Four world-renowned scientists join prestigious list of RSC Honorary Fellows
A vaccine researcher responsible for saving millions of lives, a climate scientist who helped fix the ozone layer, a hugely influential science educator, and an electrochemistry pioneer have all been celebrated with Honorary Fellowships.
We are proud to announce that Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor Susan Solomon, Sir John Holman, and Professor Zhong-Qun Tian have all been bestowed with our highest accolade.
The quartet join 111 storied scientists on the list of RSC Honorary Fellows, who are nominated by their peers to celebrate work that advances the chemical sciences. Each of the new Honorary Fellows has made significant contributions in their respective fields, as stated in their biographies below.
The full list of Honorary Fellows features Nobel Laureates, such as Professors Frances Arnold and Richard Henderson, as well as long-standing members of our community and supporters of science communication, including Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff, Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, Bill Bryson and Heston Blumenthal.
Who are this year's Honorary Fellows?
Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert initiated and led the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (Vaxzevria) in 2020. One of the first vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 approved in the UK, it has been used in over 180 countries and is estimated to have saved more than six million lives worldwide.
Professor Gilbert’s primary research interest is the development and production of viral vectored vaccines, from initial concept through clinical trials and onwards to rollout. She currently leads vaccine development for influenza as well as for several emerging pathogens, including influenza, Nipah virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Lassa virus.
Professor Gilbert is a Principal Investigator at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Oxford with a mission to discover, create and enable practical, science-driven solutions to infectious disease threats worldwide.
Professor Gilbert was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2021 in recognition of her work during the pandemic. Her book Vaxxers describing the development of Vaxzevria was a Sunday Times bestseller. Other awards include the Royal Society of Medicine Gold Medal, the Princesa de Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research 2021, the Sunhak Peace Prize 2022 and the King Faisal Prize 2023.
Special thanks to the University of Oxford for the biography of Professor Gilbert.
Sir John Holman is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of York. He began his career as a teacher in secondary schools, before becoming the Headmaster of Watford Grammar School for Boys in 1994. He then moved to the University of York as Salters' Professor of Chemical Education in 2000.
He has written books on science for learners of most ages (most notably Chemistry in Context, which has sold well over 500,000 copies) and led the team that produced the influential ‘Twenty-first Century Science’ GCSE curriculum. He was also the Founding Director of the popular and influential Salters Advanced Chemistry Programme.
John's abilities were recognised on the national stage too, with his appointment as the Founding Director of the National Science Learning Centre in 2006, a post which he held for six years.
This role brought him more exposure to those responsible for national science policy and a succession of senior appointments followed with charities, including the Wellcome Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and the Gatsby Foundation, as well as in government itself.
A theme that has long permeated his approach concerns social equality and recognition for all involved in the enterprise of science, which is well exemplified by positions as Chair of UKRI's Talent Commission (which, under his guidance and leadership, has made enormous strides to see science technicians properly recognised for their key roles) and as Chair of The Bridge Group (whose stated aim is to use research to promote social equality).
His broader commitment, and indeed the professional esteem in which he is held, are also well exemplified by his former position as Master of the Salters' Company and as a former President of the 成人色导航 between 2016 and 2018.
Sir John's achievements are truly remarkable, and it is notable that he has been recognised for his work by the Royal Society's Kavli Education Award; the RSC Lord Lewis Prize; by being named by the Science Council as one of the 100 leading practising and inspirational UK scientists; and ultimately was knighted in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II for services to education.
Special thanks to Dr Derek Wann, Head of Chemistry at the University of York, for his contribution to this biography.
Professor Susan Solomon is the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining MIT in 2012, she was a scientist at NOAA in Boulder, Colorado and an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado from 1982 to 2011.
Prof Solomon is widely recognised as one of the leaders in the field of atmospheric science. Her scientific papers have provided not only key measurements but also theoretical understanding regarding ozone destruction, especially the role of surface chemistry.
In 1986 and 1987, she served as the Head Project Scientist of the National Ozone Expedition at McMurdo Station, Antarctica and made some of the first measurements there that pointed towards chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the ozone hole.
In 1994, an Antarctic glacier was named in her honour in recognition of that work. In March of 2000, she received the National Medal of Science, the United States' highest scientific honour, for "key insights in explaining the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole."
She is the recipient of many other honours and awards, including the highest awards of the American Geophysical Union (the Bowie Medal), the American Meteorological Society (the Rossby Medal), and the Geochemical Society (the Goldschmidt Medal).
She also received the Grande Medaille of the Academy of Sciences in Paris for her leadership in ozone and climate science in 2008 and the Crafoord Prize of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2018. Awarded by the King of Sweden, the Crafoord prize is considered the closest geosciences equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
In 2004, she received the prestigious Blue Planet Prize for "pioneering research identifying the causative mechanisms producing the Antarctic ozone hole”, and in 2013, she was honoured as the BBVA’s laureate in the Frontiers of Knowledge award in the climate change category.
She is also a recipient of numerous honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the US and abroad. She is a member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and is a Foreign Associate of the French Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, the 成人色导航, and the European Academy of Sciences.
Her current research includes climate change and ozone depletion. She served as co-chair of the Fourth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) climate science report, providing scientific information to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She was named one of the year’s 100 most influential people in Time Magazine in 2008.
Her favourite honour is a glacier in the Antarctic that has been named after her.
Special thanks to the Massacheutts Institute of Technology for this biography.
Professor Zhong-Qun Tian received his BSc in Chemistry from Xiamen University, China, in 1982. He then moved to the University of Southampton, UK, under Martin Fleischmann (FRS), to study electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC-SERS) in 1983 and received his PhD in 1987. He subsequently returned to Xiamen University, where he has worked ever since.
He was appointed as a full professor in 1992 and elected as a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (MCAS) in 2005, and the President of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) from 2019 to 2020.
Prof Tian's primary research interests include SERS, spectro-electrochemistry, and catalytic molecular assembly (catassembly). He has published more than 700 peer-reviewed papers, with more than 52,000 citations, and holds over 30 patents. He has been internationally recognised for his innovative methodological developments.
He has received numerous awards from the UK, USA, France, Japan, and China, including the Faraday Medal of the 成人色导航 (RSC), the ISE-Elsevier Prize for Experimental Electrochemistry, and the Raman Lifetime Award at the International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy. He has also been active in promoting international academic exchange and collaboration.
Prof Tian chaired and organised several large conferences and interdisciplinary symposia, including Faraday Discussion 176 on Next-Generation Materials for Energy Chemistry, the first Faraday Discussion held in Asia. In 2022, he became the first Chair of the RSC China Senior Expert Advisory Committee.
He is actively involved in the advisory and editorial boards of 15 international journals, including the inaugural boards of Chem. Sci., ACS Central Science, Chem., J. Energy Chem., Matter, ACS Phys. Chem. Au, eScience, ACS Electrochemistry, and National Science Review. He is also an associate editor for Science in China-Chemistry and served as an associate editor for Chem. Soc. Rev. from 2012 to 2024.
Reactions to the Honorary Fellowships
Saïd Professor of Vaccinology and Principal Investigator at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, took the opportunity to salute her colleagues while noting the importance of collaboration to scientific progress.
“Making a vaccine to protect people in a pandemic needs a huge team of expert, interdisciplinary researchers – including chemists, biologists, and medical scientists – to work together," she said.
“This Honorary Fellowship from the 成人色导航 is recognition for the team of scientists in Oxford – and our partners globally – who worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure we made a vaccine for the world.”
Professor Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was succinct in her summation of her feelings.
“Who could not be humbled by being named an Honorary Fellow of the RSC?! I’m totally ‘over the moon’ as they say across the pond," she said.
Meanwhile, Dr Derek Wann, Head of Chemistry at the University of York, paid tribute to the university's Emeritus Professor of Chemistry Sir John Holman for his decades of work at all levels of the education system.
"Sir John Holman has made an enormous impact on the field of chemical education over a period of more than 40 years. His ability to communicate science to everyone from school pupils, to undergraduate students, and through to Ministers of State is quite incredible," he said.
"Until his retirement in 2017, John continued to teach thermodynamics (hardly the most popular chemistry lecture course) to year 1 and year 2 students in York. They loved John and his lecture demonstrations. The award of an RSC Honorary Fellowship, the ultimate honour that our learned society can bestow, is truly fitting."
Dr Helen Pain, our Chief Executive, celebrated the quartet's contributions to our sector by adding: “It is a privilege to welcome Professors Gilbert, Solomon and Tian as well as Sir John to our list of Honorary Fellows. Each of them has had a transformative impact on the chemical sciences – and our society as a whole – in their own unique way, and it just shows how wide-ranging our discipline is.
“I worked closely with Sir John during his time as our President between 2016 and 2018 and as chair of the UK TALENT Commission. His hands-on involvement at all levels means he has inspired countless young people to pursue their own ambitions in our field and keep pushing chemistry forward. Sir John’s commitment to the technician community is also significant, giving rise to the establishment of the Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy, a key outcome of the TALENT Commission.
“Professor Gilbert’s work on vaccines over her career has saved countless lives and kept families together all over the world. The world owes her a debt of gratitude for developing one of the leading vaccines that tackled COVID-19, and it is incredible how many diseases she is tackling through the development of new treatments.
“Our understanding of climate change is what it is today thanks to the contributions of Professor Solomon. It is thanks to her that leaders have taken steps to protect the ozone layer through the regulation of harmful chemicals, so it’s not unreasonable to say that without her, our environment could be very different.
“The highly influential research of Professor Tian has changed the way we study molecules, and has had a huge impact on medicine, environmental science, and nanotechnology. We are also incredibly grateful for his role in chairing the RSC Senior Expert Advisory Committee and Fellows Forum in China.
“I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all those who receive an Honorary Fellowship.”
How do I nominate someone for an Honorary Fellowship?
Any member may submit a nomination at any time throughout the year to be considered by the Nominations Committee for recommendation to the Board of Trustees. For more information, please get in touch with our Governance team using the contact details on this page.
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