physicist Sir Ernest Rutherford, had also been guilty of getting it terribly wrong. In 1934, he predicted that anyone who expected to generate power from the transformation of atoms was talking moonshine.
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Was this the same Rutherford who turned the world of science upside down, and in the process disproved Kelvins theory that the Earth was only 100 million years old? The history of science, said Professor Thomas, is littered with inaccurate predictions and blindspots, dating back to Emperor Vespasians chief military advisor Frontinus, who thought invention had already reached its limits with the catapult and other hightech weapons. According to Professor Thomas, unpredictability is actually one of the engines of science while proving the prophets wrong it may actually encourage innovation. When the inventor of the jet engine, Sir Frank Whittle, read in 1940 that according to the latest scientific wisdom, jet turbines would never take off, despite the fact he had already built a prototype eight years before, he said it was a good thing he was too stupid to know this at the time. Even the experts cant see more than three years ahead, said Professor Thomas. But rather than discuss how experts get it wrong so often, lets ask how science and technology progress the internal and external factors which drive science forward. Professor Thomas then described how it is chance (and sometimes more than chance) that leads to
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many major scientific breakthroughs, together with the interplay of political, societal, commercial and military influences. Sometimes, he said, it is a case of being in the right place at the right time, and making the right decision. Sometimes, he added, it is the fanatically keen experimentalist and an allconsuming passion approaching madness a blend of scientific, artistic and neurotic qualities which drives the inventor. Sometimes, it is money War also drives technology and science like the Internet, developed by the military in the US to defend its data systems from a nuclear attack. Without the existence of a Soviet threat, the scientists may not have even tried to invent it. And who could have predicted the increase in the number of nodes on the network, from only four in 1969 to 23 nodes two years later and billions today? Exponential is not good enough to describe this incredible growth, Professor Thomas commented. Paranoia can also lead to exciting discoveries. In 1969, for example, when US officials suspected that the Soviets were exploding nuclear bombs on the dark side of the moon, American military scientists investigated further and discovered the existence of gamma ray bursts events which happen once or twice a day and
last 1/100th of a second, emitting energy equivalent to all the fuel burned by the sun in the course of its lifetime, signalling the birth of a black hole. Without the Cold War, it is possible this cosmic phenomenon would not have been detected for many more years. The lecture then covered a few hundred years of inventions, from the microscope and telescope which let us see bacteria and faraway stars, to the much underrated charged coupled device (CCD) which enables us to see the tiny organisms living in the ocean and expands our view of the cosmos by a factor of over 1,000, to observe the birth, growth and death of galaxies as well as to see whats going on inside the human body, via endoscopy. Other breakthroughs touched upon during the lecture included genetic fingerprinting, helicobacter pylori (the bacteria which causes ulcers), radio astronomy and lithium, as well as more domestic inventions like double glazing and pressure cookers all of which owe a debt to the times and the places they came from, as well as serendipity plus profit and political ambition. For example, lithium is now widely used to treat manic depression, but its discovery was more or less an accident the lithium salt of uric acid, being soluble, was used
as a substitute for uric acid, which is insoluble, in an experiment to test a speculative theory. Radio astronomy developed from research into something a lot more mundane interference when Janski discovered that radio waves, coming from deep outer space, were the source of the crackling, rather than the circuitry inside the wireless. The platins used to treat testicular cancer resulted from an error in the lab, when researchers discovered that platinum not the electrical field they were using was responsible for the effects they observed. The best accident in physics, according to Professor Thomas, happened in 1895, when Wilhelm von Roentgen discovered the existence of x-rays during an experiment involving electricity and phosphors, when something unpredictable happened. Being in the right place at the right time has also been responsible for some of the most sensational discoveries e.g. when Rutherford and Soddy departed from all of the dogma with their theory of atomic transmutation (including isotopes and radioactive half-life), which depended on having the funding and all the resources in place at their lab in Montreal in the early 1900s; or when Crick and Watson heard a scientist talking at dinner in 1953 and discovered the
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missing piece in the DNA jigsaw, saving them years of research. If Michael Faraday had not attended Sir Humphrey Davys lecture, and gone on to study electromagnetism, asked Professor Thomas, thus inspiring the theories of Maxwell and Einstein, what would life be like today? However, if we focus too much on esoteric scientific theory and not enough on practical applications, we may fail to develop things which impact our everyday life e.g. many useful electronic devices. Sir John also suggested that all the great moments in science result from an almost alchemical meeting of minds,
when different scientific fields collide and lead to unexpected consequences for them all. Human chemistry and educated guesses may therefore be more critical to scientific progress than all the noblest efforts of political and academic planners. Even making too many plans for the future may be a mistake, Professor Thomas concluded, since the future is full of surprises. As one of the audience said at the end of the lecture, You cant predict the unpredictable predictable is boring. And based on the evidence of his lecture, boring is not a word in Professor Thomass vocabulary.
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Professor Paul Jowitt FRSE Professor of Civil Engineering Systems and Executive Director, Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology (SISTech), Heriot-Watt University, Vice-President, Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) 31 May 2007 (The Teacher Building, Glasgow) Engineering Civilisation from the Shadows The Brunel International Lecture The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) established the Brunel International Lecture in 1999 in memory of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The sixth Brunel International Lecture, was launched in London on June 6 2006, and was repeated across the globe to influential engineers, parliamentarians and business leaders, to raise the profile of civil engineerings capabilities and responsibilities in tackling poverty and climate change. Lectures were held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Singapore, Belfast, Cardiff and Glasgow. The Brunel International Lectures have covered topics ranging from Infrastructure, Technology for the Third Millennium, Sustainable Development, Poverty Alleviation, and Water for the World. The 2006 Brunel International Lecture Engineering Civilisation from the Shadows draws on elements of all of them. Its focus is on the role of engineering in addressing the twin spectres facing the world in
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the 21st century: climate change and world poverty. How can engineers help to alleviate worldwide poverty? What role can they play in addressing the impacts felt by climate change? How can they create a more sustainable future for civilisation? Poverty: Engineering the poor out of the dark shadows cast by world poverty and the misery it generates. Climate change: Engineering the world away from the equally long shadows thrown by an energy and environmental crisis and with global climate at a tipping point. The resolutions for these two issues are not unrelated. It was no coincidence they were the central issues at the G8 summit in Gleneagles in July 2005. Further information about the Brunel Lecture can be found on the ICE website, www.ice.org.uk/ brunel
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Professor David W Macdonald Director, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University 18 June 2007 A Brush with Foxes and other Carnivore Tales From the intimate to the epic these were tales that swept from life among a single family of foxes to the fates of whole species. Professor David W Macdonalds RSE lecture provided a close encounter with wildlife from Britain to Africa. In each case he highlighted how long-term scientific study is the most effective way to understand the problems animals face and provide effective solutions. Conservation projects have seen the Professor and his colleagues carry out detailed studies of the lives and habits of many carnivore species from love-cheat she-wolves in Ethiopia to sheepstealing cheetahs in Namibia. One factor tends to remain constant: when humans and animals come into conflict it is the latter which lose out. This is true whether it is through direct action by farmers to protect livestock or as a side-effect of global warming. As a pioneer of pure and applied techniques for the study of animal behaviour, Professor Macdonalds work has helped to redress the balance by finding ways of tackling the problems, which will protect the interests of animals and people.
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It is an article of faith that each animal and its interaction with human society must be researched in depth and over time, in order to be properly understood. In some cases the results have offered hope for creatures on the verge of extinction. By the early 1990s the elegant Ethiopian wolf was rarer than the giant panda and its future looked bleak. Contact with domestic dogs brought successive rabies epidemics, with one in 1992 wiping out 77% of the population. Sophisticated modelling of the wolves behaviour meant that when the disease struck again, the scientists were ready. By using a carefully targeted vaccination programme they created a cordon sanitaire which prevented widespread destruction. Behind the emergency measures lay a new appreciation of the complexity of life among the wolves. While the female in the Alpha pair - the breeding couple in each pack - appeared the model of fidelity on her home ground, she would regularly stray and mate with many of the males she encountered in neighbouring
territories. Despite this, because reproduction was limited to one pair per pack, wolf numbers were slow to recover after epidemics. By working with local people and founding the EWCP (Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme) the Professor and his colleagues have attempted to transform the animals prospects. This has been done by changing the perception of them from a threat to livestock into an economic asset. The EWCP is now the areas biggest employer and public education means tourists are keen to take wolfwatching holidays. The challenge of rabies, and other diseases, has become a familiar theme in the work of Oxfords Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). Investigations into British badgers (which involved some of the earliest use of infra-red technology to study them at night) have profound implications for arguments about whether culls help stop the spread of bovine TB. The results suggested that such culls were counter-productive. While TB dropped on farms in the immediate area, it increased among their neighbours as survivors moved elsewhere. Again, the years of study of the badgers, involving the monitoring of 1,000 individuals including a veteran 16-year-old named No Ears, brought insights that were
by turns endearing and alarming. They revealed a society where more than half the young are sired by outsiders, where males outdo each other by digging the biggest holes, and where mutual grooming may be of immense importance but sometimes the temptation to bite the other badgers backside is simply irresistible. According to Professor Macdonald there is also evidence that global warming is affecting numbers in the study area at Wytham Woods. There was an initial doubling in the population as the badgers could continue catching their staple diet of earthworms for longer due to wetter, warmer winters. However, this was followed by a dramatic decline as the death toll from road accidents outstripped their ability to breed. Namibia, home to a third of the worlds remaining cheetahs, provided a superb example of how research combined with imagination can help overcome major challenges. Herdsmen had killed thousands of the predators in retaliation for the loss of a couple of hundred sheep a year. Once the problem was understood, an initiative was launched to introduce powerful Anatolian Shepherd dogs to guard flocks. These helped remove the perceived need to kill cheetahs as
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annual sheep losses plummeted from a reported 29 to three per farmer. Further east in Zimbabwe, the Professor and his colleagues have been involved in efforts to stop the decline of the lion. While Lions enjoyed total protection in the Hwange National Park, the authorities took the controversial step of allowing limited hunting outside the area. The aim was to discourage indiscriminate killing by making them economically valuable as an attraction for wealthy foreign big game hunters. Research showed that the lions tended to wander beyond the limits of the park, meaning that almost the entire population was vulnerable to hunters. Most of the animals were killed within 1km of the park boundary. Even more concerning was that as time went on, the older males were disappearing, so younger males and females were being shot. Firm evidence for what was happening to the lion population resulted in a moratorium on licensed hunting in the region. Back in Europe, WildCRU has been involved in research into the effect of the spread of the American mink. Beautiful to look at, these highly efficient predators have had a devastating effect on the British water vole population and on the smaller European mink in places like Russia. In the UK they bred after escaping fur farms,
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and in the east they were actively encouraged as something for trappers to catch. However, WildCRU findings vividly illustrated that even where there is a seemingly simple case of cause and effect, the reality is often rather different. According to Professor Macdonald, the use of agricultural chemicals had severely undermined the UKs water voles before the mink turned up. They were already on a tightrope. Mink may have pulled the trigger but agriculture had cocked the pistol. More optimistically, research is ongoing to discover the most effective strategies for reviving the water vole population. Part of the answer may be in allowing nature to take its course. The spread of the mink followed the sharp decline of the native otter population. Now however cleaner rivers mean the otters are returning and, as the larger predator, wherever they appear the American mink go into retreat. Similarly, a breeding programme on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa could restore the fortunes of the European mink and there are indications that nature is responding simultaneously. In what the Professor said may be evolution in action there is evidence from the teams study area in Belarus that remaining wild European mink are getting bigger - perhaps
better able to fend off the invaders. There are instances where projects have brought widespread benefits to human health and society. The Professor founded WildCRU - the first research unit of its kind - in 1986 at a point when there was growing worry about rabies in Europe. By developing a close understanding of fox behaviour, the unit gained insights into one of the key avenues through which the disease could spread, potentially infecting domestic animals and people. The results played an important role in the introduction of the oral vaccination programme that proved such an effective response. At the same time it allowed the researchers to appreciate the sophistication of fox family behaviour. This included witnessing how a vixen, known as Big Ears, climbed the social order to replace another called White Paws as top female. In a remarkable scene the scientists witnessed White Paws submit to her rival and then become wet nurse to her cubs. Nowadays WildCRU is firmly established north of the border in
Professor Macdonalds native Scotland, where it is involved in the problematic issue of protecting the last remaining wildcats. Despite being legally protected, there has been little consensus on how gamekeepers should distinguish them from feral or domestic cats that are regarded as vermin on grouse moors. The issue is now critical as advanced genetic testing and related evidence suggests their numbers could be precariously low one estimate being as low as 400. The Professors team, including collaborators in the museum in Edinburgh, have identified a straightforward list of pelt characteristics that should help make sure the law is workable. Yet, as ever, nature refuses to allow matters to be quite that simple. Of all the animals studied, the one with the most powerful genetic wildcat characteristics looked like an everyday moggy. The cat which was furthest from domestic actually wore a domestic coat. So the issue is, should it be cherished for its genes or eradicated because of its coat?
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Professor Sir Harry Kroto FRS HonFRSE Royal Society Research Professor, School of Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science, University of Sussex 20 June 2007 Architecture in Nano-Space Sir Harry Kroto was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for his role in the discovery of the Buckyball the molecule that has become the icon of what we now call nanotechnology. Refusing to rest on his laurels, however, Sir Harry has been heavily involved for more than a decade in creating platforms for scientists to communicate on TV and the Internet. Some years ago he set up the Vega Science Trust which makes science programmes for TV and the Internet and now he is focusing on Global Educational Outreach (GEO) an Internet-based education initiative to persuade the world that knowledge of science engineering and maths is vital for our survival through the 21st century Being told that Scotland is the greatest wee country on earth should have made Sir Harry Kroto feel very welcome. After all, Sir Harry has done more than most to explore the small, small world of nanotechnology. In fact, to give his audience an idea of the scale of his discovery, he explained that a Buckyball is so small that when you compare it to the size of a football, its as small as the football compared to the Earth or, if you prefer, 100 million times smaller than a football. The Buckyballs official name is Buckminsterfullerene, because of its resemblance to the geodesic dome, designed by the American architect Buckminster Fuller. It is a molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms, elegantly clustered into a network with the same pattern as that of a modern-day football. This symmetrical structure makes it the most robust molecule of all. Its elongated cousins, the Zeppelin-shaped nanotubes, are equally exciting, according to Sir Harry, because they offer the potential to create a material about six times lighter and 100 times stronger than steel. If we can solve the technical problem of mass-producing this material, it would revolutionise engineering, because it would be ideal as a building material, for everything from super-light aircraft and cars to ultra-strong bridges and skyscrapers. In addition, these materials promise major applications in nanoscale electronics and could revolutionise computing by enabling the creation of highly intelligent,
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incredibly compact devices. The molecules also appear to have enormous potential as delivery vehicles for therapeutic drugs, travelling essentially noninvasively into the body to release their cargo only when they arrive at their target, rather than the scatter-gun approach of most medical treatments. So, where did the Buckyball come from? How many are out there? And how do you make one? The simple answer is that they are everywhere, created by explosions in the atmosphere for example, when lightning strikes carbon, or even in the flames of Bunsen burners. And scientists can simulate this natural process to create them in the lab, to selfassemble into sheets, wires and tubular forms. In 1985, Sir Harry and his colleagues were the first people ever to see C60 when they zapped a small piece of graphite with a laser. When they analysed the ablated material using a mass spectrometer, they discovered to their (and everyone elses) complete surprise that a highly stable special species consisting of 60 carbon atoms had formed spontaneously. At first, many scientists didnt believe them and several papers were published disputing their contention. In 1990, however, the Buckyball structure was confirmed as correct
and it was hailed in 1991 as Molecule of the Year by Science magazine. Five years later, Sir Harry, Robert Curl and Richard Smalley were jointly awarded the ultimate prize. Sir Harry in his lecture explained how his journey had started playing with Meccano as a boy, learning how to manipulate different components. He also described his search for beautiful patterns in nature, and how he and his colleagues scanned the heavens by radioastronomy and became fascinated by the radio waves emitted by carbon molecules that were subsequently found to be present in the rapidly expanding envelopes of red giant stars. Then, as if he turned a telescope the other way round, he embarked on his quest for the atomic-scale constituents of carbon plasmas in the laboratory a quest that would eventually lead to the discovery of C60. The Buckyball has since become an icon of the new field of nanotechnology. After the excitement of the initial discovery, other scientists began to think up wacky applications as well as equally wacky but also very scary military uses, leading to what Sir Harry describes as irrational and ignorant attacks on all aspects of nanotechnology. According to our own Prince Charles and other public figures, self-replicating nanobots would turn the world
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into grey goo. However, as time evolves, more mundane applications of nanotechnology are appearing, such as suntan lotions, tennis racquets, bowling balls and self-cleaning toilets, and these now tend to grab the headlines rather than nebulous doomsday scenarios. According to Sir Harry, who helped to kick off the debate, nanotechnology could actually play a key role in saving the planet, thanks to the development of new materials such as molecular motors running on protons rather than electrons, as well as more efficient solar cells using C60 as a dopant or doping agent. The big issue is sustainability, said Sir Harry, and we will need much more sustainable technologies in future, with nanotechnology making a big contribution. According to Sir Harry, this may mean having the nanotechnological equivalent of dung beetles, to recycle our discarded technologies. As well as saving energy and helping to save the planet, nanotechnology would have many other practical uses, said Sir Harry. Bundles of nanotubes would be stronger than any material ever created, partly because they would not have the same kind of defects that limit the tensile strengths of all other materials e.g. unlike wood that easily splits in two after
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you saw half-way through, a defect in one nanotube does not pass on any fracture to neighbouring tubes. Nanowires would also make it possible to create new types of zero-loss conductors, while other nanomaterials would act as super shock absorbers, helping buildings survive during earthquakes or storms. At the opposite end of the scale, nanotechnology could also be used in genetic engineering. Yet despite these science-fictionlike predictions, Sir Harry explained, nanotechnology is as old as life itself for example, haemoglobin, the molecular motors which travel around in our bodies, delivering oxygen to muscles, etc. We havent even started thinking about the dynamics of nanotechnology, he declared. Nanotechnology is 21st-century chemistry, and we need a fundamental understanding of chemistry, because the most exciting areas of physics, engineering and biology are those which overlap with chemistry. As he switched the focus onto education, Sir Harry discussed one of the great contradictions of modern life. On the one hand, he said, one of the greatest barriers to the development of young scientists is high technology unlike the young Sir Harry, taking things apart to find out how they worked, young people today have
electronic devices which hide all their secrets. Despite being alienated from science, however, todays students now have much easier access to teaching resources, via the Internet and this is where Sir Harry now devotes much of his time, promoting the Vega Science Trust (www.vega.org.uk), a non-profitmaking organisation which broadcasts science programmes free-of-charge over the Internet. Another of his new Internet projects is GEO (Global Educational Outreach) at www.geoset.info, providing downloadable educational material to help science teachers, including recipes for hands-on projects. Television is finished, Sir Harry declared, as a medium of cultural, educational or intellectual value. Websites, he believes, will become the new digital classrooms. When asked about the problem of misinformation (particularly in medicine) and the bias towards modern, digitised sources in Google-biased research, Sir Harry said that he believed elite sites would emerge, accredited by leading scientific institutions (like the Royal Society of Edinburgh) to ensure the sources met high and reliable standards. Sir Harry is also confident that the Internet will facilitate learning by pooling universal resources, with students teaching younger
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students, like self-replicating nano-tutors. We are all experts in our own fields, he said, and the sum of our knowledge is greater than any individual business or political force, no matter how strong it may seem. Children need universally accepted truths, said Sir Harry, and science is the international language which provides it, to counter the culture which holds up Scientologist Tom Cruise as an icon and pokes fun at the scientist, Young Einstein. We have 10 times too many psychologists and media studies graduates, he added, and not enough in chemistry and physics. Perhaps, he suggested, we should talk a lot more about the humanity of science like anaesthetics and penicillin to inspire our young students. Science is different from any other subject, he said, and what makes it special is that it can only thrive if question and doubt are actively encouraged. But as he talked about the global outrage which worked against Apartheid, the humanity of science and the wonders of nanotechnology, Sir Harry brought his audience back down to earth when he said that a quarter of the worlds population still do not have electricity. Nanotechnology may be the next big thing but was Sir Harry asking us to be grateful for small mercies?
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Jan Figel' European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth 28 June 2007 Reforming Europes Universities Why and How? Royal Society of Edinburgh Annual European Lecture Jan Figel', a European Commissioner since 2004, sees his remit as central to the future success of the European Union. The Unions goal, as set down in the 2000 Lisbon Strategy, to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world can only be achieved through education and training. European universities have a potentially vital role but are currently failing to deliver all that is required of them. Commissioner Figel' opened by thanking the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) for the invitation to present the 2007 Annual European Lecture. He welcomed the opportunity provided by his visit to start to engage Scottish universities in dialogue about ways in which the university sector throughout the European Union (EU) can better contribute to economic and social policy. For the first time since the establishment of the EU, the strategic importance of education to its future success is now properly recognised. At the European level, political interest in higher education has never been greater. In discussing the reasons why reform is necessary, Commissioner Figel' avoided criticising European universities directly, couching his comments in terms of how universities might be assisted to fulfil their potential in terms of the benefits they can bring to society. In particular, he identified the opportunity for more effective interaction between education, research and business interests. In doing so he acknowledged the record of the RSE in promoting such interaction within Scotland. He also exempted Scottish universities, and British universities in general, from many of his comments, both because of their historical autonomy and because of the changes they have undergone over the past 15 years. Before expanding on his theme, Commissioner Figel' made a point of reassuring his audience that the European Commission is not seeking powers to regulate universities, and that the principle of subsidiarity applies in the sector. However, he suggested that the Commissions responsibilities as a whole afford it a perspective different from that of national authorities, and that
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thinking at the European level can usefully contribute to the development of national policies. In 2000, in what is referred to as the Lisbon Strategy, the EU set itself a new strategic goal for the next decade of creating a knowledge-based, socially-inclusive Europe. A review of progress in 2005 identified areas in which the EU is under-performing, and Commissioner Figel' translated these into a number of challenges: - Securing energy supplies while addressing climate change - Ensuring the economy is geared for globalisation - Providing a skilled workforce. Today 30% in Europe are lowskilled; by 2010 half of jobs will require high-level skills - Coping with demographic trend a smaller workforce; increased burdens on healthcare - Overcoming the innovation gap. Europe as a whole lags the US and Japan; if US continues to expand at recent rates, US citizens will be three times richer than Europeans by 2050 - Overcoming the research gap. In 2003 EU spent 1.9% of GDP on research compared with 2.7% in US and 3.2% in Japan; EU had 5.4 researchers per 1000 labour force and US had 9 per 1000
The Commissioner argued that the key to meeting these challenges is quite simply, knowledge, reinforcing the need to reform higher education. The Commission sees universities within the EU as being too fragmented into small national systems; too uniform compared with the US; generally disconnected from the business sector and the needs of the labour market; over-regulated; and under-funded. Whilst progress is being made towards the creation of a European Higher Education Area (the Bologna Process) Commissioner Figel' argued that, while curricular reforms are important, reform of university governance and funding is also required. Member States elsewhere need to move towards the situation in Britain with universities being afforded greater autonomy in return for increased accountability for their performances. Funding for universities throughout Europe, including the UK, must increase. In 2004 the EU spent 1.18% of GDP on higher education compared with 2.95% in the US, equivalent to a difference of 10,000 Euros per student. In return for less interference by government and more money, universities will be expected to interact more with other sectors of society, in particular with business. Although accepting that many universities in northern Europe,
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including in Scotland, have developed effective interfaces with business, elsewhere the academic mindset is such that working with business is sometimes considered to conflict with the prime purpose of universities. In an attempt to tackle this situation, the Commission is planning a European Forum to explore stronger university-business partnerships and formulate proposals for action and new areas of co-operation. On a more positive note, Commissioner Figel' welcomed the endorsement by Member States a few days earlier of the proposal for a European Institute of Technology (EIT). Although final approval is subject to the views of the European Parliament, there is confidence in Brussels that the EIT will go ahead and will act as a pathfinder in reforming European higher education. In keeping with his desire for dialogue, Commissioner Figels lecture was followed by a lively Q&A session in which he acknowledged that university funding is a political question but argued that, in addition to demanding better value from current spend, in-
creased funding is essential if universities are to develop their potential along the lines he had described. In doing so he accepted that not all of Americas comparative success in innovation can be ascribed to higher levels of university funding and that cultural differences also play an important part. The Commissioner defended what some consider to be a very modest proposed budget for the EIT of 309 million Euros for the period to 2013, making the point that this was only the direct EU contribution and support for specific areas of work is expected from elsewhere, including structural funds, the 7th Framework Programme and, importantly, from the business sector. He also defended the EU from the charge that it should not be creating a new institution but seeking to encourage European universities to reconsider their priorities and ways of working, arguing that the EIT will provide the model of the way in which higher education and business should work in partnership throughout the EU.
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Professor Michael C Corballis Department of Psychology, University of Auckland Professor James E Alcock Department of Psychology, University of York, Toronto 5 September 2007 Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain There are lots of things that we think we know about how the brain works. Sources of everyday information such as magazines, newspapers, popular press and TV often inform us of these processes. This lecture introduced the concepts discussed at the subsequent two-day conference, held on 6-7 September 2007 where speakers addressed questions including Do we really use only 10% of our brain?; Can we stimulate the creativity of the right hemisphere?; Can we believe our memories?; How can we improve our learning skills?; Does the size of the brain matter?; Does the moon influence our behaviour?; Is bilingualism good or bad?; Can we trust our intuitions?; Can we detect a liar?. See page 206.
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Viktor Petrovich Savinykh Dr Jay Apt Sergei Vasilyevic Avdeev 19 September 2007 (The Sheraton Grand Hotel) The View from Space: Changing Planet 2007 Edinburgh Lectures series Under the banner Changing Landscapes, the sixteenth series of The Edinburgh Lectures explores issues about our universe, our heritage, our society and how it is changing. Nine of Edinburghs key organisations worked in partnership to bring together the series, which took place in the Capital from September through to March. From astronauts to zoologists, each speaker shared their unique perspective on Planet Earth. Around 100 astronauts and cosmonauts (fliers) spent a week in Scotland in September 2007 for the XX Planetary Congress of Association of Space Explorers (ASE) hosted by Careers Scotland. It was the first time this major event has been held in the UK and was a result of Careers Scotlands relationship with NASA and the international space community. During the week, two of the cosmonauts and one astronaut present in Edinburgh for the Congress were invited to deliver the first 2007/08 Edinburgh Lecture, which was presented by The Royal Society of Edinburgh in association with the Edinburgh Lectures Partnership. Ever wondered what it would be like looking down on the Planet Earth from more than 200km above the planet surface? Those who attended this year's talk on Changing Planets at the Edinburgh Lectures were fortunate enough to gain first-hand knowledge from those who have actually been there. Viktor Savinykh, Jay Apt and Sergei Avdeev, all members of the Association of Space Explorers, are among the exalted band of astronauts and cosmonauts privileged enough to call Space
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their workplace. For them, Space may be an almost routine experience of detailed experiments and complex technological and engineering tasks aimed at expanding Man's scientific knowledge. Even they, however, never tire of their "God's eye" view of the wonderful planet that we inhabit. It was comforting that even hardbitten spacefarers never lose that sense of magic about where they actually are. We thank Avdeev the only man in history credited with travelling into the future: 20
milliseconds - for this insight into a cosmonaut's life. When new cosmonauts on their first trip are asked what they would change about life aboard a Space Station, the answer, Avdeev revealed, was almost universal. "More windows!" They are not just gazing out of the spacecraft, however, in rapt admiration of the view. Their planet watching has an important purpose. Ever since the beginnings of the space race that pitched the technological might of the Soviet USSR against the United States, astronauts and cosmonauts have been monitoring changes in the Earth that can only be observed from their vantage point high above. No-one is more qualified in this field than Savinykh, who was selected for the space programme in 1978, has been decorated twice as a Hero of the Soviet Union, and clocked up 269 days in space before his retirement 11 years later. He began his talk by injecting some perspective. October 4, 2007 is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first Soviet satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. What we have learned since then, thanks to the efforts of the space pioneers who made their observations over the intervening period, is that there have been huge natural disasters and man-made
changes that have changed the planet forever. Unless precautions are taken, Savinykh made clear, the effects in future may be greater, as larger numbers of people than ever before are living in places vulnerable to natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and forest fires. Man, however, is adding to nature's destructive forces with new phenomena such as pollution and deforestation. Over the last 30 years there have been immense changes, with 30% of land now under cultivation, a 20% reduction in coral reefs and 46 times more water in reservoirs than in lakes and rivers. Many of the changes wrought can be seen from Space, Savinykh said, adding he and his colleagues now had vast experience of photographing the evidence and of putting the findings to good use to chart what is happening to the planet's landscape and climate. Further, evidence of change can be gleaned from geographical locations that would otherwise be difficult to access. Data gathered is real time and relatively inexpensive. One area where the expertise hasbeen put to work is in tracking tropical cyclones, such as Hurricane Katrina, which in 2005 recorded windspeeds of 175mph, causing widespread devastation in
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the Caribbean and the southern US and killing 1,350 people. This happened even though warning systems are already in place, Savinykh said, so clearly there isroom for improvement. To demonstrate the effects of global warming, as seen from Space, Savinykh used startling illustrations taken by his colleagues of ice retreat from a glacier in the Caucasus mountain range in central Russia. He also illustrated how harmful desertification caused by excessive water abstraction could clearly be seen by the shrinking of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. A picture from 1962 shows an extensive area under water, with depths of around 69 metres. Pictures taken in August 2007 show the Sea, by then oneseventh of its acreage just 45 years earlier. As a result, dust storms in the area have increased by 50%. Space farers have also had frontrow seats for volcanic eruptions, Savinykh said, and of the plumes of smoke that are swept around the world. Airlines, among others, need to know what conditions their pilots are going to have to deal with. The theme was developed by Jay Apt, a Nasa astronaut with four Space Shuttle missions and two space walks under his belt, who also deployed stunning images taken by colleagues from US
spacecraft. US astronauts have monitored how Lake Chad in Africa has been shrinking, how natural mud flows down the River Nile have reduced after the building of the Aswan High Dam and how the coast of Madagascar has been stripped of its forests. They have observed the Saudis mining" for water in the Arabian desert and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, where tell-tale, multiple plumes of smoke are proof of deforestation on a grand scale. Apt concluded by showing NASA pictures of the effects of forest fires in Greece in September, many of them believed to have been started by arsonists. It was a vision of a smoky apocalypse that could not have been seen from anywhere else. Avdeev's perspective came from three flights aboard Mir, the Soviet space station in orbit for 15 years before being abandoned in March 2001. Cosmonauts were able to monitor volcanoes and work on perfecting earthquake prediction techniques by making observations from above. So glorious were the views, it was the one job that every cosmonaut wanted, Avdeev confided. All spacefarers really desired was a "fish tank" with windows. That's the dream, and it remains a dream he added. His more serious point was that he and colleagues were witnesses to harmful changes
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brought about by human activities. It was their job to bring the proof back to Earth. Apt had a practical example. NASA took pictures of streams of raw sewage flowing out from the island of Sicily into the blue waters of the Mediterranean. When the Italian government was alerted to the problem, it was embarrassed into taking preventative action. Avdeev said that variations in cosmic rays, which can be observed from Space, can be used to warn of impending disaster, allowing a vital few hours for ground-based action. It was now up to a new generation of scientists to work out the information that can be used more quickly to help avert catastrophe. Savinykh disclosed that he went into Space because he was
inspired by Yuri Gagarin; Apt, because as a young boy he saw two satellites passing overhead; and Avdeev, because it was a natural progression from his work as a telescope engineer. In response to an audience question about whether their findings had turned them into optimists or pessimists about the future of the planet, it was left to Savinykh to speak for them all. Confirming it was optimism that took them up into space in the first place - "otherwise we wouldn't have gone there," he admitted to laughter - they would all remain optimists as long as their observations were acted on. He ended with a warning: "We need to do more to solve the problems that we see happening today. That's the main task that faces our association."
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CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, SYMPOSIA, SEMINARS AND DISCUSSION FORUMS

Discussion Forum Earth, Wind, Fire and Water: Floods 29 November 2006
Floods was the last of four meetings in the Societys Natural Disaster Series Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Professor Garry Pender, Professor of Environmental Engineering, Heriot-Watt University Professor Pender provided an overview of the sources of flooding, including: - Rainfall which acts as a driver for fluvial, pluvial and groundwater flooding. Fluvial flooding occurs when excess water in river channels causes overtopping of banks or breaching of linear flood defences; pluvial flooding arises from surcharging of sewer pipes due to lack of capacity to convey runoff; and groundwater flooding can be seen when the water table level rises above the natural ground level. - Storm surge is the result of low pressure weather systems moving across the oceans resulting in both a pressure surge and wind-driven increase in water levels at the coast.
- Wave-induced flooding occurs when wind-driven waves add to high coastal water levels to overtop coastal defences. It is possible for coincident flooding to occur from two or more of these sources acting simultaneously. Professor Pender also pointed out that highly topical flooding in the UK is not a new phenomenon. The worst flood on record was a result of the storm surge that occurred on the 31st December 1953. This event increased tide levels along the south east coast of Britain by 3.36 m and resulted in 307 deaths in the UK and 1835 deaths in the Netherlands. The recent increased frequency of flooding is attributed to climate change arising from global warming. Current climate change predictions for the UK suggest an increase in high intensity rainfall events and storm surges. In recognition of this, government policy has shifted from one of defence to integrated flood risk management.
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Professor Edmund PenningRowsell, Director of the Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University Edmund Penning-Rowsell emphasised that floods are about people, a flood is only significant when people suffer; a flood that doesnt impact on people is really not very important. He presented the findings from four recent research projects undertaken by the FHRC, focusing on Health, Loss of Life, Fairness and Risk Communication. - Health using questionnaire and interview techniques, the health of a group of people whose homes suffered flooding in 1989 was investigated. Both physical health, in terms of shock and respiratory effects, and mental health, in terms of stress, anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, flash-backs and mood swings, have been investigated. Fifty eight percent of the population reported significant physical effects on their health, with 38% showing some mental health impairment and 17% showing significant impairment of their mental health. Additionally, a standard medical health questionnaire was used to determine if any of the population were suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. Eight percent of the population showed clear evidence that this was the case, with a much
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greater percentage approaching this threshold. - Loss of life floods are dangerous. Data for Europe indicate that the number of deaths as a result of floods has increased over the past decade; however, the number of deaths per flood is coming down. This suggests that warning systems are more efficient and people are more aware of the risks posed by floods and are taking action to protect themselves. - Social justice The present method of basing flood defence decisions on economic criteria results in different standards of protection for different communities. Why should this be? Social justice is better served if resources are targeted on the most vulnerable rather on where the most damage occurs. A new approach is required to determine policies based on equality that account for the needs of the old and vulnerable. - Risk communication recent research has investigated the impact of flood warnings on reducing the financial damage during flooding. Using questionnaire surveys it has been discovered that the receipt of a warning is not critical to reducing damage to personal property. People who were unaware that a warning had been issued received indirect
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums information and took action to limit damage. This raises interesting research questions on effective risk communication. Professor David Wilson, Visiting Professor, Heriot-Watt University. David Wilson presented a case study of the flood that occurred in the East End of Glasgow on 30 July, 2002. The storm has been assessed as a one-in-a-hundred year event. The maximum rainfall intensity was 95 mm/hr, with a total of 75 mm (typical total for one month) falling in 10 hours. A total of 500 properties were flooded, with pockets of severe flooding in the Greenfield and Shettleston areas. In addition, transport was badly disrupted, the M8 motorway was closed for several hours, 100 other roads were impassable and the low level railway line was closed for several days. Total clean up costs were estimated at 100m. A technical review of the causes of the flood, plus experience gained from previous floods in the location, indicated that loss of natural water courses and their associated floodplains had resulted in a lack of capacity in trunk sewers. Essentially, there was a lack of understanding of what the sewers should be required to do. The problem is now being addressed by the Glasgow Surface Water Management Plan, with Glasgow City Council, Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency taking joint responsiblity.
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Conference Alternatives to Prison 7-9 December 2006 Organised by encounter and the Royal Society of Edinburgh A full report of this conference was published by the RSE in February 2007 (ISBN: 978 0 902198 25 8 - available on the RSE website). The concluding remarks by Baroness Vivien Stern, International Centre for Prison Studies, are reprinted below. I want to set the scene with some stories, the first one from England. I found this in The Daily Telegraph on 25 November: A depressed mother who tried to murder her daughter by jumping from the Humber bridge with the two-year-old in her arms was jailed for 18 months yesterday. Angela Schumann, 28, a business graduate, and Lorraine, are among only five people to have survived the 100ft plunge. Judge Michael Mettyear, the Recorder of Hull, said he could not accept that her actions were not premeditated and that only a custodial sentence could be justified. This is one of the most difficult cases I have ever had to deal with, he said. It is difficult because on the one hand you are an intelligent woman, you have no previous convictions and you pleaded guilty at the very first opportunity. On the other hand your conduct was very likely to kill your child. Of the 85 people who jumped off the bridge I was told that 80 died. It was a remarkable piece of luck that you and she survived unscathed. A psychiatrist said she was suffering from a depressive disorder as a result of her lack of contact with the child. Here is another one, also from England, from BBC News. Rosina Connor, 37, of Lumbertubs, Northants, was jailed on Friday because her son only went to school 28 times in one five-month period. She was heavily pregnant at the time. The mother of seven served half of her two-week sentence at Peterborough jail. Outside the prison, where she was met by her partner Darrell Osborne, she said she only managed to get through the days by confining herself to her cell. The majority of the people on the wing I was on were heroin addicts, which is not really where I want to be. A county council spokesman said: The council is completely committed to tackling this issue, and to giving pupils and parents a clear message that
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums parentally condoned absences simply will not be tolerated. Mr Osborne said: I was shocked by the decision of a woman judge to send her to prison. This put me in the situation of having to look after all the kids. Heres another, this time from Scotland: A disgraced Labour peer was sentenced to 16 months in prison yesterday for deliberately starting a fire at an exclusive Edinburgh hotel. Describing Lord Watson of Invergowries actions as without explanation, Sheriff Kathrine Mackie told the court that the former minister in the Scottish Executive presented a significant risk of re-offending. She added: I have to say that someone in public office ought to know how to conduct himself on all occasions. Finally another Scottish case. Last month Imran Shahid was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years for murdering Kriss Donald, aged 15 in 2004. Imran Shahid and two others abducted Kriss Donald, stabbed him 13 times, doused him with petrol and set him alight. The judge said Shahid was a thug, and bully with a sadistic nature not fit to be free in civilised society. I am citing these cases in order to start off my attempt to pull together the threads of this extraordinarily rich, dense and complex set of discussions. According to the programme we have been discussing Alternatives to Prison, but actually, reasonably enough, we have been discussing crime and punishment. I cite these cases in order to ask how these four acts can have enough in common to send the perpetrator to the same place? How can these four acts be responded to with the same punishment? How can all four of these people be given the severest punishment available to the state, a punishment that is varied in length but brings with it the stigma of a prison sentence for many years? Does this increase public confidence in the system? This is important, as Lord Phillips reminded us this morning. The range of behaviour covered by those four cases all of which got the severest penalty available suggests that we are talking here of something strange, something hard to understand at first glance. So I will now try and pull together what understandings have emerged from our discussions of this strange phenomenon. Let me start by saying what a relief it was that we were all more or less the converted. What a relief it was that we did not need to cover the well-trodden ground that has to be covered for instance when broadcasters think they have to have balance on their programme. This is an absurd idea
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because it is they who decide where the mid-point is between the one view and the other. If they have on a moderately rational person who says, perhaps, alternatives are good sometimes, the balance has to be a more extreme person who says thats an affront to victims; this softness on crime is leaving old people living in fear; why should muggers and burglars get a slap on the wrist? The broadcasters could as well achieve their balance by inviting someone who thinks prison is not a good idea at all and the prison population should be halved at least. But they never do. So what a relief it was and what a privilege to be able to leave the tedious, overworked territory we often have to stay in; explaining there is no relationship between changes in crime rates and changes in prison rates; trying to defend what is right, what is just and what is effective by fake figures about reoffending rates which of course can never be known or counted. So instead we count reconviction rates and, as Lesley McAra told us, they measure the activities of criminal justice organisations and do not tell us what people claim they tell us. But we are trapped into using them. How much more interesting it has been than that. We here all know that much of what we are doing currently in criminal justice is
wrong. We have been able to explore in some detail with such a distinguished group of people the difficult questions. We have been able to push a bit at the boundaries of what is usually talked about in criminal justice meetings. Is punishment ethical? The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales asked. Do people deserve to be punished? Bishop Holloway suggested punishment is a dubious moral transaction and regretted, I suspect, that it had been decided to abandon the earlier version of the programme which was called alternatives to punishment. He pointed out that other cultures do not punish as we do. Some societies use processes that bring the perpetrator of a crime to understanding and repentance. We were able to think about how, as Malachi ODoherty said we find ourselves in a cultural climate in which punishment is relished. Sheriff Sheehan suggested that the criminal justice system was a very crude way of modulating peoples behaviour. We wondered what the political and sociological facts are behind the thirst for punishment. Has terrorism had an effect? Paddy Hillyard brought to our attention research showing how countries that run down spending on their welfare system see a large increase in imprisonment. We also had a range of contributors who were able to show us by a
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums simple word picture the real meaning of a system often clothed in pseudo-scientific, optimistic fabrications. There is Andrew McLellans story of the mentally ill man he couldnt be with society outside he was so ill that he couldnt even mix with the prison society. He was held alone in solitary confinement. Erwin James was invited to become a Guardian columnist. He approached the Governor of the prison where he was being rehabilitated for permission. The Governor says do you want 50 small Noes or one big No? John Lonergan told us about the boy in the juvenile prison who got a certificate for nothing really, just for attendance. He gives the certificate to the priest and asks him Father, mind that for me till I come out. There was the probation officer from England who told us that all the documents have been printed to use the word offender and when he has to get his exoffenders to sign them he apologises to them. And of course there was Camila, telling us of hundreds of teenagers who have lost their capacity to feel, and so have the social workers who enter the profession with high aspirations because, she said, there is a kind of joy in helping; the helper is as enriched as the helped one. But they suffer such shame at turning so many people away, they too go dead. We had an opportunity to hear about human rights erosions too. Claire Hamilton told us about the erosion of the presumption of innocence, and Kathleen Marshall, the Childrens Commissioner of Scotland, told us of another sort of erosion. Adults feel that the presumption of innocence has been removed because of possible allegations of child abuse, and children feel that the presumption of innocence has been removed from them whenever they gather in a crowd. And of course, there is one more problem that looms over all these discussions. Put in the inimitable style of John McCluskey, who concluded his after-dinner speech by suggesting that the main themes of the Conference might be summed up in a few verses that owed more to William McGonagall than to Robert Burns:Lets hug a hoodie, love a lout, Well show them what we care about: Let thoughtful polices prevail, For keeping people out of jail, . . . But ministers turn deathly pale. .ask.What about the Daily Mail? Our policies are in a mess, Ministers - and judges - can only guess
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Where they will lock up increasing numbers From a criminal class that never slumbers . . . Release them early? Punish them less? But what about the Daily Express? When all is said, and all is done, Jailing the sick is not much fun; But if we think we can act with impunity, And let them out into the community, The reports of their misdeeds will run and run. On all but page 3 - of our Ruperts Sun. Should we despair or should we be bold? Should we just tell it as it ought to be told? But if we release them imprison them less, Can we sensibly look for support from the Press? That Mr Chairman is rather a hard yin, For I cant find a rhyme for Manchester Guardian. The chance to move out of the usual sterile debate and push back the boundaries made our event here very different and very worthwhile. The depth of thoughtful experience of all of our
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contributors made us see what we are doing in all our countries in a new light. I said we basically agreed. On what did we agree? We had little difficulty in agreeing that prison is not a solution to societys ills and should have, as Richard Sparks suggested, a place as a specialised institution at the apex of a criminal justice system. We did not forget and they are often forgotten women in prison. Satvinder Juss reminded us of their particularly disadvantaged status. Andrew McLellan told us that 100% of women coming into Cornton Vale prison tested positive for illegal substances. Andrew Coyle touched on the marketisation of criminal justice, the dangers that come with the buying and selling of punishment, the concept of prison as a business that will continually expand. One implication of that was well illustrated by two interventions on Thursday. Colin Moses, Chairman of the Prison Officers Association for the United Kingdom, asked a question that was to become a key question in our discussion. What are prisons being used for? And he answered his question unwanted black people and drug using people that the health system does not want. Another contributor, a staff member from a private prison in Wales, said there are problems, but of course that doesnt mean that prison doesnt work of
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums course it can work, he said. This is rather like people at the Estee Lauder cosmetic counter telling us that anti-ageing creams at 50 for a small jar work. Scepticism is called for when the one making the profit claims the product works. And we saw, in these two short interventions, what happens when public sector employees who can speak in public about their work from the perspective of the public interest societys interest are replaced by those who must, if they are any good as employees, put the interests of the business first. We did not have much disagreement about alternative sentences, non-prison disposals either. Cathy Jamieson, the Minister for Justice from Scotland and I note in passing that Scotland has a Justice Minister, as has Ireland. England and Wales has no Justice Minister but England does have a Home Secretary who is MP for a constituency in Scotland, Shotts and Airdrie, which is subject not to his policies but to the policies of the Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson. Cathy Jamieson told us that Scotland had the widest range of non-prison penalties in Western Europe. She reminded us of the well-known fact that having a lot of non-prison sentences does not ensure their use instead of prison. Lord Coulsfield did us a great service by giving us a definition of
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how we should answer the question, which is often asked do alternatives to prison work? Do they work means do those who are undergoing them turn up? Do they do the work? Do they take it seriously? Are they properly supervised? That is such a useful answer to the do alternatives work then? question. Lord Coulsfield also set out for us two other requirements that are needed if alternatives are to be used to make a dent in the use of prison. The judges must be involved and when they are it does the trick. He told us that even a most ferocious judge is now prepared to give a community service order. The other requirement is community involvement. Ordinary people from local community organisations must get alongside the professionals. The subject of young people is particularly interesting because our jurisdictions are so different. We have the Scottish system which is widely admired as one of the most advanced in Europe, and we have the English system where the age of criminal responsibility is ten which is in crisis and has been heavily criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner and the Joint Committee on Human Rights of the UK Parliament.
And today we heard something to cheer up any bored and jaded reformer the story from Ireland. Justice Murray told us that custody in Ireland is waning. There is a Garda diversion programme, a strong restorative justice flavour, the convening of family conferences, an emphasis not on punishment but on taking responsibility. The primary purpose is to divert children from the criminal justice system altogether. When charged, the Court can divert the child to the health service, which is then required to take the necessary steps. The bedrock principles of the system are based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and require that actions taken should be in the best interests of the child. We discussed the great fallacy that now besets the jurisdictions in these islands. The idea has taken root that putting people into the criminal justice system is a very good way of giving social help and that this is how the performance of the institutions should be measured. The participant from Ireland who used to work in prison education drew our attention to an important change. Official documents no longer make it clear, as they once did, that prison is a damaging experience and its use should be kept to a minimum. Lesley McAra pointed out that the system in Scotland
had been required to deliver targets of reduced recidivism, as if it were within its power to do so. As we cleared away the fallacies, the shape of a different way of looking at things began to emerge. Tony Bottoms helped us to see a different way through his discussion of studies of small areas. People will be less punitive and more accepting of non-prison punishments if they feel their area is safer, they are listened to, the area is under control, there is a collective action and there are local figures whose job it is to keep the area under control. The implication of this research is clear. The approach that matters is the local approach. Research in Scotland, and also in Dublin, shows that the home addresses of prisoners are dramatically heavily concentrated. A new way of looking at crime and punishment is to think first of place, to build up a system that is related to where people live and what they experience. Such a system in England and Wales would look very different from the system in place now. For example, probation officers in England and Wales would have to return to their community role. So we should reflect on the possibilities of a shift to a much more local approach. John Rowes mention of the role of local authorities is a pointer to the direction we should take. The model being followed
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums in Scotland of the Community Justice Authorities, which will bring the prisons in to statutory local arrangements, also has the potential through a new form of governance to give us a new outcome. This leads to another set of insights. George Irving suggested we have much to learn from seeing crime as a public health issue with much more prevention and putting more priority into problem solving, dealing with the symptoms in the places where they occur. The experience of Glasgows Violence Reduction programme suggests this is a very fruitful approach. It was argued that we need to have another look at sentencing. David Casement very wisely pointed out the uselessness of having a statute in England and Wales setting out five purposes of sentencing and no indication of priority. One of these purposes is rehabilitation. How could such a purpose be other than a sham when there is no housing for homeless defendants, no education and training for prisoners? Tony Bottoms noted that judges have become more punitive and we need to revisit the custody threshold. Andrew Normand reminded us of the problemsolving courts, the drug court and the domestic violence court where the judiciary plays a big role in trying to change the circumstanc179
es that led to the crime. Chief Justice Murray told us about a court-run reparation project. We could expand that approach too. What about prisons? Erwin James, I think, said prisons have basically not changed for the past 100 years. They may have televisions now but in their essence the idea is the same. Andrew Coyle asked is it time to reconceptualise prisons? Beyond all this, there was a strong feeling that we must stop talking to ourselves; we must become more vocal and more energetic. We have some very important things to say, as Lord Phillips reminded us. Veronica Linklater told us how strongly she felt about the system in England of imprisoning children as young as 12 in prison-like regimes totally unsuited to their age. This is very different from the system in Scotland of children needing compulsory care. I know she feels very strongly and so do many others because she does not rest. She raises it at every opportunity she visits these childrens prisons. She protests. Clive Palmer from Manchester made a very good proposal. What are we doing? He asked. Why arent all the organisations coming together to protest and say it has to change? Indeed, why arent they? We have heard some terrible things in this conference. Camila
reminded us how huge now the gulf is we have forgotten social kindness she said. In our society each individual is a commodity and has to sell that product. One section of society can do this and are doing well. Others cannot. We see the destruction of the public sphere. We are not responsible for others. We pay our taxes to buy our freedom from these people. It was 25 years ago that one of Lord Hopes distinguished predecessors, Lord Scarman, reported on the causes of riots in Brixton prison, mainly aimed against the police. He analysed what happened. He found poverty, terrible living conditions, and poor education. He concluded we cannot have criminal justice without social justice. Criminal
justice without social justice leads, as this conference has shown, to great injustice, against the poor, the sick, the addicted and the inadequate. People who, in the words of Lord Phillips, have lost their way. Let me end by returning to the four cases with which I began. What then is an alternative to prison? In the case of Imran Shahid it is a prison - but a prison very different from the one where Erwin James struggled to remake himself. For the Labour Peer it is alcohol treatment and some form of substantial retribution to the community. For Rosina Connors son it is a school place that fits his needs. And for the woman that tried to commit suicide it is just a big dose of humanity.
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums encounter Supported by both the British and Irish Governments, encounter is an independent organisation under its own Executive Board. To carry out its task, it organises periodic conferences and seminars, with a wide range of representation, on economic, social, cultural and other matters of common concern with a view to promoting mutual understanding, useful cooperation and good relations. IDEAS The ideas generated at encounter events are submitted to both the British and Irish governments, together with the Parliament of Scotland, and the Assemblies of Wales and Northern Ireland, for their consideration. ACTIVITIES encounters activities are directed by an Executive Board with members drawn from England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. At the centre of encounters activities are conferences that bring together, often for the first time, people from the two islands with shared interests in particular subjects. By the end of 2003, over 4000 people from all walks of life, some of them leading practitioners in their fields, had attended more than 60 such events since they were launched in 1984. Amongst those who have participated in encounters meetings are leading figures such as Mary Robinson, Garret Fitzgerald, Bertie Ahern, Dick Spring, John Bruton, Douglas Hurd, Geoffrey Howe, Ivor Richard, Mo Mowlam, Cardinal Cathal Daly, Archbishops, EU Commissioners, Ambassadors and leading figures from business, industry, trade unions, the arts, media, culture and the environment. The meetings have helped to forge new contacts, increased exchanges between, for instance, the five Arts Councils, and contributed to the establishment of new youth and cultural organisations. encounter pays special attention to promoting understanding between young people in Britain and Ireland and has organised conferences on topical issues specifically for them.
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Discussion Forum Cultural Policy and National Identity in Post-devolution Scotland 5 February 2007 Jointly sponsored by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Centre for Cultural Policy Research at the University of Glasgow. others; the split personality, the pessimism, the cringe, the national cultural pathology, the inferiorism, and - most recently the Scots crisis of confidence, so persuasively proposed that the Scottish Executive decided to invest a great deal of taxpayers money in combatting it. McCrone asked why such mythic structures have such force; what, he wondered, if Scotland is not deviant, but actually remarkably well adjusted to its role as a small north European nation, nested for the moment in a Union not only with the rest of the European Union, but with its closest neighbours in these islands? McCrone quoted Donald Dewars view that culture is defined as who we are, and how we carry ourselves - a phrase which understands the nature of culture as a series of symbols related to social practices. Yet we still seem tempted by a mythopoeic search for authentic Scottish culture, rather than accepting that a living culture is a site of dialogue and dialectic - even dialect. Scotland naturally includes a great diversity of culture of experience; it cannot
Professor Sir Michael Atiyah, President of the RSE, welcomed the speakers and audience to the event, and introduced the Chair, Philip Schlesinger. Professor Schesinger noted that the subject of national identity and cultural policy was an extremely topical one, given the intensity of the current debate on Britishness and its meanings, on the future of multiculturalism, and - in Scotland - on the Draft Culture Bill recently published by the Scottish Executive. Professor David McCrone of the Institute of Governance at the University of Edinburgh. Professor McCrone titled his talk Wilful Fragments - Imagining Scottish Culture, and explained that the phrase wilful fragments is a quote from the novelist William McIlvanney. He said that it referred to a set of familiar tropes about Scotland which McIlvanney had observed: the idea of the nation as somehow fragmented, divided, incomplete and lacking in continuity. There was also the idea of the famous antisyzygy, as conceptualised by MacDiarmid and
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums be boiled down to one Scottish culture, and when the attempt is made to boil it down to one thing, that process leads to assumptions about cultural inferiorism. McCrone believes this process to be a legacy of 19th century romantic nationalist thought, the idea that a people, clearly defined, should have the right to express their essential national identity, also self-evident and clearly defined, through independent statehood. This idea, he argued, no longer has much validity, if it ever had; nations are not so easily defined, and nor are their different cultural identities. Cultural traits are not absolutes, but strategies and weapons used in the competition for resources, as and when they are effective. In this respect, said McCrone, the story of the creation of the National Theatre of Scotland is interesting, since the idea of an NTS was associated, for almost a century, with fears of a monolithic central institution which would seek to express a single idea of Scottish identity. This has been brilliantly avoided in the model adopted for the new NTS, which has diversity written into its very structure. We can, in other words, assemble our wilful fragments of Scottish identity in any way we want; and Professor McCrone finished by quoting Cairns Craig, who argues that the condition of being 'between' is not the degeneration of a culture, but the essential means of its generation. Richard Holloway, Chair, Scottish Arts Council, said that his contribution would consist of ten points, one postscript, and a thin line of commentary. His points were: 1 That good art will continue to be produced in Scotland, regardless of whatever cultural policy is implemented; policy is important, but thankfully not that important. That subsidy is nonetheless needed, above all to sustain elaborate and complex artforms like opera and ballet, and - even more importantly to liberate artists, who, as Virginia Woolf put it, desperately need the equivalent of a room of their own and 500 a year in order to be able to create. That enthusiastic consumers of the arts can over-hype their impact in transforming human behaviour. Neither art nor religion redeems, but both provide a colourful backdrop to the human condition. That next to love and compassion, art is nonetheless the area that show us, humankind, at our best, striving towards truth and beauty.
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That art can transform lives, despite (3) above. That politicians can be put off by the attitudes and style of members of the arts community. Their funding of the arts therefore tends to be motivated not by whole-hearted enthusiasm, but by a wish (a) to keep the chatterati from open mutiny, as opposed to routine grumbling and (b) to support their own social inclusion agenda. Arts organisations therefore tend to become bogged down in this terrible language of social policies and targets, what Holloway calls a toxic semantic loop.
words, into spending more on the arts. 10 That the adversarial relationship between cultural pundits and politicians does not help, and only drives all parties into more entrenched positions. Postscript: The new category of national companies has been created, and they have been taken into direct funding from the Executive. Some may have reservations about this, but it is what the Boards and Chief Executives of the national companies wanted; Holloway hopes they will like it, now they have got it. The new Creative Scotland has been created, out of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. The latter is apprehensive, because, as Holloway says, the marriage of a wee man and a big wummin can be problematic; but Holloway is hopeful, nonetheless. Vicky Featherstone, Director, National Theatre of Scotland. pointed out the many complex strands that go to make up a sense of national identity or belonging; the rich nexus of people, landscape, symbols, history, and relation to the self as an individual, that helps generate a sense of belonging - including national pride, national shame, and varying individual attachments to the idea of nationality. The acquisition of such a sense of identity takes many years. Feather-
That art can certainly have good social outcomes; but it needs to exist first, in and of itself. That as with all other forms of public spending, the middle classes benefit disproportionately from arts spending; therefore outreach and inclusion matter. That the slippery language of cultural entitlements has entered the game of arts funding, probably in an attempt by the Executive to lure local authorities, with what Holloway calls honeyed
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums stone believes, though, that theatre is partly a search for identity; and that the more complex and sophisticated that identity is, the harder and better the search will be, and the more rewarding. Artists in Scotland produce terrific work in the course of that search for identity, capable of generating truly thrilling events that grip the audiences imagination; cultural policy has to been as a stepping stone towards that process, and Featherstone is conscious that there have been some imaginative steps made in cultural policy since devolution, not least the First Ministers St. Andrews Day speech of 2003, and the setting up of the National Theatre itself, which she described as a result of devolution. This kind of step represents a huge opportunity, and it has been taken; the NTS has already worked with more than 400 people, and played to audiences totalling 160,000, in 60 places across Scotland. But the role of cultural policy can act as a diversion; Vicky is Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the NTS, but these days has to use the Chief Executive title more often. Ms Featherstone then went on to describe the development of the Black Watch project, from its inception on a quiet day in her office in 2004, through the involvement of writer Gregory Burke, to its triumphant final
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production during the Edinburgh Festival of 2006. The idea was simple, but the structures of the NTS supported its development in terms of scale and energy. It drew on the golden thread of Black Watch history mentioned in the play, and on the wider history of Scotland, but also on the golden thread of Scottish theatre history - 7:84, the Cheviot - and on the wider Scottish cultural tradition, on the marriage of modern and traditional music that recalls the late Martyn Bennett, on the Edinburgh Tattoo. And so it draws deeply on Scottish culture to create an epic, universal, world-class story, generating a national and international response so great that the NTS simply cannot meet it. The idea of the NTS, in other words, is not to define national identity, or indeed to define anything, but to throw open the doors of possibility, and enable artists to create. Summing up, Professor Jan McDonald congratulated Professor Schlesinger and all the speakers, and compared the evenings proceedings with Sir David Lindsays great 16th century Scottish drama, the Satyre Of The Thrie Estaites, which, she said, had also included moral teaching, political and religious satire, music and poetry, as well as slapstick and stand-up comedy. She said that the multi-faceted spirit of that great drama clearly lived on,
as did the presence of the common weal the wider public - as major players in the debate. She reflected on Scotlands history as a disputatious nation, and welcomed the fact that so many people wanted to engage in this debate, which had been particularly well attended. She observed that periods of high cultural activity mapped fairly neatly onto historic surges in nationalistic feeling, but that the affirmation of national identity in art usually
preceded its political manifestation. She then gave a masterful summing-up of the contributions of the three speakers, and finished by invoking the new National Theatre of Scotland as an expression of quintessentially Scottish values in the arts, democratic in terms of geography, style and social reach, and above all non-monolithic, in its opposition to every kind of over-centralisation, and imposed uniformity.
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Discussion Forum The Ten Years of Dolly: Past, Present and Future 14 February 2007 The Royal Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh In association with the National Museums of Scotland Ten years ago, in February 1997, Dolly the sheep was unveiled to the world. Created by scientists at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, she was the worlds first cloned mammal. Since then the same nuclear transfer technology has been used to clone a host of other creatures, including cows, pigs, cats, dogs and, possibly most recently, ferrets in 2006. To say that Dolly caused a sensation is no exaggeration. She attracted worldwide media attention and even the then President of the United States demanded that an expert group be convened forthwith to report to him personally on the implications. As well as being a wonder in her own right, Dolly was exciting for the possibilities she heralded. Would nuclear transfer technology revolutionise agriculture, helping to breed better, stronger livestock? Could cloning techniques be used to find treatments for human disease? And, most dramatically, could it be that Dolly was the first stage of a process which would lead to the cloning of man? The RSE (Royal Society of Edinburgh) and NMS (National Museums of Scotland) brought together a panel to discuss these issues and others. Science and ethics were represented by the speakers, Dolly inventors Professors Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell, and Dr Donald Bruce, Director of the Church of Scotlands Society, Religion and Technology Project and Professor Alan Holland, a philosopher. The event was chaired by Professor Grahame Bulfield CBE FRSE, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. It was introduced by Jane Carmichael, NMS Head of Collections. Key Points - The birth of Dolly heralded a step change in science - Dolly became a symbol for the potential benefits and threats of biotechnology - Since Dolly, nuclear transfer technology has been used to clone other animals, but most research is now taking place in the Far East - Some scientists fear that public attitudes, media hype and misplaced fears about human cloning have clouded the potential benefits of this technology
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- Human reproductive cloning is unlikely, is scientifically probably not possible at the moment and would raise huge ethical questions - Embryonic stem cells created using cloning techniques have potential in finding therapies for a range of human diseases - The ethical questions are not straightforward and there needs to be more public debate Professor Alan Holland, Emeritus Professor of Applied Philosophy, University of Lancaster Dolly Cracking Natures Mould? Using a quotation from King Lear, Professor Holland raised questions around what is natural and what is unnatural or against nature. Specifically he asked if Dolly had cracked natures moulds. Asking how one little lamb could cause such a furore he concluded that the short answer was that Dolly raised the spectre of human cloning and this bothers people. Ordinary folk who express unease about some applications of genetics, saying it is against nature are often condemned by scientific experts, he said. But he tended to side with ordinary folk, on the assumption that they are protesting about what goes
against the norms or habits of nature. Nature operates by trial and error, he said, so her habits or norms are a good indicator of what works. Cloning works against the norms of nature, he said. But he added that while cloning might have some useful applications in, for example, animal husbandry, it is not an end in itself. He said the lasting legacy is likely to come from the nuclear transfer technology that produced Dolly. In his view using this technology to help people with inherited diseases should not be judged unnatural. He concluded that it was unwarranted to assume that what is unnatural is therefore wrong and said that even if there was agreement on what unnatural meant, there was still hard ethical thinking to be done. Professor Keith Campbell, Professor of Animal Development, University of Nottingham Dolly Did she open a gateway to the future? Professor Campbell gave a brief history of the uses to which nuclear transfer technology have been put since the birth of Dolly, discussed its potential and asked whether the debates on possible misuses of it had obscured the potential benefits.
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Since Dolly, many other mammals have been cloned using nuclear transfer technology that is, using the DNA of an adult mammal to create another mammal. These include farm animals, such as cattle in 1998 and pigs in 2000, rare breeds such as the banteng in 2003 and companion animals, including a dog in 2005. There are various reasons for doing this. For example, rebreeding good genes into cattle can improve the dairy industry. Similarly animals can be bred to be free from certain viruses and rare breeds can be maintained. Other uses and potential uses include creating drugs, disease research, creating produces such as clotting factors for people with diseases such as haemophilia and potentially creating organs for xenotransplantation. Professor Campbell said that the birth of Dolly has also opened debate about the use of technology and particularly potential for use in human reproduction or in production of embryos to obtain embryonic stem cells. The fear that humans could be cloned and the anti-GM lobby have, he believes, meant that hardly any research in this area is now taking place in Europe or America. In his view, the UK has not made the most of the discovery. Professor Campbell is against reproductive human cloning but believes that there is real potential in therapeutic cloning. He believes that science is doing what man has been doing for generations [in terms of improving genetic stock] but that stem cell technology has the potential to speed the process up and opens the door to a range of therapeutic possibilities. Dr Donald Bruce, Director, Society, Religion and Technology Project, Church of Scotland Dolly Icon or Iconoclast? Dolly became an overnight icon, said Dr Bruce. She signalled a step change in science and genetics and became a symbol of the promise and threat of biotechnology. Although the Roslin Institute saw cloning as an agricultural tool, the media and policy focus was on the potential of human cloning. This focus, Dr Bruce believes, clouded the debate over the ethics of animal cloning. Although perhaps not inherently wrong, there are welfare issues around animal cloning, including the risk of developmental abnormalities, but it could be justified if there was a reasonable balance between potential benefit and risk, he said.
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Questions remain over turning animals into widgets on production lines, however. He believes that human reproductive cloning is immoral because of the physical risks but also because of ethical questions. These include whether each person should have his or her own genetic identity. But he warned that pressure for medical discoveries had already led to fraudulent research claims in Korea, which he said was perhaps a warning not to push too far on speculative applications. Dr Bruce discussed the findings of the Church of Scotland 2006 Stem Cell Study, which convened a group of experts to review the science and the theology and to assess particular applications, including embryo stem cells and cloned embryos. The Church of Scotland General Assembly has taken a view on aspects of stem cell technology, concluding, for example, that it is acceptable to make limited use of surplus embryos created for IVF as they would be discarded otherwise. But it is less in favour of creating embryos for research, although there might be exceptional situations where it is acceptable, for example to produce diseased cells for research which could not be created in any other way.
He also outlined different views on the moral status of the human embryo, saying that while some saw it as a ball of cells, others accorded it the same moral status as a baby, while others gave it a gradual moral status. He raised other ethical issues, including the moral status of human-animal hybrid embryos, saying they had a degree of moral status. He concluded that neither straight science nor religious groups had all the answers and that there was a need for proper public dialogue. Novel science should work within public values, he said. Professor Ian Wilmut OBE FRS FRSE, Professor of Reproductive Science, University of Edinburgh Centre for Reproductive Biology Cells from Cloned Human Embryos for Drug Discovery Professor Wilmut outlined the possibilities of using the nuclear transfer technology developed at Roslin to study genetic conditions. In particular, he referred to his own current research into MND (Motor Neurone Disease), a relentlessly progressive condition for which there is no cure or effective treatment. To develop new therapies it is essential to understand the cause of human genetic disease, he said. In MND around two per cent of
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums cases have a mutated gene (SOD1) and a further eight per cent of cases are inherited, although the specific genetic cause has not been identified. If cloning techniques can be used, then knowledge of the mutations are not necessary. The research involves transferring a cell from a patient with inherited MND into an unfertilised human egg which has had its genetic information removed, and creating an embryo from which stem cells can be derived. The cells could be compared to those from healthy embryos to see what happens when they begin to develop the abnormalities associated with MND. This could improve understanding of the disease and be used to screen potential drug treatments. Professor Wilmut said there were practical difficulties in using human eggs, including limited supplies, ethical concerns and the problem that the likely efficiency of cloning would be very low. He pointed out that there were no lines from cloned human embryos so far, nor from non-human primates. Using more freely available rabbit eggs was a possibility, however, which could help us understand better how to use human eggs. There is also the possibility that rabbit eggs are so similar to human eggs that they could be used to study human disease. Professor Wilmut acknowledged ethical concerns but pointed out that the embryos were not implanted, not conscious and were a very small bundle of 200 cells. He concluded that ambitious research should be continued, but that application of it should be cautious.
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Conference Glasgows People : Transcending Poverties 20 February 2007 Glasgow City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow
A full report of this conference was published in May 2007 ISBN: 978 0 902198 30 2. Extracts are reproduced below. Foreword Glasgow is not only special; it is unique in its history and the combination of factors which have made it what it is today. Over the past quarter of a century, it has transformed itself from being the industrial heartland of an empire which no longer exists, a monument to a past period of carboniferous capitalism, into a vibrant and economically successful city of the twenty-first century. Yet despite the vigour and affluence which can be seen on every hand, the conditions of life for the poorest Glaswegians, especially in the big housing schemes, remain obstinately bad, and in some ways have become worse. Much excellent and important work is being done, but there remains much evidence of deprivation, especially social, cultural and spiritual. It was this situation, and the conviction that, although economically based, its solution was not susceptible to purely economic remedies, that led the Royal Society of Edinburgh to mount the conference of which this is the report. On the initiative of Archbishop Mario Conti, a Fellow of the Society, an organising committee was set up, which identified three elements to be addressed in an attempt to identify the underlying problems: - the context, both historical and geographical - the work currently being undertaken - ways forward, with particular attention to social, cultural and spiritual needs The three sections of the conference followed the pattern of these three elements, with academics, practitioners and policy makers from within Glasgow and beyond contributing their expertise and insights at each stage. We were fortunate in having a wide and varied range of speakers, and it is hardly surprising, given the extent to which they represented people who had not only studied but in many cases lived with the depriva192
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums tion that they were describing, that we heard throughout the day not only description and analysis of the situation but also an array of suggestions for improving it, many of which were taken up by the speakers in the third part of our conference. Such variety is inevitable when addressing such a multifaceted question, and was indeed anticipated in the title of the conference, with its reference to poverties in the plural. More surprising is the extent to which our speakers agreed that, although economic deprivation was a major cause, the poverties which still plague so many in Glasgow could only be transcended by paying attention to the family and society, to education and health, to the ways in which people valued themselves and the others and the communities in which they lived. In the more radical contributions of our last three speakers it was clear that the economic structures of the city were very important, especially in terms of reducing unemployment, but that what was needed above all were ways of changing the ideas of all of us about the values of our culture and society. The challenge is immense but cannot be ignored, and it is to be hoped that the questions which this meeting raised, not just for Glasgow, will be revisited in the months and years ahead.
Summation Alf Young provided a summary of the days proceedings and began by drawing attention to a point made in the previous question and answer session. As such, he suggested that the conference seemed to be comprised of a conversation among academics and practitioners, but that this does not seem to deal with the issues in the language of the people in the community who are most directly affected. Drawing upon an earlier theme, he stated that the problem of poverty is not solely the problem of Glasgow
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and instead is a world-wide problem, which raises questions regarding the forum in which such matters should be discussed. He highlighted how the mornings analyses had led to a personal feeling of depression as he considered that few new ideas had emerged, albeit that absolute poverty seemed to have been addressed. Furthermore, he considered that questions remained to be asked about the people who had moved on from communities such as Castlemilk, how their lives had changed and what mechanisms might have made their lives different.
Discussing efforts to abolish relative poverty, Mr Young stated that working to address those on the disadvantaged side of the economic distribution would necessitate that efforts also be applied to those at the more affluent end of the scale. In drawing attention to what he considered a sub-theme of the conference regarding arguments for change in fiscal policies and overthrowing the current neoliberal capitalist system, Mr Young stated that while he might harbour such dreams, the reality he perceived was that: It aint going to happen. Bringing to the fore examples such as the consumerist models of Hong Kong and China, which might be considered the new beneficiaries of the neo-liberal system, he argued that no government which attempted to promulgate such ideas would get elected. Instead, Mr Young suggested that the future might more closely resemble that which was described by Phil Hanlon. He reiterated that the push to increase GDP and material growth among major political parties in western countries had not led to
improvements for citizens in wellbeing, or improvements in inner spiritual life. Continuing, he stated that Tipping points, accelerated by climate change, were where changes were most likely to take place, not through taxing the rich until the pips squeak. Suggesting that the rich within society might seek to emulate the philanthropy of previous generations entrepreneurs, Mr Young proposed that those in receipt of large city bonuses might consider doing something worthwhile with their money, by putting some of it back into communities. He concluded by arguing that such change would not occur by overly focusing on de-industrialisation, where this has left society and the tragedy of people left behind. Acknowledging that economic apartheid might well be a term that could be applied, he considered that more focus needs to be given to what works and to what is deliverable, rather than simply focus on raising taxes, reiterating once again that this wasnt going to happen.
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Conference Energy for Scotland: is there a consensus? 13 April 2007
This conference brought to a close the RSEs facilitation of the energy debate in Scotland, which began with the launch of the Inquiry into Energy Issues for Scotland in May 2005, the subsequent follow-up report in June 2006 and country-wide series of public discussion forums. (Dumfries, March 2007; Edinburgh, March 2007; Glasgow, March 2007; Perth, February 2007; Inverness, February 2007; Aberdeen October 2006) In the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections in May, this timely conference sought to set out Scotlands energy options and to stimulate informed debate and decision making. The RSE convened this conference to bring together Scottish and international experts on energy and to conclude its debates on energy. It was deliberately aimed at identifying whether there was any consensus on energy issues from both the Scottish and the wider geographical perspectives. Global perspective There was a clear consensus of the global energy situation: the current position is unsustainable. This is not a result of the technical availability of energy resources, as the global reserves of coal will last for at least two centuries, there are higher extraction rates of oil and gas, and new sources of hydrocarbons are being discovered all the time. Rather, the unsustainability is caused by a combination of factors: global climate change triggered by emissions from fossil fuel consumption; projected increases in overall consumption as a result of increasing global populations; the gradual rise in the standard of living resulting in higher per capita energy consumption; and the geopolitical issues surrounding national interest controls on energy exploitation and on energy prices from the key resource areas of the world, notably the Middle East, Russia and West Africa. It is likely that technological advances will allow new energy sources to be exploited and that greater use of locally-available resources will become more significant. However, if the link between fossil fuels and global climate change is to be broken, then a price for carbon has to be set to stimulate the development of clean fuels and clean technologies for fossil fuels; alternatively, but less favoured by industry, would be a carbon tax.
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Scottish perspective There was a fair degree of consensus at the Scottish level, with one notable exception: the need for, or ethics of, further nuclear-powered electricity-generating capacity. There was a strong preference for carbon reduction targets in preference to renewable energy targets, as these were considered to be more effective and also avoided trying to pick technical winners. Both grid-networked and the greater use of locallydistributed systems were favoured, as were more effective efforts to increase energy efficiency and especially to reduce, or use more effectively, waste from urban areas and waste heat from power generation and other sources. However, the consensus broke down on issues such as whether there would be energy shortages and, for example, whether biofuels were a viable energy source option, given the weak economic case at present and the environmental effects of their use. There was recognition of the importance of renewables in the electricity supply equation, but disagreement on whether renewables could supply all the likely needs. The distinction was drawn between the ever present, such as renewable energy from waste, and the intermittent, such as wind and water sources, and the consequent need for flexible backup capacity from non-renewable
sources. Fundamentally, the consensus broke down on the issue of whether new nuclearpowered generating capacity should be installed in Scotland. There was no meeting of minds on this issue and no apparent likelihood of compromises between the main protagonists. Therefore, there was also, inevitably, no consensus on the energy hierarchy proposed by environmental groups, which has renewables as top priority, followed by clean fossil fuel technologies and with nuclear as the unfavoured last resort. Short-term necessity There was a consensus that there is no silver bullet to provide the solution in the short term. Solutions will vary in space and in time. These required active encouragement by the global energy and political community. An Alternative Policy Scenario was described and achieved a broad consensus. This comprises a diversity of supply of energy sources and recognises that the global price of oil sets the new baseline for alternative energy sources. In addition, clean technologies for fossil fuels, new nuclear powered generation and renewables should be part of the mix. There would also need to be greater use of local energy sources to reduce costs, reduce environmental effects and increase security of supply. Most impor196
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums tant, it was recognised that efficiency should take top priority everywhere: efficiency at the user end and at the power stations where currently too much heat is dissipated. To prepare for the longer term, investment in development of alternative sources and cleaner technologies is essential. Alongside this is the need to increase the skills available through education and training, stimulated by the job opportunities which would undoubtedly become available. Long-term vision and prospect For the longer term of a few decades time to the middle of the century, a clearer vision is required if the prospect of resolving the current unsustainable position is to be achieved. It has to be remembered that not everything is currently possible, because of technological constraints and the lack of markets and the level of prices; but this may not always be the case. There was a consensus on the ingredients for the future. First and foremost, is the need for continuing increase in the efficiency of energy use. Secondly, carbon sequestration technologies are vital and could achieve three benefits simultaneously: reduction in carbon emissions, more effective use of the large reserves of fossil fuels available; and the opportunities afforded for enhanced oil recovery. Thirdly, there is no simple solution for the
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development of alternative fuels. Renewable energy sources have downsides as well as benefits and they should be assessed from all perspectives rather than making ill-considered judgements on their environmental benefits. Biofuels have prospects with the secondgeneration technologies, especially the further development of fuel cells, but the prospects for alternatives for aviation fuel remain poor. Nuclear fusion technology was progressing, albeit very slowly, and hydrogen as a fuel vector holds out a good prospect in the longer term, provided that the source of energy is low carbon. And energy storage remains an important goal. Investment requirements are very high, but achievable, providing governments send the right market signals and give support for scaling-up, and incentives for higher extraction rates. There are also a good many equity issues, especially when comparing the industrialised world with the emerging economies and the lesser developed countries. Improvements in the operation of the UNs Clean Carbon Mechanism would be helpful in this regard. Conclusions Scotland is no different from other countries and should think in a global context as well as act locally, as articulated in the RSE Energy Report. It should not go
alone, given the reserved/devolved powers mix on energy and related matters, but more importantly, it could provide a model for the rest of the UK. Claims that there are choices to be made between, for example, central and decentralised systems of electricity supply, between specific technologies or a mix, between supply-led approaches or demandmanagement, or concentration on Scotland as a net energy exporter or importer, were not accepted. The general consensus emerging was that a mix of solutions, rather than selecting specific winners, is the most sensible course of action. The mix should comprise old technologies with improved carbon sequestration, new technologies, energy efficiency and energy savings (noting that
many old issues on efficiency have been around for decades and still have not been resolved). There was a clear consensus that some very difficult decisions are required by government and by industry. There are many opportunities for technical expertise and also for jobs in the energy industries. It was noted that progress had been slow on the key issues raised in the RSE Report and there was encouragement to press for speedier action. Debates could be never-ending on polarised issues. To prepare the ground for timely and effective decisions, it is necessary for more objective information to be provided, and for consensus-building, especially after the elections to the Scottish Parliament in May 2007, as much action is required in the short term.
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Lloyds TSB Discussion Forum The Ageing Population 1 May 2007 (EICC)
The RSE took part in the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland annual forum held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in May 2007, and ran one of the afternoon workshops on offer at the forum. Both of the organisations are committed to disseminating knowledge about the real benefits of their research partnership which started in 1999, when Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland began funding research into the ageing population through the RSE. Since then, twenty-six academic researchers have been funded for research into various aspects of the medical, psychological, sociological or economic consequences of ageing. At the forum, one current and two past awardees gave presentations about their work and a poster display by past and current researchers also ran throughout the day. Dr Norman Alm held a one-year Support Research Fellowship in 1999. He is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee, where his research into systems to assist people with physical and cognitive
disabilities is on-going. The title of his talk was Supporting people with dementia using advanced technology and engaging design. Dr Irina Erchova, holder of a three-year Personal Research Fellowship at the Institutute for Adaptive and Neural Computation at the University of Edinburgh, spoke about her research project entititled Learning to Forget: Aberrant Plasticity in the Aged Hippocampus and examined whether some of the age-related deficits in memory might be explained by the very same brain processes that control learning and memory. Dr Lesley Jessiman held a threeyear PhD Studentship from 2000 to 2003, also at the University of Dundee. She is currently working as a psychology lecturer at Paisley University but continues her Parkinsons disease research at Dundee University in the Cognitive Neuropsychology Research Laboratory, working with Professor Trevor Harley. Her talk was entitled Language & Communication in the Ageing Population: Past & Present Research.
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Cormack Bequest Meeting 2007 Multi-wavelength Astronomy - The Observable Universe from Radio to Gamma Rays 11 May 2007 Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde The annual Royal Society of Edinburghs Cormack Bequest Meeting is a showcase of Scottish Astronomy, as well as the opportunity for the community to see the RSE Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prize winners receive their awards, and present their work in a short lecture. Over 70 astronomers from across Scotland attended, from traditional astronomy research institutes, such as Glasgow, St.Andrews and Edinburgh, to groups more recently re-housed or initiated in Scotland, such as Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde. To cover as broad a spectrum of Astronomy as possible, and retain everyones attention is no easy task, but the meeting was arranged such that the talks jumped from high energy to low, radio to gamma rays fitting well in the theme Multi-wavelength Astronomy the Observable Universe from Radio to Gamma Rays. The day was started by keynote speaker, Professor Steve Rawlings, University of Oxford, who delivered an excellent and entertaining address on SKA, (Square Kilometre Array) and the future of radio astronomy even beyond our
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current interests in LOFAR (Low Frequency Array). The importance of LOFAR was highlighted by Dr Philip Best (a Royal Society Research Fellow and Lecturer at Royal Observatory Edinburgh) who spoke about AGN Feedback (Active Galactic Nucleus) and gave some excellent arguments as to why key Scottish investment has been made in LOFAR, supported and encouraged by interdisciplinary working between the Scottish Universities, through the SUPA (Scottish Universities Physics Alliance) Astronomy theme, and contact made at meetings such as this one. In addition, an excellent talk was given by Rita Tojeiro (Edinburgh) winner of the RSE Postgraduate Cormack Bequest Prize, who spoke about Discovering the early Universe using the Cosmic Microwave Background. Her talk was not only very understandable, but her enthusiasm for her subject infectious, illustrating that she was a very worthy recipient of this years award. Jenny Noble, the winner of the RSE Undergraduate Cormack Bequest Prize, was unable to attend due to a final exam clashing with the meeting.
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Jenny has just graduated from Edinburgh University but undertook her prize-winning work in Strathclyde where she will start a PhD in October 2007, as a SUPA Prize Student. A further ten contributed talks were made, with demonstrations of how Astrogrid will work, and an update on the Dark Skies Scotland project, as well as detailed tours of highenergy physics in solar flares, ice and dust in interstellar space and the outlook for sub-mm imaging with SCUBA II. Attendees were left in no doubt that Scottish Astronomy spans the full electromagnetic spectrum! Of the 70 attendees, 60% were young scientists in non-academic positions; five of these students presented their current research in talks during the programme and a further 14 students showed their work in posters during breaks, and at the wine reception at the end of the evening. After explaining that the longterm aim of Clyde Space is to build cheap launching systems for space-based missions and satellites, and to one day fully fund a Scottish mission, Craig Clark from Clyde Space presented Victoria Frankland (Heriot-Watt) with the student poster prize. With the wine and cheese consumed, and the time for cheap day return tickets to be valid once again on the trains returning, 60 tired astronomers made their way home to contemplate the days events. The meeting was generously supported by SUPA (the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance), The University of Strathclyde, Departments of Physics and Mechanical Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Clyde Space. A short report of the meeting was also featured in the Glasgow Evening Times on the day of the event.
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Conference The Union of 1707: New Dimensions 18 May 2007
The aim of this one-day conference was to mark the threehundredth anniversary of the Act of Union with a wide-ranging conference that would invite fresh thinking and showcase scholars who were at early stages of their careers, as well as some more established scholars. The target audience for the conference included not only Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and interested members of the public, but also academics from the Scottish universities and, in particular, postgraduate students and others who might not be familiar with the Royal Society and its activities. Generous financial support for the conference was provided by the Faculty of Advocates, the Scottish Church History Society, and the University of Glasgows Department of History. The conference, which attracted an audience of over a hundred, occurred just two weeks after a momentous general election in Scotland, the result of which was a minority SNP administration. The days proceedings were opened with an overview of the history of the Union provided by
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Professor Christopher Smout, FRSE, Historiographer Royal in Scotland. Professor Smout then chaired the morning session, at which four papers were presented. The first of these, a broad and provocative exploration of The Issues facing Scotland in 1707, was delivered by the eminent historian of the Union, Professor Christopher Whatley, FRSE, Professor of Scottish History, Head of the College of Arts and Social Sciences and Vice-Principal, University of Dundee. This was followed by Politics, Parties and Patronage: Parliamentary Management and the Ratification of the AngloScottish Union, by Dr Karin Bowie, Lecturer in Scottish History at the University of Glasgow. Dr Richard Saville, a former lecturer in Economic and Social History and now with Coutts and Company, London, considered the cultural background of the Union with a paper on Intellectual Capital in Pre-1707 Scotland. A presentation on the economic dimension of the Union, Scotlands Trade and Political Relations with Northern Germany,
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums by Ms Kathrin Zickermann, a Postgraduate student at the University of St Andrews, completed the morning session. The afternoon session of four papers was chaired by Professor Stewart Brown, FRSE, Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Edinburgh. The afternoon began with an exploration of the religious aspects of the Union, The Kirk, Parliament and the Union, 170607, by Dr Derek Patrick, Lecturer in Scottish History at the University of Dundee. Dr Clare Jackson, Lecturer in History at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, then discussed the intellectual framework of the Union debates with a paper on Conceptions of Nationhood in the Anglo-Scottish Union Debates of 1707. This was followed by A Union for Empire? Scotland, the East India Company and the British Union, by Dr Andrew Mackillop, Lecturer in History at the University of Aberdeen. Dr Christopher Storrs, Reader in History at the University of Dundee, considered the European military and diplomatic context, in The Union of 1707 and the War of Spanish Succession. Finally, Professor Colin Kidd, FRSE, Professor of Modern History at the University of Glasgow, provided a set of concluding remarks on the Legacy of the Union, reflecting on the meaning of the Union for Scottish history, summing up the days proceedings, and identifying the emerging themes for future research. Professor Brown brought the conference to a close with the final vote of thanks. The papers inspired lively discussions among the audience, which included a number of leading scholars of Scottish history and culture. The conference proceedings are being published under the title, The Union of 1707: New Dimensions, by the Scottish Historical Review Trust and the University of Edinburgh Press, and the volume is scheduled to appear in late 2008.
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Conference The 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Thomas Telford 2 July 2007
Thomas Telford was a pioneering civil engineer, whose enormous legacy of roads, bridges, canals and harbours, has stood the test of time and is still in widespread use by the travelling public today. Born the son of a shepherd in Eskdale, Dumfriesshire, in 1757 and honoured by being buried in Westminster Abbey in 1834, he led a productive life constructing impressive structures across Britain from the Caledonian Canal in Scotland to the Menai Suspension Bridge in Wales to projects further afield, in Sweden, Poland, Panama, Canada and India. Telford was a key figure in the establishment of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in 1818; he became its first President in 1820. In recognition of his prolific genius, Telford became a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) in 1803, having been nominated by three Fellows Professors John Playfair and Dugald Stewart, and Dr. James Gregory all associated with the Scottish Enlightenment, and the founding of the Society in 1783 for the advancement of learning and useful knowledge. They
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would have been truly impressed with his ability to turn thenunimaginable feats of engineering into awe-inspiring realities, through his vision and practical skills. The RSE decided to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of its most famous Fellows in a Conference, having broad appeal to experts and the public alike, and devoted to his achievements. A small group, under my direction, helped to plan the Conference within the context of UK-wide Telford celebrations, coordinated by Michael Chrimes, Head of Knowledge Transfer at the ICE once the Meetings Committee of the RSE, chaired by Professor David Ingram, had given the go-ahead. The technical programme was under the direction of Professor Roland Paxton, FRSE, FICE, Honorary Professor at the School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, and Vice-Chairman of the ICEs Panel for Historical Engineering Works.
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Others who contributed to my organising group included: Professor Quentin Leiper, then Senior Vice-President of the ICE; Graeme Munro, Former Director and CEO, Historic Scotland; Alan Muirden, RCAHMS; Michael Chrimes, ICE; Nat Edwards, Education & Interpretive Services Manager, National Library of Scotland; David Lockwood, Museums Manager, Dumfries & Galloway Council; and Lia Brennan, former Events Officer at the RSE. Professor John Mavor FRSE FREng Vice-President, RSE (Physical & Engineering Sciences)
Papers presented to this conference were published by the Society in July 2007. ISBN: 978 0 902198 40 1
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Conference Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain 6-7 September 2007 Our Dynamic Earth
Scientists from different disciplines, including psychologists, neuropsychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, social scientists and neurologists, discussed topics which are popular for everyday press coverage but rarely addressed from a purely scientific perspective. In particular, the conference aimed to present experts views on popular misconceptions about the functioning of the mind and the brain and about human behaviour. As is the case for other sciences (for example physics and chemistry) the questions that interest the general public are different (often more general) from most of the questions that the neuroscientists deal with in their research. Sources of everyday information such as magazines, newspapers, popular press and TV often report on how the mind works. This conference aimed at discussing what we really know about the functioning of the mind. Using a scientific approach, the speakers contributing to Tall Tales addressed questions that they are likely to be asked at cocktail parties.
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These questions included: Do we really use only 10% of our brain? Can we stimulate the creativity of the right hemisphere? Can we believe our memories? How can we improve our learning skills? Can one become more intelligent listening to Mozarts music? Does the size of the brain matter? Does the moon influence our behaviour? Is bilingualism good or bad? Can we trust our intuitions? Can we detect a liar? The conference was unique in that rather than sharing scientific issues with peers, it was intended to disseminate knowledge and aimed mainly at high-school teachers and their upper-year pupils, along with a few science journalists and other interested lay-people. In a recent survey of teachers, almost 90 per cent thought that in the design of educational programmes, knowledge of the brain was important, or very important. However, this recognition is not necessarily always beneficial. Some enthusiastic educationalists have over-simplified findings from neuroscience and over-interpreted the out-
Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums comes. This has given rise to a number of tall tales on how the brain works which are influencing teaching and educational programmes based on the misuse of neuroscience discoveries. We live in a credulous world: factual information provided by the media is comforting while the doubtful scientific approach is perceived as distant and somewhat dull. Tall Tales showed that science can be fun and creative.
Tall Tales on Memory and Learning Chair - Professor Sergio Della Sala FRSE, Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh. Chairman of the Conference Organising Committee Professor Alan Baddeley CBE FRS, Professor of Psychology, University of York Dr Peter Lamont, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh Professor David G Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College, Holland Professor Tim Valentine, Professor of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London
Tall Tales on Intelligence Chair - Professor V G Bruce OBE FBA FRSE, Vice-Principal and Head of College, College of Humanities & Social Science, University of Edinburgh Professor Michael Anderson, Department of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Perth Dr David Carey, School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen Professor Ian J Deary FBA FRSE, Professor of Differential Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh Professor Barry Beyerstein, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia and Chair, British Columbia Skeptics Society (Chair Session 4)
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Tall Tales on Language and Communication Chair - Dr Jack Jackson, formerly HM Assistant Chief Inspector of Education, Scottish Executive Professor Michael C Corballis, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland Professor Antonella Sorace, Professor of Developmental Linguistics, Linguistics and English Language, Professor Aldert Vrij, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth
Tall Tales on Brain and Behaviour Chair - Professor Barry Beyerstein, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia and Chair, British Columbia Skeptics Society Professor James E Alcock, Department of Psychology, University of York, Toronto Professor Eric H Chudler, Director of Education and Outreach and Research Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington Professor Chris French, Professor of Psychology, Psychology Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London
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Conferences, Workshops, Symposia, Seminars and Discussion Forums Public Event Doors Open Day 29 September 2007
After a gap of several years, the Society took part in Doors Open Day 2007 on 29 September. Almost 400 members of the public were able to view the building by joining free tours, which were provided by RSE staff on a voluntary basis. These tours also provided an opportunity for the general public to learn about the Societys
history, its mission and role, and the many public benefit activities it provides through its Fellows. Doors Open Day is a celebration of Edinburghs architecture and heritage and has been organised by the Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) since 1991.
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PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings A: Mathematics Six issues were published: Parts 135.5 & 135.6 (2005) and 136.1, 136.2, 136.3 and 136.4 (2006) Transactions: Earth Sciences Three issues were published: 97.1, 97.2 and 97.3 (2006). Earth and Environmental Science Transactions One issue was published: 98.1 (2007). This was the first issue of the newly-titled journal a Special Issue of nine invited papers to reflect the broader environmental remit, entitled Holocene Environmental Change: Lessons from Small Oceanic Islands. ReSourcE the RSEs Newsletter: Issues 15, 16, 17 and 18. Royal Society of Edinburgh Directory 2007 (Session 20062007)
Other Publications: RSE Annual Review 2007 (April 2006March 2007). Strategic Framework 20072012 Setting the Societys strategic direction for the next five years. ISBN: 978 0 902198 15 9 The Vikings and Scotland Impact and Influence Report of an RSE Conference (held September 2006) ISBN: 978 0 902198 20 3 Alternatives to Prison Report of an RSE/encounter Conference (held December 2006) ISBN: 978 0 902198 25 8 Glasgows People: Transcending Poverties Report of an RSE Conference (held February 2007) ISBN: 978 0 902198 30 2 Energy for Scotland: A Call for Action Follow-on activities from the RSEs Inquiry Report Inquiry into Energy Issues for Scotland (June 2006). Published May 2007. ISBN: 978 0 902198 35 7 The 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Thomas Telford Collected papers from a commemorative conference held on 2 July 2007. ISBN: 978 0 902198 40 1 Science Scotland Issue 6 (Autumn 2007)
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THE SCOTTISH SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) was established in May 2002 to provide independent advice to Scottish Executive Ministers on strategic scientific issues. Chief Scientific Advisor The work of the SSAC helped lay a secure foundation in building the profile of science within the then Scottish Executive. Reflecting this increased profile, a new post of Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland was created within the Permanent Secretarys Office of the Scottish Executive in August 2006. This post, and its office took over the functions of the SSAC from January 2007, after which the Society ceased to have any formal responsibility relating to it. The final report of the RSEs work with SSAC appears in the Review 2007 (Session 2005-2006) SSAC - Members (as at 31/12/ 06) Professor Wilson Sibbett CBE, FRSE (Chair) Professor Steven Beaumont OBE, CEng, MIEE, FRSE Professor Geoffrey Boulton, OBE, FGS, FRS, FRSE Professor Muffy Calder FRSE, FIEEE Professor Sir Kenneth Calman KCB, FRCS, FRCP, FMedSci, FRSE Professor John Coggins FRSE Professor Julie Fitzpatrick MRCVS Professor Peter Grant FREng, FRSE, FIEE, FIEEE Dr Stuart Monro, CGeol., FGS, ILTM, FRSSA Professor Peter Morgan FRSE Professor Richard Morris FMedSci, FRS, FRSE Dr John Nicholls Professor Stuart Reid MRCVS, FRSE Professor Jonathan Seckl FRCPE, FMedSci, FRSE Dr Barbara Spruce MRCP Professor Joyce Tait CBE Professor Chris van der Kuyl FRSE Eur Ing Graham Wren SSAC - Staff Dr Avril Davidson, Head of Secretariat. Avril moved to the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser in January 2007. Dr Marc Rands, Acting Head of Secretariat (May 06 to February 07). Marc supported the transition to the Scottish Executive. Ms Tracy Rickard, PA/Administrator (to June 06) Ms Ekua Hayford, PA/Administrator (June to December 06)
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EVIDENCE, ADVICE AND COMMENT

The Society submitted evidence, advice and comment on the following reports during the Session: October 2006 Reform of Higher Education Research Assessment and Funding; Department for Education and Skills December 2006 Science and Innovation Strategy for Scotland; Scottish Executive March 2007 Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill; Scottish Executive April 2007 International Policies and Activities of the Research Councils; House of Commons Science and Technology Committee June 2007 Funding of Science and Discovery Centres; House of Commons Science and Technology Committee July 2007 Renewable Energy-Generation Technologies; House of Commons Science and Technology Committee The Environmental Effects of Novel Materials and Applications; Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Hybrids and Chimeras: The ethical and social implications of creating human/animal embryos in research; Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority August 2007 The Wider Implications of Science and Technology; Office of Science and Innovation The European Research Area: New Perspectives; European Commission September 2007 The Economic Impact of Immigration; House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee Strategic Research Opportunities for Scotland Under contract to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to provide expert opinion on strategic research opportunities for Scotland, the RSE provided advice on the strategic importance to Scotland of research in bionanotechnology. The advice included the extent and nature of Scotlands capability; current world leaders; the potential for collaboration; and how the SFC could add value to ongoing work. Cooksey Working Group In response to Sir David Cookseys Review of UK health research funding, a working group was set up under the Chair of Lord Patel, to seek to influence the implementation of the Cooksey
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Reports recommendations, and ensure Scottish interests were not undermined, given the separate arrangements for health research funding in the Devolved Administrations of the UK. A range of discussions were held with the
Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research, the National Institute for Health Research and the Scottish Executive Health Department, to highlight the implications for Scotland.
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INQUIRIES
Energy Issues for Scotland Following the launch of the Societys Report into Energy Issues for Scotland in June 2006 and with the aim of facilitating public engagement and enhancing understanding of energy issues, the Society embarked upon a series of countrywide public and school discussion forums under the banner Debating Scotlands Energy Choices. This dissemination exercise was a first for the Society. Public and school discussion forums were held in Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries and the total audience numbers were over 435 for the public events and over 375 for the school discussions. The series concluded with a conference at the Society in April 2007 which attracted over 80 delegates. An Inquiry update report, Energy for Scotland: A Call for Action, was published in May 2007, reflecting on recent decisions and summarising the public debates and school visits and concluding conference. It identified the action required to ensure achievement of the Committees strategic aim a secure, competitive, socially equitable and low carbon emissions supply of energy for Scotland. The Future of Scotlands Hill and Island Areas In May 2007 the RSE Council instigated an independent Inquiry into the Future of Scotlands Hill & Island Areas. The aim of this wideranging investigation was to find ways to help secure a prosperous and environmentally-sustainable future for rural areas, especially the more economically-fragile communities. The Inquiry was Chaired by Professor Gavin McCrone, and looked to make recommendations that responded not only to threats posed by changes in agricultural support as a result of present and anticipated reform to the Common Agricultural Policy, but also to the opportunities for expansion in other parts of the economy, such as tourism and forestry, and measures to safeguard the environment. During this Session, the Committee received over 80 written evidence submissions, and visited the island community on Mull, as well as meeting with, and hearing oral evidence from, 16 organisations at the RSE.
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PARLIAMENTARY LIAISON
Parliamentary Liaison Officer, Bristow Muldoon, was appointed in August 2007. He is employed jointly with the Royal Society of Chemistry. This appointment will strengthen the Societys engagement with Scottish Government and continue to support the Scottish Parliament Science Information Service. Bristows appointment will also enable to Society to develop stronger links with Europe and Westminster.
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EVENTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

RSE@Schools October 2006. One Small Step; Many Giant Myths. Dr Martin Hendry. Wick and Thurso High Schools 8 November 2006. Chemistry is Magic. Dr Christine Davidson. Lochgelly High School, Fife 6 December 2006 Who are You? Professor Sue Black, St John's High School 19 & 20 December 2006. Throwing Light on the Human Genome. Professor Wendy Bickmore. DNA Profiling: its use in famous cases. Dr Adrian Linacre. James Watt College 8 March 2007. Capturing Colour with Chemistry. Dr Greig Chisholm. Elgin Academy 15 March 2007. Serpents and Synthesisers. Professor Murray Campbell. St Thomas Primary School 12 June 2007. Tour of the Universe. Professor Ellington. Balerno High School 13 September 2007. Lazing down the internet. Professor Thomas Krauss. Keith Grammar School 14 September 2007. Lazing down the internet. Professor Thomas Krauss. Ellon Academy Christmas Lectures The 2006 Christmas Lecture, Weather Forecasting in the 21 Century by Heather Reid was presented at Stirling University on 12 December 2006, for local school students and this was followed by an evening lecture for the general public. In total over 345 teachers and pupils and 65 members of the general public were in attendance. RSE Roadshows Two Roadshows, one in the Autumn term and one in the Spring term, were held in Ullapool and Falkirk respectively. Roadshows are two-day events, which include interactive maths, science and technology workshops for primary and secondary school students. In addition there are lectures for secondary students and members of the general public held in the evening. Ullapool - Spring 2007 In the Spring term the RSE Roadshow visited the High School in Ullapool. During this visit maths workshops were delivered by Teresa Carr to P6/7 pupils from Ullapools six feeder Primary schools. The workshops explored how a board for rolling marbles can produce a magical triangle and how hidden patterns, as simple as 1, 2, 3 and as complicated as a famous fractal called Sierpinski's, are found in this triangle. Then a completely unrelated game, called "Chinese Nim", was played to determine yet more mathematical magic!
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All the Primary schools were also involved, on both days, in a Chimp Challenge, presented by Annie Graham, the Education Officer from Edinburgh Zoo. The pupils took part in an exciting, large scale board game which linked into the 5-14 Environmental Guidelines and Global Citizenship. They experienced a selection of tastes, smells, music, costumes and problem solving from real-life situations that the animals and people of the Budongo Forest, Uganda face. This challenge not only provided observation skills and conservation awareness of Ugandan life but also an insight into some chimp behaviour, and all this resulted in a highly interactive lesson. Black Holes and Small Bangs. Afternoon Lecture for S5/6 Professor Alan Heavens, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, gave an astronomy talk to S5/6 students from Ullapool High School. Professor Heavens' research interests include exploring the properties of the Universe using light bending, the fireball radiation of the Big Bang, and the formation of the galaxies. His talk covered What happens to stars? He explained how big stars are in a delicate balance and are kept alive by a big nuclear reactor in the middle but that when the fuel runs out some stars explode
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violently into a supernova explosion while others may collapse dramatically into a Black Hole. Professor Heavens also explored the strange properties of curved space around Black Holes and dipped the students toes into wormholes, time travel and the physics in the movies. Diversity/Conservation and Breeding Programmes. S4-S6 An interactive talk provided by Annie Graham, for S4-S6 students, which offered the chance for them to explore the role of modern zoos and learn about how studbook keepers use computer dating to maintain genetic diversity within a captive population. Annie also introduced the important research and in situ projects that zoos support around the world, to help in the conservation of wild animals. Public Lecture Professor Heavens talk from the afternoon was then adapted for an evening lecture. The lecture was extremely popular and the theatre was filled with a total of 56 members of the public who took up the opportunity to ask an expert specific questions which resulted in an enthusiastic crowd staying for an additional half an hour to hear Professor Heavens answers.
Young People
Falkirk - Autumn 2007 This years Autumn Roadshow took place at Wallacestone Primary School, Falkirk. In addition to Wallacestone Primary which hosted the Roadshow, the following schools also took part: Maddiston Primary; Whitecross Primary; Avonbridge Primary; California Primary; Drumbowie Primary; Limerigg Primary; Shield Hill Primary; Slamannan Primary. Workshops provided included: Hands-on Maths Workshop for P6/7 pupils delivered by Professor Jack and Mrs Teresa Carr; A Hands-on Bridge Building Workshop for P6/P7 pupils by Professor Miles Padgett; An Evening Interactive Talk for the general public, parents and carers, teachers and sixth-form students from the local High Schools. Does God Play Dice? by Professor Miles Padgett. SET Summer Week Two Science, Engineering and Technology Summer Schools, in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, were held again during the summer break, introducing Higher-grade students to university life. This year sixth-form pupils from East and West Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh schools were in attendance.
The SET summer week of activities includes workshops and talks on science, technology and maths subjects, but also on transferable skills and advice for those not sure about continuing into higher education. Startup Science Masterclasses The Startup Science Masterclasses take place on Saturday mornings in the form of workshops for S1/ S2 students and emphasise the role of science, engineering and technology in society. These workshops are run in partnership with organisations throughout Scotland. Startup Science Masterclasses took place in both the Spring and Autumn terms at Dundee, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Heriot-Watt Universities. The 250th anniversary of Thomas Telford A resource pack was produced in relation to the year long celebration for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Thomas Telford, Scotland's greatest engineer. The materials were created for P6 and P7, S1 and S2 pupils. However, some teachers of classes outwith this age range can use the contents, for example with S3 and S4 technology students. The pack provides four activities which have been produced for use in classrooms:
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- The Incomplete Sketchbook - Telford and Co., Kitchen Designers - The Telford Property Sale - The Bridge-span Challenge The pack also contains: - Background notes for teachers - Activity notes explaining the four activities - Thomas Telford brief biography notes - Student activity sheets - Suggested links to the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain Conference A Supporting Resource Pack for Teachers was created to be used in conjunction with and/ or independently of, the conference. It provides background information and relevant websites as well as student evaluation sheets and links to the Higher Psychology and Human Biology curricula. The Tall Tales Conference took place in September and aimed to unravel psychology and neuroscience topics that are seen in the popular press but are often misrepresented: the so-called tall tales. The themes covered included: Memory and Learning including Intelli-
gence; Language and Communication and Brain and Behaviour. 17 schools and Colleges attended the Conference from all over Scotland and as far afield as the Isle of Skye, resulting in 486 pupils and teachers in total. A Continuing Professional Development Workshop was also held in advance of the Conference for Higher Human Biology and Higher Psychology teachers and 21 teachers attended this from a total of 12 schools. Annual Inspiration Awards Contributors to RSE Young Peoples activities are inspirational role models for young scientists in schools form the Borders to the Highlands. The 2007 awardees were: Dr Susan Armstrong; Professor Anthony Busuttil; Dr Bruce Davies; Mr Bob Kibble; Professor Thomas Krauss and Dr Val Mann. The awards were presented by Professor Miles Padgett, who provided a review of the year, Professor Jan MacDonald, VicePresident of the RSE talked about the new RSE@Arbroath programme to begin in January 2008, and Mr. Bob Kibble provided an over view of the Telford Primary school resource pack.
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RESEARCH AND ENTERPRISE AWARDS

The following awards were made in Session 2006/2007 RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS BP Personal Dr David Krasa. Geologys record collection - Studying the reliabiity of palaeomagnetic data by means of nanofabricated magnetic mineral samples. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh Dr Alexander Morozov. Viscoelastic instabilities in flows of polymer solutions. School of Physics, University of Edinburgh CRF European Visiting Dr Maurizio Campanelli. Explore chapters on foreign history in the Cronica of the Anonimo romano; the use of Livy in the Cronica; the authors ideas about history writing compared with other theories on history in 14th Century Europe; and the city of Rome portrayed in Cronica. Dr Emilio Jose Luque Azcona. Issues involved in dealing with historic quarters within cities. Dr Andrew Newby. The philosophical and political links between the Victorian land reform movement, Irish nationalism, and labour, particularly in relation to the Highland Crofters War. Department of Scottish History, University of Edinburgh Professor Carla Sassi. CaribbeanScottish Passages: representations of colonial relations in Scottish literature. Dr Josefa Toribio-Mateas. Conceptualism vs. Nonconceptualism. Department of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh Dr Arnoud Visser. Confessionalising Augustine: The Impact of Erasmus on the Collected Works of Augustine. School of Classics, University of St Andrews Professor Chris Warhurst. The international comparative analysis of newly completed research into low wage work in the UK and German hotel industries and publication from that research. Department of Human Resource Management, University of Strathclyde Professor Deniz Zeyrek. Range of discourse relations (such as addition, adversative, temporal, causal, conditional etc) that can be encoded in Turkish by discourse connectives. Department of Foreign Language Education & Cognitive Science Program, Middle East Technical University CRF Personal Dr Pleasantine Mill. Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of Novem ENU Mouse Mutants Affecting Hedgehog Signalling
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During Development and Disease. MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital. Dr Alan Parker. Developing optimised adenoviral vectors for in-vivo gene delivery and therapy. BHF Cardiovascular Research Centre, University of Glasgow. Lloyds TSB Personal Dr Linda Ferrington. The effects of cerebrovascular dysfunction on the development of Alzheimers pathology. Centre for Cognitive & Neural Systems, University of Edinburgh Lloyds TSB Support Dr Mark Mon-Williams. Understanding and alleviating movement problems in the elderly with and without stroke. School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen Scottish Government Personal Dr Timothy George. Phosphourous-use efficiency mechanisms in plants as affectedby water availability. Scottish Crop Research Institute Dr Brian Gerardot. Quantum Optics of Single Spins in a Quantum Dot. School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Dr Christopher Tuttle. The Rational Design of Hybrid Catalysts with Computational Methods. Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde
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Scottish Government Support Dr Peter J Bussey. Research on the ZEUS, CDF and FP420 Projects in Experimental Particle Physics. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow Dr Graeme Cooke. Towards Synthetic Flavoenzymes. Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow Professor Richard Ribchester. Translational Biology of Motor Neurone Disease. Department of Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh RESEARCH WORKSHOPS Arts & Humanities Workshops Dr Gail Low. Investigating the archive: An interdisciplinary enquiry into the concept and role of archives. School of Humanities, University of Dundee Mrs Diana Murray. Identifying Scotland - Context and Collaboration. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland Dr John Scally. Darwins Scotland. University of Edinburgh Lloyds TSB Workshops Wendy Loretto.School of Management and Economics, University of Edinburgh Dr Marilyn McGee-Lennon. Including Stakeholders in the Design of Homecare Systems.
Research and Enterprise Awards
Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow Dr Kathleen Riach. The changing working lives of the over-50s: control, choice and flexibility. Department of Management, University of Glasgow RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS AND PRIZES Auber Bequest Award Professor Francesco De Matteis. Bilirubin and Heme as Targets of Cytochrome P450 Activity. School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of London Professor Michael Hattaway. Language and Discovery in English Renaissance Theatre. Cormack Postgraduate Prize Mr Garry W. Angus. On the Proof of Dark Matter, the Law of Gravity, and the Mass of Neutrinos. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews Ms Rita Tojeiro. Non-Gaussianity in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data using the peak-peak correlation function. Royal Observatory Edinburgh Cormack Undergraduate Prize Ms Jennifer A Noble. University of Glasgow Ms Laura J Porter. University of Glasgow
Cormack Vacation Scholarship Mr Euan Bennet. A wave mechanical approach to large scale structure in the universe. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow Mr Ewan Dickson. High energy emission from solar flares. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow Ms Judith Ferguson. The Seismology of Solar Coronal Magnetic Fields. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews Mr Jonathan Higgins. Cosmological Monte Carlo Simulations of Lyman-Alpha Photons. Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh Mr Martin McDonald. Automated Feature Tracking in TRACE Solar UV Data. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow Ms Laura J Porter. Physics of suncomet impacts. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow Mr John Rostron. Angular Momentum Evolution of LowMass Stars on the Main Sequence. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews Henry Dryerre Scholarship Ms Lucinda Low. Do glucocorticoids inhibit cardiovascular lesion formation by reducing inflammation in the vascular wall? Centre
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for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh Lessells Travel Scholarship Mr Daniel Edward Clark. MultiSensor Multi-Target Tracking with Random Sets. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Melbourne Mr Kim de Mora. Engineering a glucose control system in yeast. Department of Systems Biology, Harvard University Ms Susan Deeny. Predicting Fire Performance of Concrete Structures. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, New Zealand Mr David G M Mitchell. A Polynomial approach to Low-Densiy Parity-Check Convolutional Codes. Coding Research Group / Department for Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame Lloyds TSB Studentships Mr Robin Coltman. Is the wiring of the brain faulty in ageing and in Alzheimers Disease?. Centre for Neuroscience Research, University of Edinburgh
ENTERPRISE FELLOWSHIPS BBSRC Dr Andrew Almond. Expediting drug discovery by determining the 3D-structure of small key molecules. Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester Dr Michael McArthur. DNA-based therapies to combat antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Mr Sridhar Vasudevan. Virtual screening: an innovative method for drug discovery and development. Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford Dr Christopher Ward. Commercial exploitation of a novel embryonic stem cell technology. Centre for Molecular Medicine, University of Manchester TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS Mr Colin Guthrie. Fishing. Biology Department, Kelso High School Mr Stuart Robertson. ICT Materials for SSERC. James Gillespies High School
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MEDALS, PRIZES AND PRIZE LECTURESHIPS

Royal Medal 8th Award 2007 Professor Sir David Carter Professor John D M H Laver Sir Thomas F W McKillop Gannochy Trust Innovation Award 5th Award 2007 Dr Andrew Mearns Spragg IEEE/RSE/Wolfson/James Clerk Maxwell Award 1st Award 2006 Dr Irwin M Jacobs Dr Andrew J Viterbi Alexander Ninian Bruce Prize 3rd Award 2007 Professor C J Secombes Bruce Preller Prize Lectureship no award made CRF Prize Lectureship 18th Award 2006-2007 Professor Steven Shoelson Henry Dryerre Prize Lectureship no award made
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GRANTS COMMITTEE
The Grants Committee considered 30 applications and a sum of 11,600 was awarded to 24 applicants. Approximately 67% of this sum was awarded as travel assistance. Travel Assistance Professor W Banks. For travel to Japan. 600 Professor L D Barron. For travel to USA. 700 Professor J C Brown. For travel to China. 600 Professor A Carbery. For travel to Canada. 600 Professor J D Connolly. For travel to Uganda. 700 Professor P Corbet. For travel to Namibia. 300 Professor G B Donaldson. For travel to India. 600 Professor C Eilbeck. For travel to Uzbekistan. 600 Professor T Goodman. For travel to Norway. 300 Professor P Monaghan. For travel to Canada. 600 Professor A Ranicki. For travel to Canada. 400 Professor A H F Robertson. For travel to Jordan. 500 Professor C Trevarthen. For travel to Poland. 300 Professor J Speakman. For travel to Canada. 950 Support for Meetings Professor S Campo. For 12th Glasgow Virology Workshop. 300 Professor D Lee. For Functional Brain Imaging of Movement in Music: A Challenge to Cognitive Neuroscience? 500 Professor J F McMillan. For Rewriting the History of History. 150 Professor R Morris. For Festschrift for Professor Charles Warlow. 500 Professor R Morris. For the Annual Scottish Neuroscience Group Meeting. 600 Professor J Simmons and Professor V Bruce. For the Third International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting. 200 Professor J Speakman. For The Second Integrative Physiology Post-Graduate students Conference. 200 Professor I B Whyte. For The RIAH General Assembly. 750
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Research Visitor to Scotland Professor I Gyongy. To enable Professor Nicolai Krylov, University of Minnesota, to visit Edinburgh. 300
Professor T M Devine. To enable Professor Elizabeth L Ewan to give two lectures at the University of Edinburgh. 350
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INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME
Exchanges Awarded during the Session China - Outgoing Professor James Anderson. University of Aberdeen - Professor Can Li. Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS Professor Peter Clift. University of Aberdeen. - Professor Zhen Sun. South China Sea Institute of Oceanology. Professor Christopher Jefferies. University of Abertay, Dundee. - Professor Yin. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, CAS - Professor Zhang. Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Dr David Logan. University of St Andrews. - Professor Jinxing Lin. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mr Neil McLean. Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. - Professor Chengqing Yin. Research Center for EcoEnvironmental Science, CAS Czech Republic - Incoming Professor Judith Green. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Klara Benesovska. Institute of Art History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Dr Renata Riha. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. - Dr Jitka Buskova. Charles University Czech Republic - Outgoing Dr Elisabetta Girelli. University of St Andrews. - Professor Jan Bernard. FAMU Film School - Dr Ptra Hanakova & Professor Stanislava Pradna. Charles University Hungary - Incoming Dr Kathryn E Arnold. University of Glasgow. - Dr Rita Hargitai. Eotvos Lorand University Professor S L Manning FRSE. University of Edinburgh - Dr Zoltan Imre. Institute for Hungarian Literature Hungary - Outgoing Professor A Carbery FRSE. University of Edinburgh - Professor Szilard Revesz. Renyi Institute Dr Andrew Davison. MRC. - Dr Balazs Harrach. Veterinary Medical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Poland - Incoming Dr David Dryden. University of Edinbrugh. - Dr Janusz Bujnicki. IIMCB
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Professor Hamlyn Jones. University of Dundee at SCRI. - Dr Piotr Baranowski. Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) - Dr Wojciech Mazurek. Institute of Agrophysics, PAN Dr Frithjof Kuepper. Scottish Association for Marine Science. - Dr Malgorzata Szymczak-Zyla. Institute of Oceanology, PAN Dr Gernot Riedel. University of Aberdeen. - Dr Wiktor Niewiadomski. Medical Research Centre, PAN Slovenia - Incoming Dr Vivian Blok. Scottish Crop Research Institute. - Dr Barbara Geric Stare. Agricultural Institute of Slovenia Slovenia - Outgoing Dr Emily Lyle. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Marjetka Golez Kaucic. Institute of Ethnomusicology, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Professor Jo Shaw. University of Edinburgh. - Professor Mirjam Skrk and Professor Danilo Turk. University of Ljubljana Taiwan - Incoming Professor Alan Boyle. University of Ediburgh. - Professor Kuei-Jung Ni. National Chiao Tung University
Professor Francesca Bray. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Jo-Lan Yi. National Taiwan University Professor M J Grimble FRSE. University of Strathclyde - Professor Kuo-Ming Chang. National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences Professor Andrew Jarman. University of Edinburgh. - Professor Angela Chen. National Sun Yet San University Professor Pamela Munn. University of Edinburgh. - Professor Hsiao-Lan Sharon Chen. National Taiwan Normal University Taiwan - Outgoing Dr Jessica Chen-Burger and Professor Robert Fisher. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Yen. Tatung University - Dr Lin. National Centre for High Performance Computing Dr Pei-Jung Chung. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Yu Ted Su. National Chiao Tung University Dr Margery McMahon and Jean Kane. University of Glasgow. - Taipei Municipal University of Education
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International
Open Programme - Incoming Professor Colin Aitken. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Grzegorz Zadora. Institute of Forensic Research, Poland Dr Crispin Bates. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Jan-Peter Hartung. Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University, Germany Dr Timothy Bates. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Michelle Luciano. Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia Dr James Brockmole. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Walter Boot. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Dr Glenn Bryan. Scottish Crop Research Institute. - Dr Rita Ulloa. Institute of Genetic Engineering & Molecular Biology, Argentina Professor Nick Christofi. Napier University. - Dr Galina Matafonova. Baikal Institute of Natural Management, Russia Professor Peter Clift. University of Aberdeen. - Dr Liviu Giosan. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA Professor J Grace FRSE. University of Edinburgh. - Nina Nikonova. Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research
Professor C A Greated FRSE. University of Edinburgh - Professor Nikita Fomin. Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, Belarus Academy of Sciences Dr Chris Hodgson. Moredun Research Institute. - Dr Satish Srivastava. Indian Veterinary Research Institute Professor Russell Howe. University of Aberdeen. - Assoc Professor Hicham Idriss. University of Auckland, New Zealand Dr Ajoy Kar. Heriot-Watt University. - Professor Umesh Govindarao. National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India Dr Frank Keller. University of Edinburgh. - Professor Roger Levy. University of California at San Diego, USA Dr Christophe Lacomme. Scottish Crop Research Institute. - Dr Carola Wagner. Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, Germany Dr David Middleton. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. - Dr Pramote Triboun. Bangkok Herbarium, Thailand Dr Mark Mon-Williams. University of Aberdeen. - Professor Geoffrey Bingham. Indiana University, USA
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Dr Maria Nijnik. The Macaulay Institute. - Professor Petro Lakyda. National Agriculture University of Ukraine - Dr Ihor Soloviy. Ukrainian National Forestry University Dr Patrik Ohberg. University of Strathclyde. - Dr Gediminas Juzeliunas. Vilnius University, Lithuania Dr Rachael Powell. University of Aberdeen. - Dr Marie-Carmen Neipp. Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Spain Professor Julia Preece. University of Glasgow. - Dr Vaiva Zuzeviciute. Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania Dr Zoe Shipton. University of Glasgow. - Dr Steven Micklethwaite. Australian National University Professor M J Steedman FRSE. - Professor Sumru Ozsoy. Bosphorus University, Turkey Dr Finlay Stuart. Isotope Geosciences Unit, University of Edinburgh - Dr Joaquim Juez-Larre. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands Professor G L Taylor FRSE. - Dr Jennifer Wilson. Griffith University, Australia
Dr Peter Taylor. University of Dundee. - Dr Katarzyna RuckemannDziurdzinska. Medical University of Gdansk, Poland Open Programme - Outgoing Dr Rebekka Artz. The Macaulay Institute. - Dr Markus Thormann. Canadian Forestry Service - Professor Line Rocheford. University of Laval, Canada Dr Colin Berry. University of Glasgow. - Professor Tardif & Dr Eric Theaume. Laboratory of Atherosclerosis, Canada - Dr Sylvie Levesque. Montreal Heart Institute Co-ordinating Centre, Canada Dr Marcelo Cintra. University of Edinburgh. - Dr Calin Cascaval. IBM T J Watson Research Center, USA Dr Peter Doerner. University of Edinburgh. - Anne Britt. University of California at Davis, USA - Philip Benfey. Duke University, USA Dr Mark A Freeman. University of Stirling. - Professor Matthias Eydal. University of Iceland Professor Colin Fyfe. University of Paisley. - Schloss Dagstuhl, Germany
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International
Professor Anne Griffiths. University of Edinburgh - Professors Tom Bennett & Chuma Himonga. University of Cape Town, South Africa - Dr Onkemetse Tshosa. University of Botswana - Henk Smith & Dr Aninka Claasens. Legal Resources Centre, South Africa - Professor Ben Cousins. University of the Western Cape, South Africa Dr Hazel Hall. Napier University. - Dr Pierrette Bergeron. Universite de Montreal, Canada Dr Andrea Hamilton. University of Edinburgh. - Professor Bruce Balcom. University of New Brunswick, Canada Professor James Hurford. University of Edinburgh. - Linguistic Society of America annual meeting - Professor Robert Boyd. University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), USA Dr Glenn Iason. Macaulay Institute. - Dr Clare McArthur. University of Sydney, Australia - Professor Brad Potts and Dr Julianne OReilly-Wapstra. University of Tasmania, Australia
Professor Grant Jordan. University of Aberdeen. - Professor Ken Endo and Professor Mikine Yamasaki. Hokkaido University, Japan - Professor Toshi Aiuchi. Otaru University of Commerce, Japan - Professor Toshimitsu Shinkawa. Kyoto University, Japan - Professor Kunihiro Wakamatsu and Professor Kensuke Takayasu, Tokyo, Japan Dr Catriona Kennedy. Napier University. - Denise Spencer and Professor Sanchia Aranda. Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia Dr Raya Khanin. University of Glasgow. - Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, USA Professor Chim Lang. Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee. - Dr Paolo Colombo & Professor Donna Mancini. Columbia University Medical Center, USA Dr Stephen Moggach. University of Edinburgh. - Professor Carl Henrik Gorbitz. University of Oslo, Norway Dr John Moore. Napier University. - Professors McFarlane, Saddler, Lam, Drs Mansfield, Mitchell. University of British Columbia, Canada
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Dr Arindam Mukherjee. The University of Edinburgh. - Dr Anne Mason. University of Vermont, USA Professor Vladimir Nikora. University of Aberdeen. - Dr Nicolas Lamouroux. Cemagref - Agricultural & Environmental Engineering Research, France Professor J I Prosser FRSE. University of Aberdeen. - Professor Lars Baken. Agricultural University of Norway - Professor Janet Jansson. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Dr Neil Stuart. University of Edinburgh. - Keizo Nonomura. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, Chiyoda-ku, Japan Dr Carol Trager-Cowan. University of Strathclyde. - Professor David Joy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA Dr Stephen Woodward. University of Aberdeen. - Dr Caroline Mohammed. University of Tasmania, Australia Events 25 October 2006: Professor Jri Engelbrecht, the President of ALLEA (All European Academies) visited the RSE to give a public lecture on European science policy, as part of a series of high
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profile events arranged by our International Committees European Policy Forum. 7 December 2006: David Graddol, author of the British Council publication English Next visited the RSE to give his views on language learning and to discuss the RSEs event and report Languages in Scotland: Whats the Problem? 28 June 2007: The RSE was pleased to welcome Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, to give this years European Lecture, on the subject of Reforming Europes Universities Why and How? He welcomed the opportunity to engage Scottish universities in dialogue about ways in which the university sector throughout the EU can better contribute to economic and social policy. Visits 23 January 2007: The RSE hosted a visit by Professor Maciej Zylicz of the Foundation for Polish Science and was interested to hear of the work undertaken by the Foundation. The Foundation for Polish Science is an independent, selffinancing non-profit-making organisation established in 1991. The Foundations mission is to provide assistance and support to the scientific community in Poland through individual prizes, grants and scholarships.
International
16 March 2007: The RSE hosted a visit of two representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who were visiting the UK on a British Council organised visit. The visit was an opportunity for the Academy representatives to familiarise themselves with the UK science scene, universities, and the principles on which the science system in the UK is based. 13 April 2007: Chinese science and technology journalists visited the RSE as part of a British Council organised visit to Scotland. The journalists met with representatives of the RSE to discuss our ongoing links with China and to discuss science and technology, and science communication, in Scotland Relations with Sister Academies 23 November 2006: Professor Jn Slezk, First Vice-President and Dr Lubomr Faltan, Scientific Secretary, of The Slovak Academy of Sciences visited the RSE to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between our two organisations. 1 July 2007: Professor Zhu Zuoyan, Vice-President and Ms Yingjie Fan, Program Officer,
Bureau of International Cooperation, of The National Natural Science Foundation of China visited the RSE to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between our two organisations. 28-30 August 2007: The RSE hosted a visit to Edinburgh by representatives of a number of our European Sister Academies. Academies represented were The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, The Polish Academy of Sciences, The Slovak Academy of Sciences and The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The visit was an opportunity to discuss future collaborations and specifically an application to Framework Programme 7. Other Activities Other activities this year include a number of promotional workshops throughout Scotland, providing information on the RSEs international funding schemes. The RSE also continues to be an active member of Scotland Europa and ALLEA .
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FELLOWS SOCIAL EVENTS

Summer Soire - 2 July 2007 New Fellows Induction Day 30 April 2007 Discussion Dinners and Suppers 18 May 2007 - Discussion Supper. The Union of 1707 The Misrepresentation of the Union by Mr Paul Henderson Scott and Two to Tango - The Myth of an English Takeover by Mr Paul Riddell, Senior Assistant Editor, The Scotsman. 15 February 2007- Discussion Supper. What is a National Academy? Chaired by Professor John Richardson FRSE. Speakers: Mr Peter Brown, Former Secretary of the British Academy, Professor Seona Reid, Director of Glasgow School of Art and Sir Michael Atiyah PRSE. Monday 6 November 2006. Discussion Dinner. Rights, Freedom and Welfare in Economics. This dinner followed the lecture by Professor Praqsanta Kumar Pattanaik. Fellows Coffee Meetings Weekly Coffee Meetings were held throughout the winter and spring months. Speakers at the monthly lecture meetings were: 10 October 2006. The Interface between science and art. Professor Roy H Burdon. 7 November 2006. The Crusades from the Muslim side. Professor Carole Hillenbrand 5 December 2006. Nuclear Waste Personal Experience. Professor John R Greening 9 January 2007. The Economics of Climate Change. Sir Alan Peacock 6 February 2007. The Unicorn a curious evolution. Professor John E Dale 6 March 2007. Prematurity and Postmaturity in Scientific Research. Professor Alastair C Wardlaw The Royal Society Dining Club This Club was established on 3rd January 1820, with the view of promoting the objectives of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In Session 2006/2007 meetings were held as follows : 839th dinner - 4 December 2006 Praeses: Professor Carol Duffus Croupier: Professor John Coggins 840th dinner - 2 April 2007 Praeses: Dr Douglas Lloyd Croupier: Professor David Ingram 841st dinner - 4 June 2007 Praeses: The Rt Hon Lord Ross Croupier: Professor Andy Walker 842nd dinner - 8 October 2007 Praeses: Rev Richard Holloway Croupier: Professor Bruce Proudfoot
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Fellows Golf Challenge The 2007 Fellows' Golf Challenge was held at Buchanan Castle Golf Club on Friday 24 August 2007. The winner of the Stewart Cup 2007 was Professor Roy Burdon.
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GRANTS, SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS

The society is grateful to the following organisations for their continuing support during the Session:
BBSRC BP Research Fellowship Trust British Council Caledonian Research Foundation Lord Fleck Will Trust Lessells Trust Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
GM Morrison Charitable Trust Gannochy Trust Science and Technology Facilities Council Scottish Enterprise Scottish Executive The Wellcome Trust
and also to the following for their support for specific events and activities: Anglo Irish Encounter Airborne Initiative Ltd Argyll & Bute Council Arup Barr Ltd British Academy Darwin Trust Esme Fairbairn Foundation Expedition Engineering Faculty of Advocates Foreign & Commonwealth Office Glasgow Maths Journal Trust Mrs S M W Heggie Heriot-Watt University Institute Of Civil Engineers Institution of Engineering and Technology
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Kingdom Holdings London Mathematics Society G M Morrison Charitable Trust Mott MacDonald Orkney Islands Council PPLS University of Edinburgh The Robertson Trust Royal Bank of Scotland Trust for the RSE Royal Norwegian Consul General Scottish Church History Society Scottish History Review Shetland Islands Council Strathmartine Trust Mrs S L Tremlett UPM Tilhill James Weir Foundation
CHANGES IN FELLOWSHIP DURING THE SESSION

DEATHS REPORTED TO THE SOCIETY
Fellows John Swanson BECK Kenneth Walter BENTLEY Alan Geoffrey BROWN Sir John (Harrison) BURNETT George Elder DAVIE Heather May DICK Henry John EVANS Sir (James) Campbell FRASER Sir Abraham GOLDBERG Dr Alexander Reid HILL Richard Milne HOGG Ralston Andrew LAWRIE Sir Ian (Alexander) McGREGOR Anne Laura McLAREN Magnus MAGNUSSON Donald MICHIE Henry Gemmell MORGAN Joseph Alan ROPER Raymond John SCOTHORNE Alastair Ian SCOTT James Boyd SMITH Timothy Lauro Squire SPRIGGE Charles Edwin TAYLOR Harold James THOMAS Geoffrey WEBB Honorary Fellows Frank Albert COTTON Paul HALMOS Martin David KRUSKAL Sir James (Woodham) MENTER Carl-Friedrich VON WEIZSCKER
ELECTIONS
Fellows Graeme John ACKLAND John Arnott BEATH Simon Geoffrey BEST Michael Ian BIRD Christopher M BISHOP Douglas Herbert Rowland BLACKWOOD Nuala Ann BOOTH Peter James BROPHY
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Stewart Jay BROWN John Robert BROWN Stephen Terrence BUCKLAND John William CAIRNS Donald Murray CAMPBELL Richard CARTER Andy CLARK John Wilson CRAWFORD
Richard Walter John MontaguDouglas-Scott DALKEITH Martin David DAWSON Kishan DHOLAKIA James Scott DUNLOP Emad Munir Abdel-Gabbar ELOMAR Julie Lydia FITZPATRICK Duncan Baillie FORRESTER Sergey FOSS Geoffrey Michael GADD James Daniel (Jim) GALLAGHER David Alexander Forsyth GILLESPIE Duncan GRAHAM Susan Adele GREENFIELD William John HARDCASTLE Jane Elizabeth HILLSTON Tessa Laurie HOLYOAKE Robert Malcolm W HORNER James Robert HUNTER Ruth Frances JARRETT
Charles Adrian JEFFERY John KAY Graeme Thomas LAURIE Kennedy Richardson LEES Brian LOASBY Colin Darnley McCAIG Kenneth Edward Louis McCOLL James Loy MacMILLAN Gordon Grier Thomson MASTERTON William Branks MOTHERWELL Gareth PENDER Martin John PICKERING Adrienne Clare SCULLION Christopher John SECOMBES Martin John SIEGERT Antonella SORACE Peter Michael SULLIVAN Michael WEISS Hugh John WILLISON Jennifer Grant WISHART
Corresponding Fellows Gavin BROWN Ian DUNCAN Ilkka Aulis HANSKI Nicolai Vladimirovich KRYLOV Ole Didrik LAERUM
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Ian McALLISTER Ronald D G McKAY Jan PALOUS Angus William THOMSON Iain Richard TORRANCE
STAFF CHANGES DURING THE SESSION

Arrivals Ms Koren Calder, Education Outreach Officer Mrs Jean Geoghegan, Accounts Officer Mr Bristow Muldoon, Parliamentary Liaison Officer Departures Ms Lia Brennan, Events Officer Mr Ian Melville, Policy Officer Ms Kate Piper, Records Management Officer Mrs Margaret Tait, Receptionist/ Telephonist Ms Laura Turnbull, Admin/ Receptionist
Other Staff in post throughout the Session Ms Christel Baudere, HR Assistant Mr Stuart Brown, PR and Communications Manager Mrs Rosn Calvert-Elliott, Events Manager Ms Jennifer Cameron, Office Services and IT Support Manager Dr Lesley Campbell, Fellowship, Policy, and Journals Manager Ms Morven Chisholm, International Relations Officer Mr Andy Curran, Property Services Officer Dr William Duncan, Chief Executive Miss Kate Ellis, Director of Finance Mrs Anne Fraser, Research Awards and International Manager Mrs Vicki Hammond, Journals and Archive Officer Mr William Hardie, Energy Enquiry Administrative Assistant Mrs Isabel Hastie, Receptionist/ Telephonist Mr Graeme Herbert, Director of Corporate Services and Deputy Chief Executive
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Ms Lyndsey Hume, Conference Centre Co-ordinator Mr Robert Hunter, Evening Caretaker Mr Robert Lachlan, Accounts Officer Mrs Jenny Liddell, Communications Officer Mr George Pendleton, Facilities Assistant Dr Marc Rands, Policy Officer Ms Tracy Rickard, Research Awards Co-ordinator Mr Brian Scott, Technical Support Assistant Mrs Sheila Stuart, Administration Assistant Ms Claire Swatton, Events/ Education Assistant Ms Susan Walker, Events Officer Mrs Doreen Waterland, PA to President and Chief Executive Mr Duncan Welsh, Events Officer
OBITUARY NOTICES
John Stuart ARCHER ............................................................................. 250 John Swanson BECK ............................................................................. 253 Sir John BURNETT .................................................................................. 258 Henry John EVANS ................................................................................. 261 Sir Campbell FRASER ............................................................................. 264 Professor Sir Abraham GOLDBERG ....................................................... 268 Anders Hjorth HALD .............................................................................. 273 Henry HEANEY ....................................................................................... 275 Douglas Mackay HENDERSON ............................................................... 279 Richard Milne HOGG ............................................................................ 287 Martin David KRUSKAL .......................................................................... 289 Peter Nielsen LADEFOGED ..................................................................... 293 John McINTYRE ..................................................................................... 295 Andrew Ronald MITCHELL .................................................................... 298 Wallace Spencer PITCHER ...................................................................... 302 Professor Geoffrey WEBB ...................................................................... 307
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The Royal Society of Edinburgh
John Stuart Archer 15 June 1943 9 December 2007
John Archer was Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University from January 1997 until his retirement in July 2006. During Principal Archers tenure the University grew substantially, with overall student numbers increasing by a third, including a doubling of the number of postgraduate students. During the same period, Heriot-Watt made considerable advances in research, became recognised as Scotlands most international university with around thirty per cent of on-campus students from outside the UK, and achieved unparalleled numbers of offcampus students studying Heriot-Watt programmes in well over 100 countries. John Archer was brought up in London, attending Chiswick Grammar School and gaining a BSc degree in Industrial Chemistry from City University in 1965. He went on to obtain a PhD at Imperial College in London before commencing his career as a Petroleum Engineer, spending four years in Canada with Esso, and then, back in the UK, working as a consultant and founding his own company in 1977. He took up a Readership in Petroleum Engineering at Imperial College in
1980, was appointed Professor in 1986 and Head of the Department of Mineral Resources Engineering. He went on to play an increasingly senior role in the management of Imperial College, first as Dean, then Pro-Rector and finally Deputy Rector. As Principal of Heriot-Watt from 1997, Professor Archer emphasised the importance of growth in terms of research and in the numbers of international and postgraduate students. He encouraged investment by the University in the appointment of leading research staff in anticipation of the UKs Research Assessment Exercise of 2001. The outcome was significant growth both in research standing and income to the University. Nevertheless the University, like many others, faced severe budgetary pressures around the beginning of the present decade and financial deficits were incurred for several years. Principal Archer oversaw a major and successful restructuring of the University from a number of independent, single-discipline departments to a smaller number of larger, multidisciplinary schools. The result was a stronger academic structure and a return to financial health from 2002 onwards.
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Obituary Notices
Principal Archer oversaw the merger in 1997 with the Scottish College of Textiles to create the Universitys Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels; the transfer of the School of Planning and Housing from Edinburgh College of Art to Heriot-Watt in 2002; and the formation of the Universitys new campus in Dubai in 2005. Towards the end of his time as Principal, he took a leading part in promoting Heriot-Watts participation in a series of multi-university research collaborative partnerships across Scotland to create what has become known as Research Pooling, a uniquely Scottish approach to university research within the UK. John Archer was a man of considerable personal charm and good humour. Together with his wife Lesley, he was tireless in his promotion of Heriot-Watt University within Scotland, often attending events of one sort and another every night of week. They made many visits to the Universitys learning partners in different parts of the world. Johns own interests included the growing of fruit and vegetables: he was particularly proud of his plot in the walled garden of the Principals residence, Hermiston House. He was also a great enthusiast for and supporter of the performing arts. One of his most enduring contributions at Heriot-Watt was the appointment, initially with
generous industrial support, of a Musician in Residence who created a University orchestra and choir. Now, the orchestra and choir regularly perform to sell out audiences in an activity that brings together all members of the University from the newest undergraduates to its most senior officers and covering virtually every academic and support function. It was fitting that on the occasion of Johns retirement dinner in 2006, the University Choir should perform the premire of a setting of the poem, Teach me to learn by George Mackay Brown specially commissioned for the occasion. John Archer made a major contribution to life in Scotland and the UK, not only through his leadership of Heriot-Watt University but also through his many external appointments, including as a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, as Chairman of Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, as Convenor of the Research and Commercialisation Committee of the Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals, as Chair of the Research Policy Committee of Universities UK, as Convenor of Universities Scotland and as President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He was a considerable enthusiast for academic links within Europe and active within the European
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Universities Association. John Archer received many honours, including honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College, City University and Heriot-Watt University. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and was
appointed CBE for services to Higher Education in 2002. John Archer died in December 2007 after a long and courageous battle against cancer. He is survived by his wife, Lesley, and their son and daughter, Adam and Louise. J.E.L. Simmons
John Stuart Archer CBE. BSc, DSc (City University, London), PhD, DIC (Imperial College London), HonDSc (Edinburgh, Imperial, City), HonDUniv (Heriot-Watt). FREng, FChemE, FCGI, FIC, FInstE. Born 15 June 1943; Elected FRSE 2 March 1998; Died 9 December 2007.
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Obituary Notices
John Swanson Beck 22 August 1928 29 January 2007
Professor John Beck who died on 29 January 2007, was a distinguished academic pathologist who contributed much to the clinical practice of diagnostic pathology, to medical education both at the under- and postgraduate level and to medical research throughout a long career spanning more than 50 years. He was part of a small group of medical scientists in Scotland in the second half of the last century whose influence on the development of their specialty was far reaching and spread worldwide. His passion and enthusiasm for his many interests and his boundless energy were truly infectious for those who knew him and worked with him, and remained undiminished until the end of his life. Born into a medical family in Glasgow, Beck was educated first at Glasgow Academy and then Glasgow University, where he excelled in his medical studies. Somewhat unusually for the time, he graduated first with an honours degree in physiology in 1950 and then with honours MB ChB in 1953. Perhaps not surprisingly, he was the recipient also of the Brunton Medal awarded to the most outstanding medical graduate of the year.
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His initial postgraduate training took place in Glasgow, where he decided early on to pursue a career in laboratory medicine so that he could combine experimental studies on human disease with clinical diagnostic work. Between 1953 and 1958 he held junior posts in various Glasgow hospitals before being appointed in 1958 to a lectureship in pathology in Glasgow University, based at the Western Infirmary. Here his lifelong research interests in clinical problems, centred at the interface between tissue pathology and immune reactivity, were initiated. After an MRC Clinical Research Fellowship held at Mill Hill in London, he moved in 1963 to Aberdeen University as Senior Lecturer in Pathology based in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, joining the department headed by the distinguished Scottish pathologist, Sir Alastair Currie, a former President of this Society. Working with Sir Alastair and other colleagues, his career flourished and in 1971 he was appointed to the Chair of Pathology at Dundee University and as Clinical Director of Pathology at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
He remained in this position until his retirement in 1993, during which time he established a department that became one of the leading academic centres in pathology in the country. Unwilling to accept the normal pattern of activity on retirement, he took up an appointment shortly afterwards as Foundation Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the International Medical College in Kuala Lumpur. This involved establishing from scratch a new medical college independent of any financial support from the Malaysian Government, so as to avoid any discrimination on non-academic grounds of students who might not otherwise enjoy such opportunities. His principal objective was to provide an affordable education in preclinical medical sciences and pharmaceutical subjects for Malaysian students to the standards that were expected in leading European, North American, and Australasian Universities. He approached this somewhat daunting task with his usual enthusiasm and energy, recruiting the teaching and administrative staff required, developing new curricula in preclinical medical sciences and pharmaceutical subjects, fitting out new teaching spaces and establishing the necessary collaborations with the 20 other Western Medical Schools and
Universities needed for students to complete their clinical and pharmaceutical training and to graduate from these centres. It was to his great credit and a lasting tribute to his achievements that by the time of his retiral in 1997, the College was recruiting nearly 500 students each year and has since been granted full independent University status by the Malaysian authorities. In recognition of these contributions, he was given a Distinguished Scholar award by the International Medical University, Malaysia, the highest accolade it can bestow. His second retirement however, true to character, was short-lived, and soon after returning to his home in Kirriemuir he became heavily involved in the affairs of this Society, serving on the Council (for the second time) from 1997 to 2003 as Secretary to Meetings and subsequently Programme Convener.. In recognition of his many contributions since election as a Fellow in 1984, he was awarded the Societys Bicentenary Medal in 2004. Despite these commitments, it is remarkable that during this period of service to the Society he found time also to pursue his long standing interest in mathematics, enrolling for a degree course at St Andrews University from which he
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graduated successfully with honours shortly before his death. Becks research work took many forms during his life, although largely focused on the pathogenic significance of immune tissue reactions in connective tissue and autoimmune diseases, and in chronic debilitating infections such as tuberculosis and leprosy. The techniques he developed were widely used for many years in clinical laboratories for diagnostic purposes and for monitoring patients suffering from such conditions. He was among the first to recognise that selected human sera containing well-characterised autoantibodies could be used as discriminating reagents in cytochemical localisation studies. A by-product of this work was the use of these reagents to study aspects of nuclear division in mammalian cells, and in the nuclear structure of trypanosomes. He was first also to demonstrate immunocytochemical localisation of human growth hormone in the pituitary acidophils, and the foetal adenohyophysis and the localisation of human placental lactogen in the syncytiotrophoblast of the human placenta. In his work on autoimmune forms of thyroid disease, he was first to describe the hyperplastic changes in the thymus that accompany
Graves disease, the commonest form of hyperthyroidism, and the changes that followed treatment by chemical and surgical means in these organs. These were important studies in understanding the pathogenesis of this condition. He pioneered studies on lymphocyte stimulation tests and conducted novel investigations that demonstrated the pathophysiological basis of the tuberculin test widely used throughout the world to determine whether humans and cattle have been exposed to tuberculous infection. In other studies of immune responses in infections with tuberculosis and leprosy he was able, with other colleagues, to demonstrate that certain genetic factors played an important part in determining the susceptibility to these infections. In further studies, just prior to his retirement from Dundee, he developed a novel and simple method for detecting the peripheral neuropathy that causes loss of limb function and the greatest disability in leprosy at an early stage when it might be treatable. These important studies resulted in over 300 publications in scientific and medical journals during his research career.
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Throughout his professional life, Beck contributed significantly to diagnostic clinical service work wherever he was based. Increasingly this took on a more managerial and administrative form, culminating in his appointment as Clinical Director for Pathological Services at Dundee Teaching Hospitals. In this capacity he took a special interest in the accuracy of the subjective morphological assessments made by consultant pathologists of tissue biopsy material, and the laboratories in Dundee were one of the first to introduce robust methods for the quality control of such procedures. These methods have since been widely adopted and form part of the accreditation process in pathology for NHS laboratories. His interest in new approaches to teaching medical undergraduates led him also to develop new curricula that concentrated more on the pathophysiological aspects of disease and its clinical relevance, as compared with more traditional courses in vogue elsewhere. He was an ardent exponent too of problem-solving methods of teaching and their use for examination purposes, long before these became more widely applied.
Despite such heavy clinical service and academic commitments, Beck was always willing to play his part in providing advice and support to government departments and other organisations relevant to his interests. In Scotland, he served the Chief Scientists Office on many research and technology committees dealing with medical research issues. For many years he was a member of Tayside Health Board, and served on various Scottish Home and Health Department advisory bodies. At the national level, he was a member of several key advisory and grant-awarding committees of the Medical Research Council and of the Department of Health and Social Services. He was appointed to and chaired committees for the National Biological Standards Board and for the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Pathology. On two separate occasions he served on the Council of this Society and apart from service for six years as Meetings and Programme Convenor, he was also a member of various committees assessing suitability of candidates for Fellowship and for awarding research grants administered by the Society.
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John Beck led a very full life, during which he achieved a great deal medically and scientifically, and he received many academic awards in recognition of his contributions. He was intensely loyal to his colleagues and friends and took great pride and interest in students and young doctors who
trained with him. He was held in the highest regard by these individuals, who were inspired by the energy and enthusiasm he displayed in all that he did and by the standards he set in the course of his professional life. He was devoted to his wife Marion, now sadly deceased, and to his son and his daughter, who survive him. Colin Bird
John Swanson Beck, BSc Hons, MB ChB Hons, MD Hons (Glasgow), DSc (Dundee), FRCPath, FRCPSG, FRCPE, FIBiol, FRSA, FRCPI, FRACP, Dr Hon Causa (Strathclyde), Distinguished Scholar (IMU). Born 22 August 1928; Elected FRSE 5 March 1984; Died 29 January 2007
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Sir John Burnett 21 January 1922 22 July 2007
John Burnett was a person of unusually broad experience and interests. These included: active service in the Second World War, important fundamental research into fungi and their genetics, Professorships in four different universities, a Vice-Chancellorship in a fifth, and a key national role in an important aspect of the conservation of biodiversity. He was born on January 21 1922; a son of the manse, since his father was the Reverend T Harrison Burnett, the incumbent of Paisley Abbey. He was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, and then went up to Oxford in 1940 to study Botany at Merton College. He interrupted his student career in 1942 by volunteering for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. He served in destroyers protecting Arctic convoys and in the Mediterranean during the siege of Malta, and was mentioned in despatches. He was also briefly holed up in a cave with Marshal Tito in Yugoslavia during the secret partisan war of the liberation of that country. He was demobilised in 1946, returning to Oxford where he graduated with First Class Honours in Botany in 1947. He was awarded the Christopher Welch
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Research Scholarship which enabled him to begin studying for his DPhil. A year later he also took on teaching duties as a lecturer at Lincoln College, and then gained further distinction in 1949 when he became a Fellow by Examination at Magdalen College. At the same time he was appointed to a University Lectureship at the Botany Department in Oxford. Unsurprisingly, his DPhil was not completed until 1953! It was as a botany student in Oxford in 1949 that I first met John. He gave us lucid, inspirational lectures on genetics. He also taught field classes where, for someone researching fungi, he revealed a remarkably broad and detailed knowledge of flowering plant ecology; it was only years later that I realised the significance of this. He was my tutor for a term, where I experienced at first hand that his wicked sense of humour overlaid real kindness. I still have an undergraduate essay marked by him: an initial grade of A+ crossed out and replaced with A - - - and the comment a dull answer to an even duller question! His promising career at Oxford was abruptly changed in the early 1950s by the appointment of a famous cytologist/geneticist as the
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new head of the Botany Department. This person proved so difficult and unpopular that one third of the staff soon moved to other universities or departments. John left a lectureship and prestigious college fellowship at Oxford for a lectureship at Liverpool University in 1954. A year later (and only two years after gaining his DPhil), he was appointed Professor of Botany at St. Andrews at the surprisingly young age of 33. It was here that his talents for academic leadership began to emerge: only three years after his appointment, he became Dean of the Faculty of Science. In 1961 he moved to a Professorship of Botany at the larger University of Newcastle, becoming the Dean of Science in 1963 and the Public Orator in 1966. After eight years at Newcastle, he was appointed to the Regius Chair of Botany at Glasgow University. Thus, within 16 years he had held academic positions of increasing prominence in five different British universities. The circle was complete in 1970 when he returned to Oxford - not to Botany, but to the Department of Agriculture, where his title was Sibthorpian Professor of Rural Economy (and in a building with the name Scholae Rusticae Oeconomicae engraved over its entrance). I was a member of staff at the time and witnessed at first hand his modernising leadership
of an exceptionally happy and close-knit department. He also played a vital role in the two major central university committees at Oxford during a period of significant change in that institution. In 1980, he reached the highest point of his academic career, becoming Principal and ViceChancellor of the University of Edinburgh. His wide experience and leadership skills proved of great benefit to the university at a difficult time, when the Higher Education system was suffering under the Thatcher regime. Fittingly, he supervised the 400th anniversary of the University during his term of office, and led the unique Edinburgh Conversations which brought together Russian and UK scientists during the Cold War. Despite the wide variety of administrative distractions, he remained very active academically. Over the space of 40 years he wrote, or edited and contributed to, no fewer than ten books. The titles of some of them reveal the breadth of his interests, e.g. The Vegetation of Scotland (1964), Fundamentals of Mycology (1968 - 3rd edition 1994!), Mycogenetics (1975), The Maintenance of the Biosphere (1989), Biological Recording in the UK: present practice and future developments (1996), and Fungal populations and species (2003).
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Throughout his career he had a deep interest in conservation. Already in his Editors preface and opening chapter of The Vegetation of Scotland, he recognised that more needed to be done to collect, collate and analyse new information about biodiversity. He had been a member of both the Scottish and English committees of the Nature Conservancy at various times, but it was after his retirement from Edinburgh University in 1987 that this aspect of his activities began to burgeon. He was a member of the Nature Conservancy Council (19871989) serving as Deputy Chairman and Acting Chairman during an unhappy period when it was being broken up into Country Agencies. He was bitterly opposed to this, and played a major role in ensuring that despite the break-up, a UK-wide body was established - the Joint Nature Conservation Committee - to advise the newly established Country Agencies. It was probably because of this that Margaret Thatcher greeted him at a social occasion with Ah, Burnett, my favourite dissident scientist. His other projects at this time included serving as the Executive Secretary of the World Council for
the Biosphere (198793) and Chairman of the International Organisation for Plant Information (199196). But certainly the most significant was his becoming Chairman, and actively leading the work, of the newly formed Coordinating Commission for Biological Recording (1989 2003). As a result of the UK response to the Rio Convention on Biodiversity (1992), this led to the creation of the National Biodiversity Network, of which John was Chair from 2000 to 2005. It was his perspicacious and skilful leadership which helped it to become a world leader in its field, and today it holds data on over 27 million life forms. John was essentially a very private person, but outwardly kind, humorous, friendly, calm and even-tempered, clear-thinking and unpompous. He never boasted of his achievements. In 1945 he married Margaret, the eldest daughter of the Reverend Dr E. W. Bishop, and they had two sons who subsequently pursued successful careers. Their 62-year marriage was a great comfort to them both. David Smith
John Harrison Burnett Kt., M.A., D.Phil (Oxon), Commendatore OM (Italy), Hon. Ll.D. (Glasgow, Dundee, Strathclyde), Dr. Honoris Causa (Edinburgh), Hon. D.Sc. (Buckingham, Pennsylvania USA), Hon. FRCSE, F.I.Biol., Hon. Fellow (Green and Merton Colleges, Oxford), Hon. Research Professor Open University. Born 21 January 1922; Elected FRSE 4 March 1957, died 22 July 2007.
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Henry John Evans 24 December 1930 1 July 2007
John Evans was a distinguished biological scientist, whose research on how potentially hazardous substances can alter the genetic structure and function of cells has done much to set standards to protect humans from the harmful effects of these substances occurring in the environment and in the workplace. During the 25 years of his inspired leadership, the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh expanded to become one of the worlds leading centres for genetics research. John Evans was born and raised in Llanelli in Wales where his mother and his father, a tin plate worker, instilled in him from an early age the value of education and learning. They provided him with the opportunity to attend the Llanelli Boys Grammar School where he excelled not only in academic subjects but also in sports and especially rugby. He progressed from there with the aid of a state scholarship to the University College of Wales, from which he graduated in 1952 first with a science degree and subsequently in 1955 with a PhD. His first appointment on leaving university was as a research scientist in the internationally renowned MRC Radiobiological
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Research Unit at Harwell where he remained for the next ten years, apart from two years sabbatical leave at the prestigious Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. Scientifically this was a highly productive period of his life during which he made seminal contributions to understanding how radiations, and other mutagenic substances, could cause damage to chromosomes and perturb the normal cell cycle within human and other mammalian cells. His important findings contributed significantly to the setting of standards that are now employed throughout the world to protect humans from the effects of such potentially harmful agents, both in our environment and in industry. In 1964 he was appointed at the very early age of 34 to the Chair and Headship of the Department of Genetics in the University of Aberdeen, remaining there until 1969, when he was persuaded by the Head of the MRC, and the Principal of Edinburgh University, to take up the Directorship of the then-named MRC Clinical and Population Cytogenetics Unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. Over the next 25 years under his inspirational leadership
the Unit quadrupled in size, recruiting many outstanding scientists from other places to become one of the worlds leading centres for genetics research. Together with his colleagues, ground breaking research was undertaken on various aspects of chromosome structure and function, on new ways to identify and map human genes, in addition to continuing research on the cellular effects of mutagenic substances. New lines of investigation were instigated concerned with the mechanisms of human genetic disease and of developmental genetics which, together with the work on chromosomal biology, still constitute the Units principal research themes 13 years after his retirement. To reflect the expanded and new research interests, the Unit was renamed during this period as the MRC Human Genetics Unit and constitutes now the largest of the UK Research Units directly supported by the MRC. His enlightened views on how such a Unit should interact more widely within the local clinical research community greatly benefited both the NHS in Lothian and the Edinburgh Medical School. He encouraged his staff to establish joint research programmes with relevant clinical colleagues, and the research itself was often conducted principally
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within the laboratories of the Unit. Moreover, he provided opportunities for young clinicians to train in the Units world class research laboratories, enabling many of them to obtain higher degrees and promote their careers substantially. He assisted the Medical School to obtain funding to establish new research centres at the Western General Hospital, paving the way for further research developments on that site in later years. Within the Unit, he took a great interest also in nurturing the careers of his junior staff, in so doing enabling many promising young women researchers to juggle the demands of family life with a successful career in research. Some of the present world leaders in genetic research remain deeply indebted to him for the support he gave to them during the early parts of their careers. Despite the many demands made on his time as Director of such a large and flourishing Research Unit, John Evans still found it possible to play a wider role on the national and international scene. Over the years he sat on many committees, both in this country and abroad, charged with the responsibility for shaping research policy and optimal use of funds to support medical and biological research. These included the US National Academy of Science Committee on Biological Effects of Ionising Radiations, the International
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Committee for the Protection of the Environment from Mutagens and Chemicals, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Radiations, the Scientific Council of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, the Medical Research Council, the predecessors of Cancer Research UK and various UK Government and Charitable Organisations. In many instances he was asked to chair these committees, where his consummate skills in decision making with disparate groups of individuals were much admired. A gifted speaker and communicator, he was invited to give many prestigious lectures in various parts of the world and he was awarded a number of international prizes for his research contributions. Like many of his predecessors he had a deep love of music, especially its traditional and classical forms and of opera. Although proud of his Welsh origins, he was also very devoted to Scotland and to things Scottish, having lived there for the greater part of his life. His holiday home on the island of Barra brought great joy both to him and to his wife Ros which they loved to share with friends fortunate enough to make the journey there. And he was an enthusiastic supporter of Scotland at football and rugby, except
when playing Wales in which circumstances it was only to be expected that he should revert to his native allegiance. He had a fondness also for Scotlands most famous product malt whisky albeit in modest quantities, and an evening spent having dinner in his Edinburgh home was never quite complete without sampling his latest acquisition. In his life John Evans had to deal with more than his fair share of personal adversities. His first wife died from cancer at a very early age and he was left for a time to bring up four teenage boys on his own whilst holding down a most challenging and demanding job. As with later family problems he buckled down to deal with these without complaint or rancour. His subsequent marriage to Ros, a distinguished scientist in her own right, brought him great joy and happiness and a shared interest in scientific and other matters. He was a most kind and generous man to friends and colleagues alike and he remained entirely humble and unassuming despite his many important achievements and scientific contributions. He will be remembered with great fondness, gratitude and admiration by everyone with whom he came into contact. He is survived by his wife, Ros and his four sons. Colin Bird
Henry John Evans CBE. BSc, PhD (University College of Wales), FIBiol, FRCP Edinburgh, FRCS Edinburgh, Hon DSc (Edinburgh). Born 24th December, 1930; Elected FRSE 3 March 1969; Died 1st July 2007.
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Sir Campbell Fraser 2 May 1923 27 April 2007
Sir Campbell Fraser, who died on 27 April 2007, shortly before his 84th birthday, was one of the leading industrialists of his generation. As Chairman of one of the UKs largest manufacturing companies from 1977 until 1983, he helped to navigate British industry through a period when conditions were particularly hostile. As President of the Confederation of British Industry during the early years of the Thatcher Government, he provided a quality of national leadership which, although controversial, was much needed. He was also Chairman of Scottish Television, a non-executive director of several other companies, the author of numerous articles, and the founder of a professional society which now enjoys an influential role in British economic affairs. Although his work was international in scope and London-centred, he was committed to the interest of his native Scotland throughout his life. James Campbell Fraser was born in Dunblane, in 1923. He was the son of the local postmaster, and attended the local school before proceeding to McLaren High School in Callander, and thence to Glasgow University. His studies there however were interrupted in 1941 by war service, and he flew
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operationally with the RAF as a navigator until 1945, an experience he always considered himself fortunate to have survived. His RAF training had been in Canada and he studied there at McMaster University before returning to Scotland, attending Dundee School of Economics, then under the wing of St Andrews University, where he graduated BCom in 1950. The same year he married Myar McLaren, whom he had first met (and been much taken with) in his teens. They were to remain together for 52 years. It was a very happy marriage, and he was devoted to his two daughters.
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His career started modestly as an economist with the Raw Cotton Council in Liverpool. After two years he moved to London and a similar position with the Economist Intelligence Unit. The use of economists in business was at that time rare, and they worked in isolation. Campbell felt this keenly. He organised a meeting for the few he knew, and any that they in turn might know, so that they might establish some rapport. At that meeting it was agreed to establish a discussion forum under the title Business Economists Group. It met formally for the first time shortly afterwards in a local pub, and elected Campbell its first Chairman. The Group grew very rapidly, was incorporated with legal status in 1960, and became the Society of Business Economists nine years later. The growth in size and stature of the Society, which is now a body of some influence and standing, became a source of much satisfaction to him. He was President from 1973 to 1985, and remained associated with its affairs until shortly before his death. Campbells approach to his professional life reflected the ethics and disciplines of his upbringing. He believed in hard work and a simple lifestyle, becoming known as Ten o Clock Fraser for his insistence that events should not go on too late
and intrude on a good nights sleep. He also believed in the creative function of companies, that they should serve all those within them and the community as well as their customers, and was a strong believer in employee involvement whenever this was legally possible. He disliked greed, and could become quite passionate in private about company directors whose priority was personal gain. On the two occasions when he was unjustly accused by the media of pursuing this himself, he was noticeably upset. This approach became evident early in his career. Having moved from the Economist Intelligence Unit to Dunlop Rubber Company Ltd as a public relations officer in 1957, he was sent to New Zealand a few years later to close down the companys local subsidiary. He ignored his brief and turned the operation around, restoring it to viability. On his return to the UK he was made an Executive Director. He became a joint Managing Director in 1971, sole Managing Director the following year, and Chairman six years later, a position he held until 1983. As Chairman, he steered Dunlop through a period of exceptional difficulty for UK manufacturing. He was also responsible for one of the first attempts by a UK manufacturing company to effect a transEuropean merger, with Pirelli of
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Italy. Such mergers are normal today, but the idea at that time was radical and broke new ground. In the event it proved too difficult to consummate effectively, and was abandoned. Nevertheless, it was an imaginative attempt to meet the extreme domestic and competitive pressures which British industry was then facing. Towards the end of his Chairmanship he was elected President of the CBI. He was outspokenly effective, if controversial for his view (based on hard experience and in no way ideological) that continuing with the Thatcher Governments economic and labour policies was essential if the UK economy was to reverse its long term decline. During his Presidency, he led a mission to Japan which began the opening of the hitherto closed Japanese market to British imports, and the process of redressing the imbalance in trade flows between the two countries. Outside Dunlop, he became a non-executive director of a wide spread of manufacturing and financial organisations, giving up the last (as a Trustee of The Economist) only last year. Amongst these were British Petroleum, where he remained on the Scottish Advisory Board until 1997, and Wells Fargo Bank, where he was a member of the international advisory board. As
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an aficionado of Westerns, he found the latter involvement particularly agreeable. He was also a most successful and active Chairman of Scottish Television, a post he held for 16 years, from 1975 until 1991. He was instrumental in enabling Scottish Television to retain its franchise at an economic cost, earning much respect from the financial institutions for so doing. Although still centred on London, the Chairmanship of Scottish Television took him back to Scotland regularly, and reintegrated him with Scottish life. He and Myar had a house built in Dunblane, incorporating stone from the old local cinema where they had once courted. He resumed his relationship with Dundee Football Club, and became (but not as a consequence) a visiting professor at Strathclyde and Stirling Universities. He was an early Chairman of Strathclyde Business School and a member of the Court of St Andrews University. He received honorary degrees from both Strathclyde and Stirling, and from Bishops University in Canada. He was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1978, and knighted the same year. Tall and distinguished, with an engaging personality, twinkling charm and an entertaining manner, Campbell Fraser was widely liked, not least for his
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complete lack of pomposity. Collecting a scratch lunch at the very modest sandwich bar opposite his London flat in a side street in Victoria, he would be welcomed by the proprietors with genuine Italianate affection. In the distinguished surroundings of Londons Caledonian Club, of which he had once been Chairman and was in later years the most senior member, he was invariably greeted
warmly and was as at ease with the staff as he was with his fellow members. He will be remembered by all those who encountered him, knew him or worked with him, however, not primarily for this absence of affectation, but for his depth of judgement, for his ready willingness to share his profound professionalism, for his determination and integrity, and for his deep feeling for Scotland. Donald Anderson
(James) Campbell Fraser, Kt, BCom(Dundee), DUniv(Stirling), HonLLD(Strathclyde), HonDCL(Bishops University, Canada), CBIM, FPRI. Born 2 May 1923; Elected FRSE 6 March 1978; Died 27 April 2007.
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Professor Sir Abraham Goldberg 7 December 1923 1 September 2007
Physician, scientist and academic, Professor Sir Abraham Goldberg, who has died aged 83, was one of the most outstanding physician scientists of his generation. Known to all as Abe, Abraham Goldberg was born to immigrant parents from Lithuania and the Ukraine. He excelled throughout his life as a doctor, scientist, teacher, mentor, supporter of good causes and as a dedicated family man. It was as a young boy at primary school in Edinburgh that he fell seriously ill with rheumatic fever, a disease whose late effects 70 years later were to lead to the stroke which so disabled him in the final year of his life. A distinguished pupil at George Heriots, Goldberg won the Crichton scholarship to Edinburgh University medical school, where he was taught and influenced by a number of luminaries, including Sir Sydney Smith, the forensic science pioneer and Jamieson, the renowned anatomist. He graduated in 1946 and a few months later, in 1946, was conscripted into the Royal Army Medical Corps and served two years in Egypt as Senior Medical Officer, rising to the rank of Major.
Despite his outstanding academic record he had difficulty securing his first medical training job locally. After six months at Withington Hospital Manchester and a period as house physician in Halifax, Yorkshire, he completed his pre-registration training back in Edinburgh at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, a post which he later described as a baptism of fire and the hardest job he had ever had to do. Speaking in 1986, he told how he was left to cope alone newly qualified and inexperienced since the hospitals registrars were on Army duty. Wishing to pursue an academic career, he was awarded a Nuffield Research Fellowship in 1952 in the Department of Chemical Pathology at University College Hospital Medical School in London, working with the renowned biochemist Professor Claude Rimington FRS. It was there often working in the laboratory until the early hours of the morning that he acquired the laboratory research skills and scientific rigour that underpinned his future research into abnormalities of the blood pigment, haem, which cause the various debilitating manifestations of porphyria.
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This post led to an Eli Lilly Fellowship at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to work in Salt Lake City with Professor Max Wintrobe, one of the outstanding haematologists of that era: Abe there performed the research that would help establish him as an authority in his field. He enjoyed his time in America, but his egalitarian spirit was not at ease with the inequities of its healthcare system and, in 1957, he was recruited by Professor Edward Wayne, later Sir Edward, as lecturer in the Department of Medicine of Glasgow University at the Western Infirmary. A year earlier, Edinburgh University had awarded Abe the gold medal for his MD thesis on porphyria. In 1956 he also met Clarice, a woman of great charm who was to be his partner and supporter for the rest of his life. After a twoweek romance they got engaged and were married nine months later on September 3, 1957. Goldbergs academic career prospered in Glasgow. Publishing more than 250 papers, he became not only a world authority on porphyria, but also on lead poisoning, and was influential in achieving a safer water supply for Glasgow. He also conducted important studies into the mechanisms of the noxious effects of alcohol. This sustained academic output was rewarded with a Senior Lectureship, Readership,
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then, in 1967, a Personal Chair in the Department of Medicine at Glasgow University, when he also became the Director of the Medical Research Councils group on iron and porphyrin metabolism at the Western Infirmary. His interests in clinical pharmacology and toxicology strengthened with the growing awareness, to which he contributed, that many prescription and even herbal medicines could cause porphyria. In 1970 he succeeded Stanley Alstead as Regius Professor of Materia Medica at Glasgow University, based at Stobhill Hospital, which gave him the opportunity to build up his department with young academics. In 1971 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Among his young academics at Stobhill was Brian Whiting, later to become Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, with whom he worked to produce the so-called drug interaction disc, which was distributed to all practising doctors in the UK. It was also during his tenure of the Chair of Materia Medica that his leadership and expertise as a clinician scientist was recognised by his chairmanship of the Biomedical Research Committee of the Chief Scientists Office, Scottish Home and Health Department, and his membership and in 1973 his Chairmanship of the Clinical Research Board of the Medical Research Council.
Abes final appointment was as Regius Professor of the Practice of Medicine in Glasgow University at the Western Infirmary in 1978, where a major focus of his activity was to be the modernisation of medical undergraduate teaching by the production of entirely new audio-visual teaching materials. It was also during this busy period that he was invited to be Chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) in London. Goldberg was acutely aware of the importance of this committee, which had only recently been formed in the wake of the thalidomide drug toxicity disaster. He became renowned for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the voluminous papers which would arrive in their familiar green bags. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the type of television journalism that favours drama over facts in a BBC Panorama programme about Opren, a drug for arthritis that caused liver disease. This showed the CSM and, in his position as Chairman, Abe himself, in an unfavourable light which was as unfair as it was deeply depressing for him. Nevertheless, he rallied through this difficult period, indeed, with cross-party support for his Chairmanship of the CSM in the House of Commons, and was rightly honoured with a knighthood, conferred in 1983 for his many services to medicine.
As well as being a highly regarded clinician and outstanding researcher, Abe had a passion for teaching. A considerable amount of time was spent with the medical students and junior medical staff imparting his knowledge and enthusiasm for medicine. He ensured that teaching was given a high priority in his Unit and throughout the Glasgow hospitals. In 1962, during his Editorship of the Scottish Medical Journal, he initiated a special series on Scottish Medical Education. Abe will be forever remembered for his dermatome dance, a routine which he had invented to help the students remember the nerve supply of the skin in different regions of their body, which involved them placing their hands on different parts of their body while reciting the corresponding nerve supply. It is often stated that doctors are more interested in the diseases from which their patients suffer than in the patients themselves, but this was not true in Abes case. He took a personal interest in his patients who suffered from acute porphyria, sending every one of them a Christmas card right up until the year of his death, eighteen years after retiring. Always teaching that research should be fun, Abe inspired a generation of medical researchers. Like every successful professional
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his work was his hobby. Sometimes his research fellows found his lateral thinking difficult to follow. However, that was part of his genius. As a truly original thinker he had the gift of being able to look at what everyone else was looking at and see what nobody else could see. He had the ability to ask penetrating questions which could open up an entirely new area of research. Abe had a remarkable memory, something which junior staff discovered to their peril when he would ask for the results of a test he had requested several weeks earlier and which had not been adequately prioritised. He retained his keen memory all his years. Chronic back pain plagued Abe through most of his life. It inhibited his ability to travel and forced him to relinquish his election to President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow. His chronic pain gave him a special ability to relate to the suffering of many of the patients under his care. Despite his back pain, he accepted the invitation to become Founder President of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, a role which he presided over from 1989 to 1991. Abe lived in interesting times. His medical celebrity brought him many prizes, eponymous lecture271
ships and several overseas visits. Memoirs of those times spent in the Middle East during Israels birth pangs (when he met David Ben-Gurion, the Israeli prime minister), and of being in South Africa during apartheid, tell much about Goldbergs abhorrence of discrimination and his passion for fairness in the world. Success such as his has to be won in an often hostile environment in which certain personal characteristics must be displayed appropriately. Ambition, energy, passion, tenacity and singlemindedness made him either famous or notorious depending on where one stood with him. Retirement was an opportunity to indulge fully his passion for history and his gift for creative writing, which he had revealed during his career by the publication of many non-medical articles in newspapers and magazines. He also gave generously of his time in charitable works, including the promotion of a better understanding between those of his faith and others. Abe was a staunch family man. Despite his huge workload, he remained close to and engaged with his family. He recognised and often stated that medicine was a very jealous mistress, consuming much of his time and energy. However, he always asserted that his wife and family were his
greatest blessing. He referred to them as his true crown. He recounted how his family expanded his life by increasing his experience of joy and pain. He regularly took his two boys David and Richard to see Celtic play in Glasgow. His practical genius even enabled him to combine quality time with his family with his professional duties. He regularly brought his two young boys on his Saturday morning ward round which started at midday. Abe was remarkable for the breadth as well as the extent of his achievements. In this respect he was the last of a breed of professors of medicine. He excelled as a clinician, researcher, teacher and administrator. His had influence which extended from his own medical unit throughout the whole hospital, his city, his country and internationally. His influence lives on through the many changes he introduced and through the many people who have had the privilege to work alongside him. He was honoured in his home country and city as well as abroad. In 1989, the year of his retiral, he received the City of Glasgow Lord
Provosts Award for Public Service. A year earlier he had given the Fitzpatrick Lecture of the Royal College of Physicians of London on the history of European medicine. It was in such public lectures that he was able to convey his great love of history. After delivering the Goodall Memorial Lecture of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow on James VI and I, he was appointed Honorary Senior (later Professorial) Research Fellow in the Department of Modern History at the University of Glasgow. He continued in his retirement to write papers and deliver public lectures on a range of topics, including Dreyfus, Theodore Herzl, Weizmann, Wilberforce and Glasgow Medicine in 1900. Abe was always aware of the treasure he had in his wife Clarice. He was buried 50 years to the minute of his marriage to her. She survives him, together with his three children, David, Jennifer and Richard and four grandchildren. Reproduced courtesy of The Herald, with additional contributions from Professor Kenneth McColl and Professor Henry Dargie.
Abraham Goldberg Kt, MB, ChB, MD (Edinburgh), DSc(Glasgow), FRCPGlas, FRCPE, FRCP, FFPM. Born December 7 1923; Elected FRSE 1 March 1971, Died September 1 2007.
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Anders Hjorth Hald 3 June 1913 11 November 2007
Anders Hjorth Hald, one of Denmarks most distinguished statisticians, died on 11 November 2007. In 2001, he had become one of the first group of eminent foreign scholars elected to our new category of Corresponding Fellows. Unfortunately, he never had any subsequent opportunity to visit Edinburgh and so to develop his intended role as an academic link between Denmark and Scotland. Anders, born in 1913, was the son of a village schoolmaster in Jylland. Like many Scandinavian statisticians, his university studies were in actuarial science. Doubtless his early success in winning a gold medal for a student paper on: Mathematical exposition of R. A. Fishers Theories was a factor in his appointment as a statistical assistant to Georg Rasch, at the internationally renowned State Serum Institute. His rapidly developing interest in diverse practical applications of mathematical theory was evident in his deservedly successful 1948 textbook: Statistical Theory with Engineering Applications [English edition 1952]. In 1960 he became the first Professor of Mathematical Statistics in the University of Copenhagen, an influential post
that he held until retirement in 1982. His researches in industrial quality control and associated sampling studies were always informed by his deep practical sense. This brought him international repute as teacher and consultant. His own travels and his encouragement of foreign visitors to his Department were important to the growth of cooperative statistical activities especially in Europe but also further afield. An involvement in writing the history of his university turned his mind to surveying the history of statistics. This resulted in two splendid volumes. First in 1990 was A History of Probability and Statistics and their Applications Before 1750; next in 1998 came A History of Mathematical Statistics From 1750 to 1930, which will be his memorial for many years to come. He deployed his own great mathematical powers to rewrite the original papers in a uniform modern terminology and notation, so permitting him to add illuminatory comments from a modern standpoint on researches that extend from De Moivre to Fisher. He did much to clarify the importance of early Danish contributions.
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Halds many honours included Membership of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters and of the Danish Academy for the Technical Sciences, Fellowship of the American Statistical Association and of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Honorary
Fellowship of the Royal Statistical Society and honorary doctorates. David Finney I am indebted to Professor Niels Keiding for information taken from his more detailed notice in the ISI Newsletter number 1 for 2008.
Anders Hjorth Hald. MSc, Dr Phil (Copenhagan), Drhc (Danish Technical University), Member of The Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, Member of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics , FASA, HonFRSS, Hon Member, Danish Society for Theoretical Statistics. Born 3 June 1913; Elected CorrFRSE 5 March 2001; Died 11 November 2007.
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Henry Heaney 2 January 1935 14 September 1999
Henry Heaney was the University Librarian and Keeper of the Hunterian Books and Manuscripts at the University of Glasgow for twenty years until his retirement in September 1998. He was born in Newry, Northern Ireland, and after secondary school went to Queens University Belfast. In 1957 he graduated with a BA in Modern History, and in 1970 took an MA with a thesis on prison reform, a subject which remained dear to his heart. After graduating he became an Assistant Librarian at Queens, and in 1963 obtained his first post as Librarian at Magee University College in Londonderry, which subsequently became part of the New University of Ulster. In 1972 he took up the post of University Librarian at Queens, Belfast, and in 1975 moved to Dublin to become Librarian of University College Dublin, before coming to Glasgow in 1978. His twenty years at Glasgow saw a revolution in the way in which the University and its Library operated, the most significant being the rise of electronic information sources and delivery. They were also characterised by significant additions to the fabric of the University Library building, the
design and operation of which owed much to Henrys characteristic blend of innovation and conservatism while always open to new initiatives and opportunities, he was well aware of the need to retain the best of past practice and activity, thereby creating an evolutionary process of change. The many positive developments of the eighties were unfortunately matched by a prolonged period of financial uncertainty, as the various crises in Higher Education began to bite. Henrys response to these and to other developments was collaborative activity. He made sure that Glasgow was a founder member of the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) which he helped to transform from a small informal group to an effective and successful organisation. As CURL developed he became the Chair of the management committee, and when it became a limited company the first Chairman of the Board. From a very early stage, he saw collaboration as the only way in which cash-strapped libraries would be able to work together on projects which would ensure their development, or even survival. Collaboration has resulted in a number of important
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products such as COPAC (CURL Online Public Access Catalogue), a database listing many of the holdings of the CURL libraries, and SALSER (Scottish Academic Libraries Serials Project), a Scotland-wide database for academic journals. Also noteworthy was his pioneering work on Conspectus, an American system for recording the strengths of libraries collections. Henrys interest in Conspectus mirrored another significant aspect of his work in Glasgow: his knowledge of and love for the wealth of the collections, particularly (he Special Collections. He valued his title of Keeper of the Hunterian Books and Manuscripts, and insisted on using it as part of his normal description. He was always keen to ensure that these collections were preserved, developed and exploited, regarding them as a priceless treasure which needed to be passed on to future generations in as fine a state as possible. On the national scene, he will be best remembered as a member of the British Library Board and as a member of the Follett Committee. He ably represented academic libraries on the British Library Board at a time when the design and construction of the St. Pancras building was being virulently criticised on all sides, and defended the project a defence amply justified as anyone
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who has visited the new building will agree. As a member of the Joint funding Councils, Libraries Review Group (the Follett Committee), he was part of one of the most significant developments in 20th century librarianship. The Follett recommendations changed the way in which libraries are viewed and the way in which they will develop. Henrys position on the committee was influential; as a hugely experienced and wellrespected University Librarian he was able to bring an understanding both of the traditional strengths of conventional librarianship and of the exciting possibilities of IT, digitisation and networking. Follett led directly to the Anderson Committee on research needs, another group on which he served with distinction. His work in all these areas was recognised by the award of an OBE in 1996. Among other distinctions, he was a Trustee of the National Library of Scotland between 1980 and 1991 and President of the Scottish Library Association in 1990. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1992. Henry will be remembered by those who knew him for his deep commitment to his profession, his pawky sense of humour and his abiding interest in people; many current University Librarians have benefited from his help, encouragement and friendship as they
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pursued their careers. Within the University of Glasgow, he was a well-known figure and a stalwart of the College Club, whose management committee he chaired for a number of years. His sudden death less than a year after his retirement has cut short a promising second career as
historian; only this year he published an edition of the manuscript journals of Robert Graham of Redgorton under the title A Scottish Whig in Ireland 1835-1838 a project he had long wished to complete. Henry is survived by his wife Mary. Andrew Wale
First published in 1999 in the University of Glasgow Newsletter and reproduced by kind permission.
Henry Heaney an appreciation Andrew Wale has written of Henrys professional contribution but little of the man himself apart from his sense of humour. I should like to add a personal note. His Keepership of the Hunterian Books and Manuscripts first brought us together as colleagues but we rapidly became friends and allies. As Keeper he had to report to me annually as well as to the Libraries Committee on the use that had been made of the Hunterian Books and MSS. This seemed to me to be a waste of effort so I soon dispensed him from the obligation. I found that we had similar views on academic problems and that his readiness to share his knowledge was most helpful as was his advice on numerous occasions. Henry was a very social being and knew people in all walks of life. It came in useful when we were asked jointly to supervise the publication of a book about the treasures of the University of Glasgow to mark Glasgows year as the European City of Culture. Henry persuaded the University administration that it was desirable, in the interests of making the book a better read, to get a writer with no immediate connection to the University to weave together the texts that our staff had written. An author known to Henry was chosen but there were incredible delays while Administration made up its mind whether it could afford his fee. By the time it did, the intended writer was too busy to be able to take on the task but fortunately Henry knew, through a dining club to which
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they both belonged, a Glasgow graduate, journalist Robert McLaughlan, and was able to persuade him to do the job. It happened that I retired in 1990 during Glasgows reign as City of Culture, leaving Henry to see the job through. The punning title Gifted, was Henrys idea. Not only did Henry have a ready smile - indeed I cannot remember him without a smile on his face but he possessed a great fund of comic stories. On one occasion, when I was asked to make a short
but amusing speech, I was concerned that the two stories I thought of telling might be familiar to my audience so I tried them out on Henry. He had not heard either of them so I felt safe in recounting them to an audience which, it turned out, had not heard them either. His early retirement and withdrawal to Wolverhampton came as a shock. I had not realised till then that he had become my best friend. Frank Willett
Henry Heaney BA, MA(Belfast), FLA, OBE. Born 2 January 1935; Elected 2 March 1992; died 14 September 1999.
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Douglas Mackay Henderson 30 August 1927 10 November 2007
Douglas Mackay Henderson was born in Blairgowrie on 30 August 1927, the second son of Captain Frank Morrison Henderson and Adine Cornfute Mackay. His father, the son of a bank agent, began training as a banker in Trinity, Edinburgh before he ran away to sea. He became a Master Mariner and held a command for many years with the Ben Line, serving with the Merchant Navy during both World Wars. His mother was the daughter of Charles Gordon Mackay, for forty years medical practitioner in Lochcarron, and former associate of Joseph Lister. Douglas eldest brother, the late Frank Paterson, became a geologist and his younger brother Andrew Ernest, a zoologist. Douglas father was at sea for lengthy spells and died when in his fifties and the responsibility for rearing the family devolved therefore upon their able mother and Helen Watt (En), her characterful maid from Buchan. Mrs Henderson awakened the boys love of Wester Ross and Highland culture, including his love for skating. En, for whom Douglas had great affection and esteem, led him to value and enjoy the worth of every individual. In later life, when he was privileged to mix with people
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of every social background, it was characteristic of him to shun humbug and judge everyone on their merits while treating each with equal respect. At Blairgowrie High School (19321944) Douglas was influenced by his science teacher, J. Neilson, who encouraged his boyhood interests and showed how science and everyday country life could work together in a wholesome unity. At Edinburgh University he obtained 1st class Honours in Botany in 1948. During his studies he was strongly influenced by Sir William Wright Smith, Harold Fletcher and Malcolm Wilson. An indication of how his future interests would develop was shown by his 3rd/4th year university project which was on the genus Sclerotinia, a group of plantpathogens. Malcolm Wilson was particularly supportive when Douglas went to train as a plant pathologist with K.M.Smith at Moltens Institute Cambridge, studying methods of plant virology, before joining the Department of Agriculture for Scotland at their research establishment at East Craigs, Edinburgh in 1948. There he met his future wife Julia Margaret Brown.
Margaret was born in Belfast, the daughter of an industrial engineer, but went to school and university in Glasgow before joining the WRNS (194346). After qualifying from Jordanhill, she taught for a short time in Denmark before joining the staff at East Craigs. They were married at Cawthorne, Yorkshire in May 1952 one year after Douglas had moved to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as a Scientific Officer. With his bride, Douglas honeymooned in the Pyrenees collecting plants. They accompanied Malcolm Wilson, whose work he admired, and Mrs Wilson, who became life-long friends. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was then an internationally important, multifaceted institute encompassing research, curation of herbarium specimens, archival material and living plants. In 1953 Douglas became Senior Scientific Officer and in 1961 Principal Scientific Officer. A year later Douglas was overseeing the expansion of the herbarium and library, and planning a new building, which was completed before the 10th Botanical Congress was held in Edinburgh in 1963. He then took sabbatical leave, sponsored by the US Atomic Authority, to work in Solna, Stockholm with Professor Gunnar Erdtman, one of Europes foremost palynologists, on pollen structure. His research there
introduced him to poppies in the genus Meconopsis and not only spawned a seminal paper on the pollen of the constituent members, but also allowed him to apply his new found skills to the morphology and structure of rust fungi spores. Douglas later introduced the first electron microscope to RBGE. This not only allowed him to continue his own work but it created opportunities for other members of staff, which he energetically encouraged. For the Herbarium, he negotiated in 1966 the transfer of the recentlydiscovered collections of Archibald Menzies from the Free Church College, Edinburgh to add to the Gardens earlier holdings of this important Scottish explorer and collector. In 1966 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (proposed by Professors Harold R Fletcher, Robert Brown, J A McDonald and Paul E Weatherley). The following year he was awarded a Nuffield Fellowship to visit North America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and South and Central Africa. The whole tour of duty took seven months and allowed him to gauge the development of research programmes at other Botanic Gardens. His subsequent career saw him returning to some of these locations and also to new ones in the USA, the USSR, Australasia, Asia and West Africa.
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In 1970 he became the 12th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Who better to follow Harold Fletcher, with whom he had collaborated closely over the years and also shared the same vision for Edinburgh? He commenced his stewardship by recruiting dynamic, new staff and introducing three-year senior and junior Fellowships, the latter on the study of rust fungi. Douglas enhanced the role of the Garden in botanical and horticultural research, attempting to draw the two closer. He introduced new techniques, some from his time as a plant pathologist, and encouraged his staff to explore new ways of looking at their research. He initiated the Flora of Bhutan project, the publication of which saw over 6,000 species documented; the present day connections between RBGE and China are firmly rooted in his policies. Peat and rock gardens were developed in newly-constructed research glasshouses, expanding the facilities available to the research staff, especially those returning from plant collecting expeditions. Just as he had found travelling abroad important, he encouraged his staff to do likewise. He also encouraged contact with the public, and broadened the educational remit of the Gardens and the public services. Educational facilities were added at
Inverleith, at Logan Botanic Garden, Stranraer and at Younger Botanic Garden, Benmore near Dunoon and, in 1978, Dawyck Garden, Stobo, near Peebles was incorporated into the care of the Garden. This last site extended the climatic range available for growing plants and demonstrated that, with this third regional garden, the RBG Edinburgh was a national and international asset. In 1986 Inverleith House, formerly the Regius Keepers home, was taken over and opened as a botanical gallery and exhibition centre, replacing the Gallery of Modern Art, which moved to new, larger premises. This expanded the already purpose-built Exhibition Hall facility opened for the Tercentenary Celebrations. All these added to the considerable academic regard in which the Garden was held by the botanical world. Horticulture and science were further brought together during this time in the computerisation of the living plant collection, until that time held on traditional index cards. Civil Servants were not always as enthusiastic as Douglas about some of his proposals often delivered in a somewhat robust way but Douglas was probably admired nonetheless. Certainly he would not suffer fools gladly. He was fair, but spoke his mind, and his diplomatic skills almost always secured him small amounts of
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extra funding towards the end of the financial year. Soon after becoming Regius Keeper, he administered the Gardens shift from the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, to the Scottish Office, as a full Civil Service body within the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. In 1986 he negotiated the creation of the RBGE as a non-departmental public body, with Trustees appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland. The grave doubts felt by many about the transfer to a Board of Trustees were proved wrong because of Douglass skills and the enlightened choice of Sir Peter Hutchinson as Chairman. In such negotiations, Douglas realised the significance of communication and networked with directors of like institutes, which resulted in the formation of the Edinburgh 1970s Club. He was a true natural historian, and had an intellectual curiosity over and above his field and laboratory interests. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society and, because systematics in his time worked hand-in-hand with books, his experience in archival materials and libraries expanded. Ultimately this led to him becoming involved with the British Library. In the 1970s, with Harold Fletcher, Douglas helped to unite botanic gardens worldwide and from 1969 to 1981 was Secretary of the
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newly-formed International Association of Botanical Gardens a fairly onerous duty, as the Association comprised 1,500 or so organisations. This created a platform for the much later Rio Convention and the European Year for Conservation in 1970. A founder member of the Conservation of Plants and Gardens, he was from the 1980s a Trustee of the Grimsthorpe & Drummond Trust and also of the Sibbald Trust (19842003). He also set up gardens in Iran and in Vancouver, Canada, and spent a term as a member of the Policy Committee of the New York Botanic Garden. His horticultural activities were recognised by the award of the Patrick Neill Prize of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society in 1971, the Scottish Horticultural Medal in 1981, the Willendow Medal from the Berlin Botanic Garden and the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1985 from the Royal Horticultural Society. He served on the Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1970 1973) and held office as Curator (19781987), for which service he was awarded the Societys Bicentenary Medal (1989). He was awarded a CBE in 1985, and in 1983, an Honorary Professorship of the University of Edinburgh. This recognised not only his botanical skills, but also that he had brought the RBGE and the University closer together through
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the instigation of a Diploma Course in Plant Taxonomy, now the MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants. After 36 years at RBGE he retired in 1987, the year he became Queens Botanist in Scotland. Douglas and Margaret redirected their energies when Douglas took up the post of Administrator at Inverewe Gardens, Wester Ross on behalf of the National Trust for Scotland. This gave them both, to the benefit of the NTS, the opportunity to entertain many visiting botanists and horticulturists, and allowed Douglas to promote the attributes of his beloved West Coast. Their stewardship lasted until 1992 and included a culmination to Douglas long interest in music, as in nearly every year of their five-year stay, chamber music was played in the House at Inverewe. Another art-form much-loved by Douglas was water-colour painting. Douglas commenced his duties by critically examining the treeplantings, which had been made by Osgood Mackenzie during the Gardens inception in 1862, and planned for a new generation of trees. His interest in the mix of archival information and living plants led him to research the origins of the plants in Inverewe. He had been Recorder for Wester Ross for the Botanical Society of the British Isles long before he took up the post at Inverewe, and
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in all served 44 years, even describing a new variety of Juncus effusus (var. suberectus), based on material from Big Sand by Gairloch collected in 1968. It was considered subsequently to be a wild population of the cultivar now found in many gardens, viz. F. spiralis (McNabb) Praeger. Prior to his appointment at Inverewe, Douglas already had strong connections with the NTS as Convener of the Gardens Committee from 1978 to 1981. Latterly, during his period in the West, he had time, from 1995, to be Secretary of the Highland branch of the charity Help the Aged. Douglas was foremost a natural historian and was active in conservation over many years in the Scottish Committee of the Nature,the Advisory Committee for Scotland of the Nature Conservancy Council, and on the Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest of Scottish Natural Heritage. He was passionately interested in fungi, especially rust- and smutfungi. Sadly Malcolm Wilson, his long-standing friend, died after completing only the rather more straightforward parts of his proposed book on British rust fungi. Left wanting were those rust fungi found on the composites, sedges and willows, so in 1960 Douglas was working on
the harder parts of what would become the standard book for the identification of these British representatives of this group of fungi. It may have been simpler if he had had greater earlier input into the other parts, but felt that it was better to publish and have comments than not to publish. The book was published in 1966 and remains the definitive work today. Along with his later updates and his Checklist published by the British Mycological Society in 2000, it is indispensable. His interests in smut- and rustfungi led him to common links with several Scandanavian mycologists and visits to Abisko, Ivalo, etc. Authoritative papers were published supporting and expanding the observations outlined in his book on rust-fungi as a direct result of his use of techniques learnt in that allimportant visit to Stockholm. He made long-standing friendships with many, such as Halvor B Gaerjum of s, Norway and the Finnish mycologist, Ikka Kukkonen, possessing a mutual interest with the latter in Anthracoidea and Cintractia, smut genera on sedges. Douglas interests in rustfungi, (they were never rusts!), over time expanded to encompass those species found in China and the Himalayas, in part fuelled by the newly-collected material from plant expeditions and those species from Turkey. The last was
stimulated after he had collected bryophytes there with Adam Stainton in the 1960s, linking up what was to be a long-standing union between the RBGE and the University of Edinburgh, particularly with Peter Davis then spear-heading a study of the Turkish Flora. In virtue of his training in plant pathology, which itself requires an intimate knowledge of host and parasite, Douglas became familiar with both crop plants and ornamentals and their diseases, but in addition, because of host/fungus associations, became well versed in the British vascular plant flora, including native ferns. His search for ways to separate closely related rust species led him to call on his earlier experiences attempting to apply serological techniques to find some of the answers; measures which, necessitating having a rabbit on the premises, left some of his colleagues rather bemused! He was also very encouraging in this authors developmental studies of basidiomes and, with the then Regius Keeper, Harold Fletcher, made it possible to have laboratory facilities tailored for such activities. After the European Mycological Congress in Glasgow in 1963, he acted as the UK representative on the newlyproposed European Mapping Scheme. With his assistant Heather Prentice he scoured
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collections and the literature, and integrated, along with submitted records, information for 100 chosen species of fungi and located their British sites on a 10 Km grid covering much of Europe; this was a long and laborious task. Such devotion to Scottish plants and fungi made him an admirable President of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh (now Scotland) from 1964 to 1966. His interest in Scottish ferns and the Turkish bryophytes, which had led him to take a greater interest in native mosses and liverworts, culminated in him bringing to our attention many fungi subtly hidden from view amongst moss thalli and hiding amongst fern sori. This was a common feature of Douglas scholarship that, coming upon a group of unfamiliar plants, he would grasp the nettle and get to know them! His knowledge and interest in all fungi, especially Scottish taxa, was extensively borne out by the vast collections from all groups of micro- and macro-forms now housed in the herbarium at the RBGE. Douglas was always happy to be outdoors and always took opportunities to collect, even during his Nuffield Fellowship trip. Many of our noteworthy vascular plants in Scotland fall in the montane/alpine category and Douglas was in his element collecting fungi found under
these extreme conditions. It was on such visits that he collected and described the new anamorphic genus Glomopsis, a genus probably related to the jelly fungi, which he had found growing on Empetrum in many montane sites in Scotland. He was one of the first to demonstrate that the lichen thalli classified under Incertae sedis in lichen texts were in fact the thalli of basidiolichens, placed then in Omphalina; he was very familiar with a whole range of ectomycorrhizal species occurring on the tops. It was from his awareness of the richness of the British macromycota, and the importance of thus having a reliable check-list of agarics and boleti, that he made it possible for P D Orton, a long-time friend, to achieve this goal, making available space and resources at the RBGE for its production. This catalysed the deposition in the Edinburgh Herbarium of the hundreds of specimens, including types collected by Orton after 1960. Douglas, Peter Orton and the writer had many happy times collecting together, often in the company of foreign visitors, and it was this three-way friendship, which culminated in the concept and then the production of the first volumes of the British Fungus Flora; Agarics and Boleti. Through the basidiolichen link, Douglas particular interest amongst the agarics was the omphalinoid
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forms, a group now dissected out of recognition based on DNA sequencing. Douglas had very strong views about such approaches, for although willing to use new methodology he was saddened that these new studies were often being conducted in the absence of robust field observations and authenticated collections. He continued to encourage other researchers who used the mycological facilities then in place in Edinburgh. Many visitors passed through to use the Gardens resources, often staying for relatively long periods to study, including Professor Per Magnus Jrgensen then from Sweden, Professor Douglas Parbery from Melbourne and his long-term friend Halvor Gjaerum, to name but a few. Douglas mycological achievements were recognised by the British Mycological Society in his nomination as President in 1975. His Presidential Address to the BMS was entitled The Living Rust Fungi, contrasting with his Presidential address to the
Botanical Society of Edinburgh, which was Fungi as Plants. In his way Douglas upheld the long tradition of scholarship that had been the basis of the Royal Botanic Garden since its foundation. He sustained a life-long interest in fungi and nurtured the study of mycology. One of his greatest regrets in retirement was that this study, so important as an integral part of any biodiversity and environmental study, has been allowed to lapse in Edinburgh. Latterly Douglas felt it a great disappointment that the long history of mycology at the RBGE, which reaches back through a series of Regius Keepers to the Balfours, was gradually fading, especially when so much headway had been made during his custodianship. It was through his strength of mind that visitors still come to Edinburgh to study the wealth of collections. Douglas is survived by his wife, Margaret, son Neil and two daughters, Barbara and Jennifer. Roy Watling and Charles Waterston
Douglas Mackay Henderson CBE, FRSE, BSc (Edinburgh), FLS, CBiol, FIBiol, VMH. Born 30 August 1927; Elected 7 March 1966; Died 10 November 2007.
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Richard Milne Hogg 20 May 1944 6 September 2007
Richard Milne Hogg was born on May 20 1944, and died suddenly on 6 September 2007 of a heart attack. Richard was born in Edinburgh and attended both school and University in the city, all of which, much later, meant that his election to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2004 was particularly special to him. Richard graduated with first class honours in English Language and Literature in 1967 and subsequently worked as a graduate student both on his doctorate on modern English syntax, and on Angus MacIntoshs Middle English Dialect Project, now the Institute of Historical Dialectology. His first lectureship was in Amsterdam, and he then moved to Lancaster and then in 1980, at the age of 36, to the Smith Chair of English Language and Medieval Literature at the University of Manchester, where he remained, with brief excursions into faculty administration, as the University restructured itself around him. Richard became increasingly engaged with the history of English, and alongside a range of books and articles on sounds and their theoretical analysis, he embarked on his Grammar of Old English; the first volume was published in 1992, and the
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second was well towards completion when he died. In addition, he showed his great skills as an editor, and as conceptualiser and director of large and complex projects, in his championing of the multi-volume and multiauthor Cambridge History of the English Language, which appeared between 1992 and 2001. He, Bas Aarts and David Denison also established the journal English Language and Linguistics in 1997; it has become increasingly important to the growing and thriving community of English Language scholars and students. However, Richard also became increasingly interested in variation in modern English, and in attitudes to accents and dialects; characteristically, as a historical linguist, he then chose to explore earlier traditions of scholarship on dialects, and was deep in the (sadly unfinished) History of English Dialectology at the time of his death. Not only was Richard Hogg an outstanding researcher, but he was also a superb teacher and lecturer whose talks regularly enlivened conferences (and whose outrageous laugh tended equally to enliven the social sessions afterwards). He inspired enormous loyalty and affection among
his colleagues and students, and was a tireless encourager of more junior linguists. As well as his FRSE (2004), he was a Fellow of the British Academy (1994), and played a leading role through his work with the British Academy in bringing together the professional associations and other bodies associated with linguistics, for instance in chairing a central nominating group for the 2001 linguistics RAE panel. His family was also extremely important to him: he and Margaret, who married in 1967, had two sons, Daniel and Robert.
An annual prize of 500 has been set up in his memory by the International Society for the Linguistics of English (ISLE). The Richard M. Hogg Prize is open to students and early-career scholars and is for a paper of up to 10,000 words on any research-related topic in English language or English linguistics. Given Richards enormous influence on his discipline, and his concern for his students, this is surely the most fitting of memorials. April McMahon
Richard Milne Hogg, MA, PhD(Edinburgh), Diploma in General Linguistics, MA (Manchester ), FBA. Born 20 May 1944, elected FRSE 1 March 2004, died 6 September 2007.
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Martin David Kruskal 28 September 1925 26 December 2006
Martin David Kruskal, one of the most insightful and innovative of applied mathematicians and theoretical physicists, died on 26 December 2006. During his long active career, largely at Princeton, then latterly at Rutgers University, his many honours included the National Medal of Science in 1993, the Gibbs Lectureship and the 2006 Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research (both from the American Mathematical Society) and the Maxwell Prize from the International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1980), foreign member of the Royal Society of London (1997) and of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2000) and a Honorary Fellow of the RSE (2001). Born in New York City on 28 September 1925, he grew up in New Rochelle, New York, with two brothers destined also to become well-known mathematicians. He received his BS in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1945, then moving to New York University for his MS and PhD under Richard Courant (a neighbour of his parents) and Bernard Friedman on The bridge theorem for minimal surfaces. His first employment, from 1951, was on
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the (classified) Project Matterhorn which aimed to use controlled nuclear fusion as a clean, safe energy source. Under the projects director Lyman Spitzer, he supplied the expertise in mathematical modelling and analysis crucial in laying down the theoretical foundations for controlled fusion and the yet undeveloped field of plasma physics. After declassification, the project became the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where Kruskal became successively Associate Head of the Theoretical Division, then Senior Research Associate, while combining his sophisticated knowledge of mathematics with strong physical intuition to develop important results both in mathematical technique and for physical application. He was prominent in devising and elucidating modern methods for asymptotics (a theme to which he returned in greater sophistication, later in his life) and, amongst results for plasma stability, for the Kruskal-Shafranov criterion for kink instabilities. During this period he also introduced the Kruskal (-Szekeres) coordinates, which remove from black holes the nonphysical Schwarzschild singularity.
In 1961, he became Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton, a Chair which he retained when in 1979 he became Professor of Mathematics. From 19681986, he was also Director of the Applied and Computational Mathematics program. On becoming Emeritus at Princeton in 1989, he became David Hilbert Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University. Besides being a seminal researcher, Martin was always an enthusiastic teacher, continuing lecturing at Rutgers into the final year of his life. This enthusiasm is illustrated by the account of a graduate student, seeking a time for an appointment and receiving the reply How about 1 oclock, tomorrow? Asking whether this meant a.m. or p.m., he got the reply You choose, its all the same to me. His insatiable curiosity about the mysteries of the world around him and a wish to get to the essence of problems before letting logic take over in developing new theory was infectious. Perhaps the clearest illustration of this is the development of soliton theory, which is perhaps Martins most all-pervasive contribution to science. The concept of solitary waves originates in Edinburgh, where John Scott Russell performed experiments in 1834 on the Union Canal at Hermiston with a view to understanding and reducing the
drag on canal barges, so as better to compete against railways. Observing an occasion when the test barge decelerated suddenly, yet a great heap of water sped down the canal for two miles or more, led him to describe the great wave of translation. For decades this remained a curiosity, until theories developed first by Boussinesq and then in 1871 by Korteweg and de Vries allowed solitary waveforms to travel without change of shape along shallow channels. Outside hydraulics this had little significance for nearly a century. Then, Kruskal with Norman Zabusky, while performing numerical computations on an atomic lattice, noticed some remarkable collision properties of energy pulses. After multiple collisions, the pulses emerged unscathed. Despite the vast disparity of scale with water waves, Martin saw the analogy with solitary wave solutions of the Korteweg-de Vries equation, so leading him to seek an underlying mathematical explanation. Along with Princeton colleagues Gardner, Greene and Miura, he elucidated in a series of six papers (for which the 2006 Steele prize was awarded) the connection between the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation (which is nonlinear, so that solutions may not be added, or superposed) and the welldeveloped quantum theory,
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described by linear equations. They showed, using sophisticated transformations and constructions, how solutions initially described in terms of any number of non-overlapping solitary waves are described exactly, throughout their many interactions, then reemerge as solitary waves of exactly the same amplitude and form as initially. However, the theory also gives precise formulae for the shift of the paths of the emerging pulses from the original paths. Moreover, the formalism allows construction of the most general solution to the KdV equation. These revelations were nothing short of dramatic. Kruskals inspired naming of the solutions as solitons, combined with the intrinsic elegance of the predictions led to a veritable explosion of activity. Within a very few years, a stream of results from eminent scientists in the USA, Soviet Union, Japan, Italy, Britain and many other countries not only extended the theory, but also showed that the soliton property was not unique to the KdV equation. Between them, equations possessing the complete integrability property were soon shown to have relevance in many branches of physics, in chemistry, in bio-molecules and in telecommunications. Moreover, by showing that nonlinear partial differential equations need not be intractable, soliton theory has
stimulated vast activity in integrable systems theory, which both exploits powerful, but halfforgotten, results from a century ago and continues to generate deep new connections with geometry and classical analysis, aided by powerful modern computation. One such semi-classical body of results is due to Painlev (after whom a square beside the Sorbonne is named). Seeking differential equations from a certain class, which possessed a certain analytic property, he and his students identified before World War I six which could not be related to those already discovered, named and studied. Solutions to the new equations were called Painlev transcendents, but remained only partially understood. However, Martin saw their relevance as solutions to similarity reductions of equations possessing solitons, thereby frequently describing the long-time behaviour. Conversely, if an equation passed a Painlev test it was shown to be a good candidate for possessing the soliton property. This provoked two important lines of investigation, characterising Martins drive to develop transparent methods for revealing hidden structure. By generalising the Painlev test to partial differential equations, Martin stimulated another field of intense activity, since the test was
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seen to be more methodical to apply than many previous techniques. Also, in seeking a procedure more direct than the essentially algebraic one due to Sophus Lie for identifying all similarity reductions of a partial differential equation, he devised with Peter Clarkson an extremely efficient and remarkably direct method. Surprisingly, this not only saved much labour, but for a few well-known equations revealed possibilities not predictable using Lies method. The method has not only become widely used, but its surprise predictions have also provoked reappraisal of classical methods. Peters story that their method was devised essentially during a sevenhour car journey across New Mexico illustrates the remarkable alertness of Martins mind - an alertness well known to all those who attended conferences and workshops at which he was present, wearing one of his mathematically-inspired T shirts, carrying his knapsack and shooting out penetrating but helpful questions!
In his emeritus years he reinvigorated asymptotic analysis, being a major contributor to the development of exponential asymptotics, which explains the often subtle effects missed by more standard procedures. His enquiring mind also became fascinated by surreal numbers (which include both exponentially small and exponentially large numbers) discovered by Conway. To this beautiful topic, he has contributed much insight and defined various operations which he hoped would lead to a calculus for surreal numbers. He continued to travel widely as invited participant at research meetings and was a frequent visitor to Scotland, especially to Heriot-Watt University, which awarded him an honorary DSc in 2000; indeed he was a lead speaker at a meeting there only a month before the first of two strokes which led to his death. To the many who worked with him, his loss is deeply felt, while the wide community which he influenced will miss his many penetrating insights. David Parker
Martin David Kruskal MS, PhD (NYU), HonDSc (Heriot-Watt), MemNatAcadSci, ForMemRS. Born 28 September 1925; Elected Hon FRSE 5 March 2001; Died 26 December 2006.
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Peter Nielsen Ladefoged 17 September 1925 25 January 2006
Peter Ladefoged, Professor Emeritus of Phonetics at the University of California at Los Angeles was born in Surrey to a family of Danish extraction. He was educated at Haileybury School, Cambridge University (194344) and, after war service in the Royal Sussex Regiment, he completed a PhD at Edinburgh University under the supervision of David Abercrombie on the nature of vowel quality. After an eight-year Lectureship in Phonetics at Edinburgh, he began in 1962 an association with UCLA that was to last the rest of his life. He established and directed the world-famous Phonetics Laboratory in the UCLA Department of Linguistics, and supervised a series of 20 PhD students, the very large majority of whom have gone on to professorial appointments in diverse countries. All of his students and many of his colleagues reflect the profound influence of a scholar committed to the mutual illumination of meticulously observed data and stringently formulated theory. Peter Ladefogeds personality was generous, charismatic and liberal. He had endless professional curiosity and boundless energy. He exercised an extraordinary influence on his subject world293
wide, through his teaching, his students, his research, and his support of colleagues in the profession of phonetics. His own research was oriented initially to speech science, and latterly to the phonetic and linguistic characteristics of the worlds languages. While at Edinburgh, he collaborated with the physiologist David Whitteridge on respiratory aspects of speech, then with the Cambridge psychologist Donald Broadbent on the perception of speech, and then with Walter Lawrence, the inventor of the Parametric Artificial Talker, one of the very first acoustic speech synthesisers. At UCLA, he published extensively with his PhD students. His own publications were on speech acoustics, experimental phonetics, phonetic and phonological features, and on endangered languages. He specialised in field linguistics, taking heavy analytic equipment with him into virgin linguistic territory into 19 countries in every inhabited continent. His views on endangered languages were unusual, robust, and characteristically independent. He believed these languages should be researched by linguists, but not officiously preserved. He thought that the decision to try to preserve
a dying language was the prerogative of the speakers themselves, not of outsiders. He also thought that the resources directed to preservation might often be more useful for local development, and that preserving an endangered language attracted the risk of encouraging tribalism and weakening national unity. However, he was deeply committed to the investigation of endangered languages, and with his colleague Ian Maddieson was personally responsible for more extensive linguistic research on them, in the field and the laboratory, than any other person in history. Professor Ladefoged was elected to a Corresponding Fellowship of the Society in 2001. His election recognised a life devoted to the study of speech and the spoken languages of the world. He published ten books, four of which were worldwide standards in many editions, and over 140 other publications in the subjects most prestigious scientific journals. He was without question the worlds leading phonetician, laden with academic honours. He was President of the Linguistic Society of America (1978), the Permanent Council for the Organization of Phonetic Con-
gresses (198391), and the International Phonetic Association (198791), which awarded him a Gold Medal in 1991. He held Fellowships of the Acoustical Society of America, which awarded him a Silver Medal in 1994, the American Speech and Hearing Association, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Honorary degrees were bestowed on him by the University of Edinburgh (DLitt, 1993) and Queen Margaret University (DSc, 2002). But perhaps the honour he most enjoyed was his role in 1964 as consultant to the film director George Cukor during the production of My Fair Lady, guiding the actor Rex Harrison through the intricacies of a performance as a phonetician. Professor Ladefoged died suddenly in London in January 2006, at the age of 80, while returning to his home in Los Angeles from a field research trip in India. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Jenny, three grown-up children, Lise, Thegn and Katie, and five grandchildren. John Laver
Peter Nielsen Ladefoged MA, PhD (Edinburgh), Hon DLitt (Edinburgh), Hon DSc (QMUC), FASA, FASHA, FAAAS, CorrFBA, ForMem Royal Danish Academy of Sciences & Letters. Born 17 September 1925; Elected CorrFRSE 5 March 2001; Died 25 January 2006.
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John McIntyre 20 May 1916 - 18 December 2005
One of the most distinguished Scottish theologians and churchmen of his generation, John McIntyre served both the University of Edinburgh and the Church of Scotland in important ways. A talented pupil at Bathgate Academy, McIntyre confirmed his early promise as a student in Edinburgh, graduating MA with first class honours in Philosophy and BD with distinction. His studies under the philosopher Norman Kemp Smith and the theologian John Baillie were to leave an indelible mark on his contribution as a teacher and scholar. Several years were spent in parish ministry, first in Argyll at Glenorchy and Inishail, and then in Fenwick, Ayrshire. During this latter period, he met and married Jan Buick, the district nurse at Fenwick, with whom he celebrated sixty years of marriage in 2005. In 1946, McIntyre was appointed Professor of Theology at St Andrews College in Sydney. His ten years in Australia proved immensely productive. Working in a small college, he faced the challenge of teaching across the entire theological syllabus. He regarded this as of immeasurable benefit in his early career and
would later commend it to his own pupils as the best means for mastering their discipline. Work on two early books was completed during this period. His DPhil thesis, Anselm and His Critics (1954) and The Christian Doctrine of History (1957) established his reputation as a measured and lucid writer with a capacity to apply analytic rigour to the central topics of theology. These Australian years were also marked by a series of public debates in which he explored questions of religious belief with the eminent philosopher John Anderson, another Scot who had earlier settled in Sydney. Both McIntyre and Anderson had been pupils of Kemp Smith, though their views on the existence of God differed sharply. In 1956 following the retiral of John Baillie, McIntyre returned to Edinburgh as Professor of Divinity, a Chair he was to hold with distinction for thirty years. His work in Edinburgh was marked by highly effective leadership. Several key positions were occupied. He served as Principal Warden during the time of the construction of Pollock Halls. Following the departure of Michael Swann to the BBC in 1973 he held office as Acting Principal and Vice-Chancellor in 197374. This was repeated
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again in 1979 after the untimely death of Hugh Robson. As Dean of the Faculty of Divinity and Principal of New College from 1968 to 1974, he was deeply committed to the centuries-long Scottish tradition in which ministers were educated in the ancient universities. He positioned the Faculty of Divinity at New College in the centre of university life. Yet while defending the place of the Church of Scotland in his Faculty, he also perceived the importance of ecumenical links and of the burgeoning field of religious studies. By the time of his retirement in 1986, New College had become a more ecumenical institution, but one that retained much of its traditional strength, not least its appeal to students from overseas. An important marker had been set down in 1979 with the appointment of James Mackey, a Roman Catholic theologian, to a Chair of theology in Edinburgh. His nomination aroused controversy in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the national press. As a university administrator, McIntyre possessed a patient and measured style that was to prove highly effective in the building of Pollock Halls, in the reconstruction of New College, and in his many dealings with university staff and students. In the more militant era of the early 1970s, a long-running
dispute within the student body was resolved within 48 hours after McIntyre assumed responsibility as Vice-Chancellor. The same qualities were evident in his lecturing. Long before the time when teaching aids became de rigueur, he would provide his students with a complete transcript of his lecture notes. This imposed a significant burden on his secretary, being before the era of the photocopier. A quietly methodical teacher, McIntyre possessed an urbane and selfdeprecating humour. He would sometimes remark that he not only put his students to sleep, but gave them the sheets in which to do so. Whether they slept or not, he could remember them clearly years later and was always keen to follow their progress in parish ministry or academic life. Many had cause to be grateful for his concern. Despite the burdens of university administration, McIntyre maintained a significant scholarly output that continued through many productive years of retirement. A longstanding interest in the role of the imagination in religious belief resulted in the publication of Faith, Theology and the Imagination (1987), perhaps his most original work. The previous year, a Festschrift collection in his honour had appeared on this same theme. Other volumes on traditional theological
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topics such as the love of God, the person and work of Christ, and the Holy Spirit were also undertaken. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1977 and served on its Council from 1979 to 1986, the last three years as a Vice-President. Also a noteworthy churchman, McIntyre was appointed by the Queen as one of her Honorary Chaplains in Scotland and as Dean of the Order of the Thistle in 1974, a position he held for
fifteen years. The public highlight of his career came in 1982. During his time as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, he greeted John Paul II before the statue of John Knox in the New College courtyard. In welcoming the Pope, he celebrated the end of years of sectarian division in Scotland and a new era of ecumenical collaboration. John McIntyre is survived by his wife Jan, their two sons, Eoin and Angus, and their daughter, Catherine. David Fergusson
Very Rev Professor John McIntyre, CVO, MA, BD, DLitt(Edinburgh), DD(Glasgow), Drhc(Edinburgh), DHL(College of Wooster, Ohio). Born 20 May 1916; Elected FRSE 7 March 1977; Died 18 December 2005.
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Andrew Ronald Mitchell 21 June 1921 22 November 2007
Andrew Ronald Mitchell was born in Dundee on 21 June 1921, and died in Dundee on 22 November 2007. Ron, as he was known to almost everyone, was an only child; his father was a blacksmith. Ron went to Morgan Academy in Dundee, and in 1938 he won a scholarship through the school to do a mathematics degree in University College, Dundee (then a college of St Andrews University), where E. T. Copson was Professor of Mathematics. He graduated with First Class Honours in 1942, and was called up and sent to the wartime Ministry of Aircraft Production in London, where he remained until after the end of the war. Ron had shown great promise as a footballer at school, and while in Dundee had played for Dundee North End Junior Football Club; he continued to play during the war, turning out a few times for Chelsea. In October 1946, Ron was appointed to an Assistant Lectureship at St Andrews University and started a PhD with D. E. Rutherford. In 1950, Ron was awarded his PhD (which was concerned with relaxation methods in compressible flow), and stayed on at St Andrews as a Lecturer. There was some co-operation with
Rutherford, and in particular, they discovered an early form of successive overrelaxation (before this appeared in a famous 1954 paper of David Young), although the work was never published. His first PhD student was J. D. Murray, who started in 1953 working on a topic in boundary layer fluid dynamics. Around this time, Ron developed an interest in numerical analysis, initially as a means of tackling fluid dynamics problems using Southwells relaxation methods. Since his move to St Andrews, Ron had continued to play football, and signed as a part-time professional with a number of Scottish League clubs. During the period 19461955, he played with St Johnstone, East Fife, Brechin City and Berwick Rangers. While with Brechin City, he won a Scottish Qualifying Cup South Runners Up Medal in 194950, and Scottish Qualifying Cup South Winners Medal in 195051. In 1959, Ron married Ann, and took up a one year post as Senior Research Fellow in the Mathematics Department at California Institute of Technology. Jack Lambert was appointed as a Lecturer at St Andrews in the same year and he became Rons third
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PhD student, working on numerical methods for ODEs. Other PhD students who came to work with Ron about this time were Graeme Fairweather and Sandy Gourlay, and with these students (in particular), important contributions were made to finite difference methods for partial differential equations. By 1965, there was a thriving numerical analysis group in St Andrews. There was also a group in Edinburgh, headed by Mike Osborne. Ron and Mike Osborne felt there should be more interaction, and they agreed to hold a conference, with St Andrews chosen as the venue, and Ron and Jack Lambert the main organisers. Of course no one knew this at the time, but this was the first in a biennial series of conferences on numerical analysis, which continued in Dundee, and became the longest running series of its kind in the world. The 22nd conference in the series was held in Dundee in June, 2007. Around 196566, Ron went to evening classes in Dundee to learn Russian. During Graeme Fairweathers thesis work, it had been realised that some Russians, in particular Samarskii, Andreyev and DYakonov were also working on high order difference methods for partial differential equations. A knowledge of Russian not only allowed Ron to keep up with the Russian literature as soon as it
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appeared, but was invaluable when he attended the International Congress of Mathematicians in Moscow in 1966. There he met DYakonov and, as a result, the latter visited Ron in the late sixties. A byproduct was that people in the West became much more aware of the activity in the USSR concerning split operator techniques. In Moscow Ron played football for The Rest of the World against the USSR in a match which was held in the stadium of Moscow Dynamo. The home team, who had been in training for several weeks, won 52. In 1967, Queens College Dundee (as University College had become in 1954) separated from St Andrews to become the University of Dundee, and Rons growing reputation and influence were recognised when he was appointed to a newly established Chair of Numerical Analysis. Over the next few years, Rons leadership and vision built up numerical analysis in Dundee, attracting some excellent staff and students. He obtained Research Council money for a numerical analysis year in 197071, as a result of which five conferences were held, and visits for periods up to a year were arranged for about 34 of the worlds leading numerical analysts. Indeed his efforts really put Dundee on the numerical analysis map.
Rons interests changed in the late 1960s from finite differences to finite elements. This was virgin territory for numerical analysts and Ron did much pioneering work during the next few years with collaborators and students. The next change of direction occurred as a consequence of a lecture given by Olec Zienkiewicz at a conference at Brunel University in 1975. In this talk Zienkiewicz described instabilities experienced by his group in converting their successful finite element codes for structural problems into codes for solving the NavierStokes and related equations in fluid dynamics. On his return to Dundee, Ron and David Griffiths attacked this problem with some gusto over the next few weeks, and the end result was upwind-biased test functions and what is now known as the PetrovGalerkin finite element method. There followed several fruitful years working on convection diffusion problems until, through his interest in diffusion and dispersion effects and his collaboration with Brian Sleeman, he became interested in nonlinear effects in the early 1980s. Some of the problems arose from mathematical biology, but Ron was also interested in solitons, particularly those arising from the Korteweg de Vries and Schrodinger equations. He was instrumental in bringing the subject of spurious solutions to the fore.
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During his research career, Ron always had the uncanny knack of alighting on fundamental issues which, through his many papers and conference talks, drew others to the subject. He has a long and illustrious list of publications, but equally if not more impressive is the list of his 27 PhD students, many of whom have gone on to successful research careers. One of Rons great strengths was the way he was able to motivate and encourage his students; he had a truly outstanding talent for getting the best out of research students and for instilling selfconfidence in them. Rons many contributions to numerical analysis, both at a national and international level, through his books, his conference talks, his visits, his supervision of students and of research fellows, his encouragement of young people, is only a part of the story. No attempt to paint a picture of Ron would be complete without mention of his human qualities, the immense personal magnetism, the marvellous sense of humour. He was a wonderful companion, a friendly, warm and entertaining person, who had no airs and graces and who made everyone feel comfortable in his presence. He was able to combine a serious side as far as his work was concerned with the ability to poke fun at people and things, and find humour in just about anything.
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His last few years were plagued by ill health. As someone who had been very active, both physically and mentally, it was frustrating for him to experience a diminution of those powers. But he never lost his sense of humour, or his love of football and mathematics. Ron was a major figure in numerical
analysis who had a significant impact on the subject. Because of his human qualities, he was also regarded with huge affection by a great many friends and colleagues from all over the world. He will be greatly missed. Alistair Watson.
Andrew Ronald Mitchell BSc, PhD, DSc (St Andrews), FIMA, CMath. Born 21 June 1921; Elected FRSE 2 March 1953; Died 22 November 2007.
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Wallace Spencer Pitcher 3 March 1919 4 September 2004.
Wallace Pitcher, (or Wally, as he was generally known),who died in the Wirral on 4 September 2004, was born in London on 3 March 1919, and became the leading and most distinguished British expert on granites, their emplacement mechanisms, the geology of Donegal and the Donegal granites, and, with John Cobbing, the geology of the Peruvian batholith. He was elected an Honorary FRSE in 1993. A full account of his life will be found in a special Pitcher issue on granites in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences and also in the Proceedings of the Geologists Association, 117, 311-319 (2006). His childhood was spent in Acton, west London. He showed an early interest in fossils, collecting his first London Clay fossil by the age of ten and, by his early twenties, he was an amateur expert on the Tertiary fauna of the London Clay. At 17, a post as an apprentice assayer for George T. Holloway & Co. gave him a training in chemical analysis. Concurrently, he enrolled as a part-time student for a degree in chemistry and geology, which combined his main interests, at Chelsea College, London. However, the Second World War interrupted these
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studies and he entered the army. Because he had given his profession as a chemist, this was misunderstood as a pharmacist and he spent the next five years as a medical orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Because of a leg injury he worked in the Pathological Laboratory. He gained promotion to a sergeant, but was invalided out of the Army in 1944, and in 1945, aged 26, with a grant to study full-time, he returned to complete his degree at Chelsea. He graduated in 1947. In 1947, Professor H. H. Read FRS of Imperial College (IC) was seeking to fill a Demonstratorship in Geology with someone able to cope with teaching their somewhat boisterous, and at times, belligerent, ex-servicemen students, while also wanting someone who would work with him in studying the origin of the granites of Donegal. Read, a petrologist, was world-famous for his trenchant views on the origin of granite by transformation of metamorphic rocks into granite by element movements (granitisation) rather than being derived as a magmatic rock. Read needed a chemical geologist to be able to elucidate the granitisation process. The analysis of silicate
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rocks was a slow and skilled job that required much chemical practice to obtain reliable results, so Wallys experience was wanted. Robert M. Shackleton, who was already working in Donegal, showed Read that the mapping of the Donegal Granite by the Geological Survey of Ireland in the 19th Century had revealed an apparent succession of metamorphic rocks enclosed by, and gradually disappearing into, the (Main) Donegal Granite, possibly being transformed into granite. Read appointed Wally and was his supervisor, but Wally was left to choose his own PhD area in Donegal, albeit with the guidance and approval of Shackleton. So, during the Easter break in 1948, accompanied by Stella Scutt, whom Wally had married in August 1947, he first went to Donegal with Shackleton, and started a major 25-year programme of research into the geology of Donegal and its numerous granites. Eventually, dozens of researchers, many but not all from IC, would become involved. Wally held the post of Demonstrator for one year (194748), an Assistant Lecturership for two (194850), and then a Lectureship in Geology at IC for five years (195055). He was a meticulous teacher, very well-liked by his students as he went to great trouble to prepare his lectures,
practicals and field trips carefully. He continued his involvement with the Geologists Association and led many day excursions on the geology of London and its surroundings. His own PhD (1951), on Thorr Granodiorite, marked the beginning of a flood of accounts dealing with the Donegal project and was rapidly followed by his 1953 study of the Rosses Granitic Ring Complex. In order to understand the emplacement of the Donegal Granites, and their influence on their envelopes, structural and metamorphic, it was early appreciated that the metamorphic country rocks had to be mapped in detail, as well as the granites. This, plus the generally magnificent rock exposure, enabled detailed interpretation. Read was by now approaching retirement and had heavy administrative duties and so Wally effectively ran the Donegal project. Later, the new results obtained from the detailed mapping in Donegal, combined with new work from Connemara and Scotland, enabled the first correlation of the whole Dalradian sequence from Scotland to Connemara to be completed. Wally enjoyed field work and he established great rapport with the people of Donegal. The kindly homesteaders would invite him into their small cottages (often still thatched, without electricity or
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running water and quite unlike their modern replacements), for tea and craic, usually tea, boiled eggs and soda-bread with animated conversation. To prove Reads view of the granitisation origin of some or all of the granites, it was necessary to have chemical analyses of the granites and of the country rocks and of their intermediates that were supposedly part way to being chemically changed into granite. Wally was the first in the UK to set up rapid methods of silicate analysis involving colorimetric and flame photometric methods, which markedly increased the speed of completion of rock analyses. Ironically, as the Donegal work progressed it became apparent that virtually all the Donegal granites had been intruded as magmas with no granitisation and it fell to Wallys diplomatic skills to persuade the strongly dogmatic Read that the results of the project had been to demonstrate the opposite of his often expressed and firmly-held views! The summary of the Donegal results appeared in 1972 in the great book whose title reflected what had been found, not what had been looked for: The Geology of Donegal; a study of granite emplacement and unroofing (Pitcher & Berger 1972), together with the most detailed geological map of Donegal ever produced. This confirmed Wallys
stature as the leading British expert on granites and their emplacement. In 1955 Wally moved to Kings College London as Reader in Geology, and then in 1962 to the George Herdman Chair of Geology in the University of Liverpool, where he remained until after his retirement in 1981. From Liverpool, Wally initiated a major study of the Peruvian batholith, involving arduous field work, again with a number of other researchers, but in particular with Dr John Cobbing, of the now-named British Geological Survey. The field work was carried out at high altitudes, often under extreme heat, using tents, horses, walking and Land Rovers in an arid region (the opposite of Donegal!), with very primitive facilities, which was not easy for a man approaching 60. The topography enabled the three-dimensional shape of the tops of some of the constituent plutons to be observed in a way not possible in Donegal. This study of a supra-subduction zone batholith related to the Pacific margin generated many papers culminating in a 1985 book: Magmatism at a Plate Edge: the Peruvian Andes. Wally gradually became the leading British, and an internationally regarded, geological statesman on granites. With the Circum-Pacific Plutonism Project,
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he travelled the world examining granites of different types and ages. Wally was a big man physically, but a calm, generally unruffled, hard-working, rather ponderousspeaking, impeccably-mannered, gentlemanly-type. Despite the substantial administrative load of running one of the biggest Geology Departments in the country, he gave major service to the geological profession in a variety of ways. He became a member and then Chairman of the NERC Geological Sciences Research Grants Committee, serving from 1974 to 1981. He was President of Section C of the 1979 British Association Meeting, but most of all he was significantly responsible for extricating the Geological Society from the 1960s mess that threatened the Societys existence. Wally then became a Secretary (197073), Foreign Secretary (197475), and then President (197778). This was a very heavy commitment with the numerous meetings involved, as return between London and the Wirral involved a minimum of nine hours travel. He also kept the Society from falling apart as successive Specialist Groups were formed and instead it became the umbrella under which many groups clustered. He received the Lyell Fund in 1956, the Bigsby Medal in 1963, and the Murchison Medal in 1979, from the Geological Society.
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Wally was a founder member and Aberconway Medallist (1983) of the Institution of Geologists. He was a life-long member of the Mineralogical Society, which he joined in 1949, and of the Geologists Association from 1942, eventually (1973) becoming an Honorary Member. He was a Fellow of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. He was the recipient of many honours, being an Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of America (1982), Honorary MRIA (1977), Honorary FRSE (1993) and apart from an earned DSc (London 1964), held Honorary DSc degrees from Dublin (1983) and Paris-Sud (1993). He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Liverpool Geological Society (1964) and the University Medal of Helsinki in 1986. Wally was Head of the Geology Department in Liverpool from 1962 to 1978. As the financial cuts of the 70s began to affect student field work, staffing and research, running the Department became a much more burdensome matter, requiring strategic and manipulative administration quite unlike the traditional Professorial priority of research and teaching. Wally did not like or excel at this and running the Department did not give the satisfaction it had previously. The calls to represent the Department extra-murally brought much reflected glory to it, but clashed
directly with the need to be on the ground, bean counting, and he resigned as Head of Department in 1978. Wally volunteered for formal early retirement in 1981 at age 62 and obtained a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship (198183) to write up the Peruvian work. After this Wally, working from home, and helped by his wife, combined his enormous knowledge and experience of granites and of the published literature on granites, to produce another major book, The Nature and
Origin of Granite (1993). This went into a second edition in 1997 when he was no less than 78, a considerable achievement. He remained active in research, especially over Donegal geology, and attending the Liverpool Geological Societys meetings, right to the end. He was a courteous, hard-working, productive, kindly and modest man who would have been the first to deny charismatic brilliance, but whom many remember with great affection. Bernard Elgey Leake
Wallace Spencer Pitcher BSc(Chelsea Polytechnic), PhD (Imperial College), DSc(Lond), HonDSc(Dublin, Paris-Sud), HonMRIA, FIMM, FGS, HonFGeolSocAm. Born 3 March 1919; Elected HonFRSE 1993; Died 4 September 2004.
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Obituary Notices
Professor Geoffrey Webb 15 June 1938 8 May 2007
Geoff Webb was born on the 15th June 1938 in the small village of Heather in deepest Leicestershire. He attended school in Ashby before going to the University of Hull to undertake his undergraduate studies in Chemistry, where he was awarded a B.Sc. in 1959. At this point Geoff explored two career options, teaching and research, themes that would be repeated throughout his career. In 1959/1960 Geoff held a teaching position as Science Master at Greatfield High School in Hull and combined this with part-time research with Professor Geoffrey Bond. It is a testament to Geoffs research skills that this work was published in the Journal of the Chemical Society and so it was no surprise that, by the end of the year, the decision was made and Geoff joined Geoff Bond to study for a PhD in the area of catalytic hydrogenation using ruthenium and osmium catalysts. Geoffs love for sport also began to blossom during his time at Hull and he was active in both University cricket and football. However his love of sport was not the only thing to blossom because it was here he met and married Linda. In 1963 Geoff was awarded a PhD and moved to take up a postdoctoral position at the University of
307
Glasgow with Professor Samuel Thomson. This was to mark the beginning of a collaboration that was to last for 30 years and a friendship that lasted even longer. In 1965 Geoff was appointed to an assistant lectureship at Glasgow, and in 1966 to a full lectureship. Geoffs research concentrated on heterogeneous catalysis, especially concerning adsorption and hydrogenation reactions of hydrocarbons over precious metal catalysts. This is an area where Geoffs contribution to science has been enormous. He developed new concepts and, with Sam Thomson in 1976, proposed a new mechanism for the hydrogenation of hydrocarbons on metal surfaces. This radical proposal changed the scientific landscape. He was one of the first to support metal carbonyl clusters on oxide supports and show their utility in catalysis. He also worked in the area of CFCs and HCFCs, bringing his skill and knowledge of catalysis and radiotracers to bear on an important area of environmental science. He was awarded a DSc in 1981 by the University of Glasgow for his research contribution and was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in
1995. He was well known and respected in the chemistry community around the world, regularly giving lectures at international conferences. He sat on Editorial Boards for a range of scientific journals including Applied Catalysis and Journal of Adsorption Science and Technology. Geoff also had strong links to the industrial community undertaking collaborative research with companies such as ICI plc, BP plc, Johnson Matthey, British Gas and Davy-McKee Ltd, and also served as a consultant to many international companies. Geoff was always very supportive of young academics and is remembered fondly by many whom have now gone on to senior positions, for the help he gave them. He did not just help those in this country: in 1975 Geoff spent four months in Nigeria helping the University of Nigeria develop a new undergraduate curriculum in physical and inorganic chemistry. Geoff was also heavily involved in teaching and chemical education, and in 1967 Sam Thomson and Geoff wrote an undergraduate textbook on Heterogeneous Catalysis bringing, for the first time, this area of chemistry into the reach of many students. Amongst other responsibilities, Geoff was head of first year teaching in chemistry for many years. At this time the, then new,
308
Alternative Chemistry syllabus was being introduced into schools in Scotland. Geoff was intensely interested in this, partly because he was in charge of first year teaching and wanted to know about his students background, and partly because he was interested in education in general. His approach to this was similar to his approach to his research, thorough and meticulous. He attended every course available in Scotland to get a good working knowledge of the new syllabuses, including courses in assessment and objective testing, which he later introduced into the chemistry department. He volunteered to be an examiner for Sixth Year Studies Chemistry for both the written paper and for the oral assessment of the projects, a role he continued for more than 20 years. He was a tactful oral examiner, putting candidates at their ease and often acknowledging their superior knowledge in their chosen topics. In 1977, Geoff and Alex Johnstone wrote a book on Thermodynamics (Energy Chaos and Chemical Change) which was widely used in schools and colleges throughout the UK, and was translated into Spanish and Italian. Geoff taught at all levels within the University from teaching basic chemistry to medical students, to advanced post-graduate courses. He took teaching seriously and his lectures
Obituary Notices
were carefully crafted and well thought out. Outside his academic career Geoff was equally dynamic, with interests in photography, angling and shooting. Through his interest in shooting, he was actively involved with the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, acting as the Competition Director for the Small-bore Shooting events. He was Secretary/Treasurer of the Scottish Shooting Council and was a member of the Scottish National Small-bore Rifle team in 1979 and 1983. He also developed a passion for fly fishing, with the week spent every year with his brother Gerald as one of the great immovables in the calendar. Throughout his academic career Geoff was progressively promoted to Senior Lecturer, Reader and, in 1988, to a Titular Professorship. He made a huge contribution to the University, holding the positions of Head of the Department of Chemistry, Head of the Physical Sciences Planning Unit and Dean of the Science Faculty. He was involved in the creation of
the Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences and later the Faculties of Biomedical & Life Sciences, Information & Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences where he continued as Dean. He was, most significantly, a constant source of advice to many of his colleagues across the whole of the University. Geoff retired in 2002, and in 2003 a conference was held at the University to mark his 40 years of scientific research. Over 130 delegates attended with attendees from as far a field as China, Australia and the USA. Much of Geoffs scientific legacy was discussed at that meeting, but what was equally pleasing to him was the attendance of past students and co-workers. In his time at Glasgow, Geoff supervised over forty PhD students and his legacy, in terms of the students and co-workers who benefited from his guidance and knowledge, is as significant as his legacy to science. He is survived by his wife Linda, his three children Alistair, Elaine and David and his five grandchildren. David Jackson
Geoffrey Webb BSc, PhD (Hull), DSc (Glasgow), CChem, FRSC. Born 15th June 1938; Elected FRSE 6 March 1995; Died 28th May 2007.
309
INDEX
A A Brush with Foxes and other Carnivore Tales, 153. Accounts: Group Balance Sheet, 52; Group Statement of Financial Activities, 51; Group Cash Flow Statement, 54; Notes to the Financial Statements, 55; RSE Balance Sheet, 53. Activities for Session 2006/07, 6. The Ageing Population, 199. Alcock, Professor James E, 164. Alexander Ninian Bruce Prize 229 Alm, Dr Norman, 199. Alternatives to Prison, 172. Annual European Lecture, 161. Annual Statutory Meeting 5; Election of Office Bearers, 11; Discussion of Reports 9; Fellowship Secretary's Report 9, 24; General Secretarys Report 6, 12; IEEE/RSE Wolfson, James Clerk Maxwell Award 5; Matters arising 6; Minutes 6; Office Bearers Reports 6; Report on Activities 6; Treasurers Report, 7. Apt, Dr Jay, 165. Archer, John Stuart: Obituary 250 Architecture in Nano-Space, 157. Auditor's Report, 49. Avdeev, Sergei Vasilyevic, 165. B BBSRC Enterprise Fellowships, 228. Beck, John Swanson: Obituary 253 Berridge, Michael J, 132. Black Holes and Small Bangs, 143. Black, Professor Sue, 136.
311
BP: Prize Lecture, 79; Research Fellowships 225. British Academy Albert Reckitt Archaeology Lecture, 130. Bruce, Dr Donald, 189. Bruce Preller Prize Lectureship 229 Brunel International Lecture, 152. Burnett, Sir John: Obituary 258 C Calcium Signalling in Health and Disease, 132. Caledonian Research Foundation: Prize Lecture, 94; Prize Lectureship 229; Research Fellowships 225. Campbell, Professor Keith, 188. Can Information be Personal?, 94. Carter, Professor Sir David, 229. Changes in Fellowship, 245. Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland, 213. Christmas Lecture, 138. City of Edinburgh Council, 6. Clerk Maxwell, James: Fund, 6; IEEE/RSE Wolfson Microelectronics Award, 5, 122, 229; Statue, 6. Conferences: Alternatives to Prison, 172; Energy for Scotland: is there a consensus?, 195; Glasgows People : Transcending Poverties, 192; Multi-wavelength Astronomy - The Observable Universe, 200; Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain, 206; The 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Thomas Telford, 204; The Union of 1707: New Dimensions, 202.
Corballis, Professor Michael C, 164. Cormack Bequest: Meeting, 200; Postgraduate Prize 227; Undergraduate Prize 227; Vacation Scholarships 227. Council: 2007-2008, 12. Cultural Policy and National Identity in Post-devolution Scotland, 182. D Dining Club, 241. Discussion Forum: Cultural Policy and National Identity in Postdevolution Scotland, 182; Earth, Wind, Fire and Water: Floods, 169; The Ageing Population (Lloyds TSB), 199; The Ten Years of Dolly: Past, Present and Future, 187. Does Science Matter?, 140. Doors Open Day, 209. E Earth, Wind, Fire and Water: Floods, 169. ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture, 140. Edinburgh Lectures, 136, 165. Election of Fellows, 245. Election of New Fellows: Scrutineers, 3. Election of Officers and Council for the 225th Session, 11. encounter, 181. Energy for Scotland: is there a consensus?, 195. Engelbrecht, Professor Jri, 127. Engineering Civilisation from the Shadows, 152. Environmental Choices Regional Lecture, 139.
312
Erchova, Dr Irina, 199. Evans, Henry John: Obituary 261 Evidence, Advice and Comment, 215. Executive Board 2007-2008, 12. F Featherstone, Vicky, 184. Fellows: Deaths of, 245. Fellows' Social Events, 241; Discussion Dinners and Suppers, 241; Fellows Golf Challenge, 242; New Fellows Induction Day, 241; Summer Soire, 241. Fellowship Secretarys Report, 9. Figel', Jan, 161. Forensic Anthropology The Journey from Culloden to Iraq, 136. Fraser, Sir Campbell: Obituary 264 G Gannochy Trust Innovation Award Prize Lecture, 82, 229 General Secretarys Report, 6,12. Glasgows People : Transcending Poverties, 192. Glover, Professor Anne, 140. Goldberg, Sir Abraham: Obituary 268 Grants: Research Visitor to Scotland, 232; Support for Meetings, 231; Travel Assistance, 231. Grants, Sponsorship and Donations, 243.
Index
H Hald, Anders Hjorth: Obituary 273 Hammond, Professor Norman, 130. Heaney, Henry: Obituary 275 Heavens, Professor Alan, 143. Henderson, Douglas Mackay: Obituary 279 Henderson, Professor George, 134. Henderson, Dr Isabel, 134. Henry Dryerre: Prize Lectureship, 229; Scholarship 227. Henry Duncan Prize Lecture, 106. The Highlands: Scotlands Great Success Story, 106. Hogg, Richard Milne: Obituary 287 Holland, Professor Alan, 188. Holloway, Richard, 183. Hunter, Professor James, 106. I IEEE/RSE Wolfson Microelectronics, James Clerk Maxwell Award, 5, 122, 229 Inquiries: Energy Issues for Scotland, 217; The Future of Scotlands Hill and Island Areas, 217. International Exchanges: China Outgoing, 233; Czech Republic Incoming, 233, Outgoing, 233; Hungary - Incoming, 233, Outgoing, 233; Open Programme - Incoming, 235, Outgoing, 236; Poland Incoming, 233; Slovenia Incoming, 234, Outgoing, 234; Taiwan - Incoming, 234, Outgoing, 234.
313
International Programme, 233; Events, 238; Relations with Sister Academies, 239; Visits, 238. Investments, 75. J Jacobs, Dr Irwin, 5, 122, 229. James Clerk Maxwell: Fund, 6; IEEE/RSE Wolfson Microelectronics Award, 5, 122, 229; Statue, 6. Jessiman, Dr Lesley, 199. Jowitt, Professor Paul, 152. K Kroto, Professor Sir Harry, 157. Kruskal, Martin David: Obituary 289 L Ladefoged, Peter Nielson: Obituary 293 Laurie, Professor Graeme, 79. Laver, Professor John D M H, 229. Lectures: A Brush with Foxes and other Carnivore Tales, 153; Architecture in Nano-Space, 157; Black Holes and Small Bangs, 143; Calcium Signalling in Health and Disease, 132; Does Science Matter?, 140; Engineering Civilisation from the Shadows, 152; European Science Policy and Academia, 127; Forensic Anthropology The Journey from Culloden to Iraq, 136; Philology in a New Key: Humane Studies in Digital Space, 144; Recovering Maya Civilisation, 130; Reforming Europes Universities Why and How?, 161; Rights, Freedom, and Welfare in Economics, 128; Tall
Tales about the Mind and Brain, 164; The Unpredictability of Science and its Consequences, 148; The View from Space: Changing Planet, 165; Using History and Science to Understand Scotlands Changing Biodiversity, 16002000, 139; Visual Theology in Pictish Art, 134; Weather Forecasting in the 21st Century, 138. Lessells Bequest: Travel Scholarship 228 Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland: Research Fellowships 226; Studentships 228; Workshops 226 M McCrone, Professor David, 182. Macdonald, Professor David W, 153. McGann, Professor Jerome, 144. McIntyre, John: Obituary 295 McKillop, Sir Thomas, 229. Mearns Spragg, Dr Andrew, 229. Medals, Prizes and Prize Lectureships: Alexander Ninan Bruce Prize, 229; Bruce Preller Prize Lectureship, 229; CRF Prize Lectureship, 229; Gannochy Trust Innovation Award, 229; Henry Dryerre Prize Lectureship, 229; IEEE/RSE/Wolfson/James Clerk Maxwell Award, 229; Royal Medal, 229. Mitchell, Andrew Ronald: Obituary 298 Multi-wavelength Astronomy The Observable Universe, 200.
N New Fellows Dinner 2003, 241. New Fellows Induction Day 2005, 241. O Obituary Notices: Archer, John Stuart, 250; Beck, John Swanson, 253; Burnett, Sir John, 258; Evans, Henry John, 261; Fraser, Sir Campbell, 264; Goldberg, Professor Sir Abraham, 268; Hald, Anders Hjorth, 273; Heaney, Henry, 275; Henderson, Douglas Mackay, 279; Hogg, Richard Milne, 287; Kruskal, Martin David, 289; Ladefoged, Peter Nielsen, 293; McIntyre, John, 295; Mitchell, Andrew Ronald, 298; Pitcher, Wallace Spencer, 302; Webb, Professor Geoffrey, 307. Office Bearers Reports for Session 2006/07, 6. ONeill of Bengarve, Baroness Onora, 94. Ordinary Meetings, 3. P Parker, Marie Claire, 82. Parliamentary Liaison, 219. Pattanaik, Prasanta K, 128. Pender, Professor Garry, 169. Penning-Rowsell, Professor Edmund, 170. Philology in a New Key: Humane Studies in Digital Space, 144. Pitcher, Wallace Spencer: Obituary 302 Prize Lectures, 79; BP: Protecting Human Dignity at the Beginning and End of Life, 79; CRF: Can
314
Index
Information be Personal?, 94; Gannochy Trust Innovation Award Lecture: Protein-Coated Microcrystals and Drug Delivery of Biologics, 82; Henry Duncan: The Highlands: Scotlands Great Success Story, 106; IEEE/RSE/ Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell: Reflections on the Amazing Ubiquitous Cellphone, 122. Proceedings A: Mathematics, 211. Protecting Human Dignity at the Beginning and End of Life, 79. Protein-Coated Microcrystals and Drug Delivery of Biologics, 82. Publications, 211. Q QUALCOMM, 5. R Recovering Maya Civilisation, 130. Reflections on the Amazing Ubiquitous Cellphone, 122. Reforming Europes Universities Why and How?, 161. Reid, Heather, 138. Research and Enterprise Awards, 225; Arts & Humanities Workshops, 226; BBSRC, 228; BP Personal, 225; CRF European Visiting, 225; CRF Personal, 225; Lloyds TSB Personal, 226; Lloyds TSB Support, 226; Lloyds TSB Workshops, 226; Scottish Government Personal, 226; Scottish Government Support, 226; Teaching Fellowships, 228. Research Scholarships and Prizes: Auber Bequest Award, 227;
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Cormack Postgraduate Prize, 227; Cormack Undergraduate Prize, 227; Cormack Vacation Scholarship, 227; Henry Dryerre Scholarship, 227; Lessells Travel Scholarship, 228; Lloyds TSB Studentships, 228. ReSourcE, 211. Rights, Freedom, and Welfare in Economics, 128. Royal Medal 229 RSE Roadshow Public Lecture, 143. S Savinykh, Viktor Petrovich, 165. Scottish Government: Research Fellowships, 226; Teaching Fellowships, 228. Scottish Science Advisory Committee: (SSAC), 213; Chief Scientific Advisor, 213; Members, 213; Staff, 213. Secombes, Professor C J, 229. Shoelson, Professor Steven, 229. Staff Changes, 247. Statue: James Clerk Maxwell, 6. Statutory General Meeting 5; Election of Office Bearers, 11; Discussion of Reports 9; Fellowship Secretary's Report 9, 24; General Secretarys Report 6, 12; IEEE/RSE Wolfson, James Clerk Maxwell Award 5; Matters arising 6; Minutes 6; Office Bearers Reports 6; Report on Activities 6; Treasurers Report, 7.
T Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain, 164, 206, 224. The Ten Years of Dolly: Past, Present and Future, 187. Thomas, Professor Sir John Meurig, 148. Transactions: Earth Sciences, 211. Treasurers Report, 7. Trustees' Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007: Achievements in the year, 33; Balance sheet, 47; BP Research Fellowships Trust, 43; Communications, 37; Events, 38; Future plans, 43; Income and Expenditure, 46; Informing decisions, 41; Inspiring young people, 39; Investment powers and policy, 44; Journals, 37; Objectives and activities, 31; Operating policies grant making, 44; Overview of the year, 31; Performance monitoring, 33; Reserves policy and funds, 45; Resources expended, 47; Result for the year, 45; Risk management, 30; RSE Scotland Foundation, 43; Statement of Councils responsibilities, 30; Structure, governance and management, 29; The Fellowship Programme, 42. The 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Thomas Telford, 204, 223.
U The Union of 1707: New Dimensions, 202. The Unpredictability of Science and its Consequences, 148. Using History and Science to Understand Scotlands Changing Biodiversity, 16002000, 139. V The View from Space: Changing Planet, 165. Visual Theology in Pictish Art, 134. Viterbi, Dr Andrew, 5,229. W Watson, Dr Fiona, 139. Weather Forecasting in the 21st Century, 138. Webb, Geoffrey: Obituary 307 Wilmutt, Professor Ian, 190. Wilson, Professor David, 171. Wolfson Microelectronics, 5. Y Young People, 221; Annual Inspiration Awards, 224; Christmas Lectures, 221; RSE Roadshows, 221; RSE@Schools, 221; SET Summer Week, 223; Startup Science Masterclasses, 223; Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain, 224; The 250th anniversary of Thomas Telford, 223. Young People's Programme, 221.
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The Royal Society of Edinburgh Review 2008

Royal Society of Edinburgh

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ORDINARY MEETINGS

PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATUTORY GENERAL MEETING

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

TRUSTEES REPORT TO 31 MARCH 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report and Accounts to 31 March 2007

Review of the Session 2006-2007

AUDITORS REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

863,146 122,230 985,376

442,369 238,393 680,762

1,386,923 2,252,077 3,639,000

1,338,939 2,383,183 3,722,122

(478,062) (3,392,943) (3,171,092)

98,448 59,797 116,878 685,437

5,241,978 11,814,538 11,211,155

Review of the Session 2006-2007

Trustees Report & Accounts 2006 2007

1,468,529 12,069,451 (303,913) 11,765,538

1,665,699 11,568,506 (237,351) 11,331,155

558,119 49,000 607,119

415,125 (120,000) 295,125 5,839,955 5,076,075 11,211,155

Designated Funds Restricted Funds Total funds

5,912,340 5,295,079 11,814,538

Trustees Report & Accounts 2006 2007