The Society's foundation is its Fellowship, which is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Each year, the Fellows elect 44 new Fellows and eight new Foreign Members, chosen for their scientific achievements.
The Fellowship of the Royal Society is composed almost 1400 of the most distinguished scientists from the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland. Fellows of the Royal Society are elected for life and designate themselves through the use of the letters FRS after their names.
In 2010, 44 new Fellows were elected through a peer review process culminating in a vote by existing Fellows. The main criterion for election as a Fellow is scientific excellence.
Current Fellows include Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Harry Kroto, Tim Berners Lee, Paul Nurse and John Sulston. There are currently 25 Nobel prize winners among the Fellows and many other holders of other equally prestigious awards. Previous Fellows include Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford and Dorothy Hodgkin.
Find out more about which Fellows have also served as Presidents and Officers of the Society, or search our Sackler Archive database for biographical information.