The Royal Society endorsed Dr Ajay Awati’s Tier 1 (Exceptional promise) application in 2012.
Dr Awati is an Indian citizen who has built an impressive career in the area of animal nutrition and health, specialising in the development of species-appropriate feed additives. Following his primary veterinary qualification, his international research career took him to New Zealand (Massey University) and the Netherlands (Wageningen University and Nutreco R&D).
In 2012, Dr Awati was offered a role at Danisco (UK) Limited with the pioneering Danisco Animal Nutrition team. He was awarded a Tier 1 (Exceptional promise) visa shortly after and has since taken up his post as Development Lead, responsible for an international team of scientists working on products that will improve feed utilisation and animal performance, while maintaining the health of animals and sustainability of farms.
The Royal Society endorsed Professor Tetsuo Tomiyama’s Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) application in 2012.
Professor Tomiyama is a Japanese citizen and one of the foremost engineering design academics of his generation. He has studied and worked in two of the top institutions in his field: the University of Tokyo and Delft University of Technology. He is well known amongst his peers for his knowledge of, and contribution to, many areas of engineering design and his work is grounded in a deep understanding of the reality of multi-disciplinary design and the challenges that face industrial engineers and academics.
In 2012, Professor Tomiyama was appointed to Professor of Life Cycle Engineering at Cranfield University. The Royal Society endorsed his Tier 1 visa application which was successfully awarded. He moved to the UK to join Cranfield later that year. His research there focuses on a potentially transformative new tool that will allow people to assess the impact of a design on the environment and identify new engineering approaches in response.
The Royal Society endorsed Professor James Rothman’s Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) application in 2013.
Professor Rothman is an American citizen and the Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University. He researches the underlying mechanisms of vesicular transport within cells and the secretion of proteins. Since having his visa application endorsed by the Society, Professor Rothman has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013 jointly with Professors Randy Schekman and Thomas Südhof "for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells".
In 2013, Professor Rothman applied for a Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) visa in order to facilitate a collaborative project with The Institute of Neurology at University College London which is a world-leader in his field. The visa will enable him to take up a part-time Professorship at UCL, which will enable this project to develop.