Tuesday 27th February 2018, 2:30pm
The Principal and Chief Executive of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has been made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Professor Wayne Powell joins former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and other leading figures from academia, public service, business and the arts, in Scotland’s National Academy.
Based at the Edinburgh campus, Prof Powell joined SRUC in July 2016. He was previously the Chief Science Officer at CGIAR Consortium in Montpellier and, before that, was the Director of Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University.
Among his Awards, Distinctions and Honours, he is an elected Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and the winner of the Broeckhuizen Prize in 1990 for outstanding contribution to cereal science research in Europe by a scientist under the age of 40.
Prof Powell has also been involved at Board Level for a number of companies and institutes and on International Scientific Advisory Committees.
He has a lifelong commitment to the application of cutting-edge science to deliver practical benefits to agriculture and the rural economies of the developed and developing world. His earlier work laid the theoretical, quantitative genetics framework and practical foundation for the deployment of new genomic technologies in plant breeding.
His leadership experience spans the Public, Private and University sectors with a strong international focus. He is currently a member of DEFRA’s Science Advisory Council and was elected to the Learned Society of Wales (LSW) in 2011.
"Being elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is a great personal honour and reflects the contribution of many colleagues and collaborators across Scotland, the rest of the UK and globally. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance the mission (knowledge made useful’) of the RSE through SRUC’s major contribution to Scotland’s rural economy, skills and knowledge base."
The 66 new RSE Fellows, which also include US-based philanthropist and former pianist, Carol Colburn Grigor, will help the National Academy to continue to provide independent and expert advice to policymakers, support aspiring entrepreneurs, develop research capacity and leadership, inspire and facilitate learning and engage with the general public through inspiring events.
The RSE, unusual among National Academies for its multi-disciplinary approach, continues to strengthen its Fellowship by appointing leading professionals from within the arts, business and public sector as well as within academia.
"Each year we welcome a selection of nominated extraordinary individuals into the Fellowship and this year is no exception. The diverse range of achievements of these individuals will be an asset to the RSE and I am sure they will strengthen the RSE’s standing as a national academy committed to providing public benefit to Scottish society. I also welcome the increasing number of female Fellows to the RSE, something we have focused on improving in past years and part of our wider commitment to diversity."
Source: Scotland's Rural College (SRUC)
Roslin Innovation Centre
The University of Edinburgh
Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian EH25 9RG
