Royal Society announces new Fellows for 2011

The Royal Society has elected 44 new Fellows and eight new Foreign Members. Experts working on drug-resistant malaria, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders, the discovery of graphene and our understanding of the solar system were among the scientists honoured.

Among the new Fellows is Professor Ian Frazer who developed a technology which formed the basis of a vaccine to prevent infection with human papillomavirus and hence prevent cervical cancer. Professor Kostya Novoselov who shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics with Professor Andre Geim FRS for their work on graphene has also been elected a Fellow.

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society said:

“It is a pleasure to welcome this year’s new Fellows to the Royal Society. They join the ranks of the UK and Commonwealth’s leading scientists, counting themselves among early Fellows such as Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle and Charles Darwin. The Society aims to expand the frontiers of knowledge by championing the development and use of science, mathematics, engineering and medicine for the benefit of humanity and the good of the planet. It is the contribution of excellent individuals such as these which makes this possible.”

The new Fellows come from universities and institutions across the UK including the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Imperial College London, Liverpool, Leicester, Manchester, Reading, Oxford, University College London and Diamond Light Source ltd. This year sees five women elected to the Fellowship.