AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

May 2003

• English Heritage boss made Honorary Fellow
• Award for muscular dystrophy research
• Scott honoured by Jilin
• Alumnus up for British Academy award
• Sabs win ULU laurels

English Heritage boss made Honorary Fellow

Royal Holloway awards Honorary Fellowships and Associateships at a grand ceremony this month, in recognition of the eminence and outstanding service of four people.

Dr Simon Thurley, alumnus and Chief Executive of English Heritage, and Paul Bosonnet CBE, long-serving member of College Council and become Honorary Fellows of the College. Former Bursar Clive Allen and former Roman Catholic Chaplain Father Robert Hamilton will be made Honorary Associates.

The ceremony takes place on Wednesday 21 May at 6pm in the Chapel, and is followed by a reception in the Picture Gallery.

Simon Thurley (pictured right) graduated from Bedford College with a degree in History. In 1989 he was appointed the first Curator of Historic Royal Palaces. After 8 years he was appointed Director of The Museum of London, the world's largest and most comprehensive urban history museum. In April 2002 he became Chief Executive of English Heritage, the government's lead body on the historic built environment in England.

Paul Bosonnet was a member of College Council from 1985 to 2000 and served on all its major committees. He had a distinguished business career with the BOC where he was Deputy Group Managing Director, Managing Director- Finance and Administration and Deputy Chairman. Paul was also Chairman of Logica plc, Deputy Chairman of British Telecommunications plc and a Director of Mercury Asset Management and Lucas Industries.

Father Robert Hamilton was appointed Roman Catholic Chaplain to the College in 1988, a position he held until 2002, when he was elected Superior General by the congregation of the Josephites. He now travels the world to make official visits to his order in places such as the USA, the Congo and the Cameroons.

Award for muscular dystrophy research

A research team led by Professor George Dickson in the School of Biological Sciences has been awarded the Paul Walker Fellowship Award by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

The Paul Walker Fellowship Award is given annually in recognition of research excellence, and commitment and leadership the field of Muscular Dystrophy research. Researchers from all over the UK were nominated for the £5,000 prize.

Professor Dickson (pictured right) has been researching treatments for Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, a lethal and debilitating disorder, for over 12 years. Professor Dickson and his team are developing gene therapeutics and studying the signalling pathways in relation to pathophysiology and treatment.

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign will present the award on May 10th at a ceremony at the Imperial War Museum.

Scott honoured by Jilin

In a special ceremony at the beginning of April, Andrew Scott of the Geology Department was made a special Honorary Professor of Jilin University in China (in recognition of his academic achievements).

Jilin University in Changchun in Northeast China was formed in 1990 from 5 separate University Institutions and is now China's largest University with over 60,000 students.

Professor Scott is linked with the new department of Palaeontology and Stratigraphy headed by Professor Sun Ge who has visited Royal Holloway to see the work of the Palaeobotany Group. Professor Scott is pictured being presented with the official professorial documents by the vice-president of Jilin University.

Alumnus up for British Academy award

A graduate of Royal Holloway's Department of Media Arts has been nominated for a British Academy award.

Mark Knowles graduated from Royal Holloway in 1997 with a media arts degree.

Mark Knowles in the editing suite

Each FAKING IT programme focuses on a particular individual, plucked from their natural habitat and given four weeks to master a skill well enough to fool a group of expert judges. During the month of intensive training, top practioners, famous in their field, tutor the faker. Mark Knowles edited three transformations in the UK series and one in the US: Polo Player to Cowboy, Fire Control Operator to TV Studio Director, Sheepshearer to Hairdresser and Vicar to Car Dealer.

FAKING It, made by RDF for Channel 4, has already won an Emmy together with BAFTA, RTS and Broadcast awards. However, Mark Knowle's nomination for a BAFTA Craft Award specifically recognises his skill as an editor.

His other credits include JUNKYARD WARS, WRECK DETECTIVES and PERFECT MATCH.

Sabbs win ULU laurels

Two of the sabbatical officers of Royal Holloway's Students Union have won University of London Union (ULU) awards for their work over the past year.

Mike Johnson, SU President, won the Presidential Award and Alex Stacey, VP Sports, has won a ULU Laurel.

Mike and Alex will be playing major roles in ULU's operations in the forthcoming year, having won their elections to become the ULU VP Finance, Services & Operations and ULU VP Sports & Societies respectively. The election was very keenly contested and the voting turnout was higher than last year. Mike and Alex are joined on the ULU Sabbatical team by Chris Piper (President), Susie Reilly (VP Student Affairs) and Lila Allen (London Student Editor).

They will receive their awards on Thursday 1st May at the ULU Laurels evening in Malet Street. Alex and Mike thanked all Royal Holloway students and everyone at the Students' Union for their support throughout the year. "Without the backing of our own students these sorts of things wouldn't be possible".

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