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Professor Lorna Dawson announced as RSE Fellow

Professor Lorna Dawson announced as RSE Fellow
Lorna Dawson
“I am delighted to be invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. It is a great honour to be among such prestigious and diverse company. The RSE, Scotland’s National Academy, is a wonderful organisation, making a real impact to the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of Scotland”

Professor Lorna Dawson, head of Forensic Soil Science at the James Hutton Institute and advisor to the SEFARI Strategic Research Programme, has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), established in 1783, has announced 62 new UK and International Fellows. These Fellows will help the RSE to continue providing independent and expert advice to policymakers, support aspiring entrepreneurs, develop research capacity and leadership and engage with the public through events.

Fellows are elected following a rigorous examination of their achievements in their relevant fields.

On the announcement, Professor Dawson said: “I am delighted to be invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. It is a great honour to be among such prestigious and diverse company.

“The RSE, Scotland’s National Academy, is a wonderful organisation, making a real impact to the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of Scotland. It is a place where important interdisciplinary connections and advancement of learning and exchange of useful impactful knowledge can be made. I look forward to helping to turn knowledge into real life impact.”

Professor Dawson is a Principal Soil Scientist in the Environmental and Biochemical Sciences group at the James Hutton Institute, and has over 30 years’ experience in managing and conducting research in soil and plant interactions. Lorna pioneered the discipline of forensic soil science globally in particular its application in the criminal justice system.

Lorna is a registered expert with the National Crime Agency and works with police forces, lawyers and agencies in soil trace evidence provision. In 2017 she was awarded the Pride of Britain Special Recognition award and in 2018 she was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to soil and forensic science.

Lorna is a Professor at RGU, Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the Institute of British Soil Scientists. She has supervised over 20 PhD projects and has published over 100 refereed journal papers, books and book chapters.

The RSE ­is an educational charity, registered in Scotland, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland. There are currently around 1600 Fellows, who are based in Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond. The time which Fellows spend in supporting and enabling the delivery of RSE activities is a free resource, the annual public value of which is in excess of £0.7million.

Commenting on the new fellows, President of the RSE, Professor Dame Anne Glover, said, “The calibre of our Fellows never ceases to amaze me, and this year is no different. For such a small country we surpass ourselves with the talent and expertise that exists across our academic, cultural and business landscape. All of our Fellows are assets, not just to the RSE but to Scotland and the rest of the world, and I look forward to welcoming and working with them”.

For a full list of new RSE fellows, visit the RSE website https://www.rse.org.uk/rse-announces-addition-62-new-fellows/

Press and media enquiries: 

Adam Walker, Communications Officer, James Hutton Institute, Tel: 01224 395095 (direct line), 0344 928 5428 (switchboard).


Printed from /news/professor-lorna-dawson-announced-rse-fellow on 28/03/24 04:21:57 PM

The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.